Sofiane Boufal s late strike gave Morocco a 1-0 victory over Ghana in a drab Africa Cup of Nations Group C opener at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo on Monday.
The Black Stars and the Atlas Lions looked to be heading for a point apiece from a match that was lacking in entertaining until Boufal popped up with an 83rd-minute winner in Yaounde.
Morocco captain Romain Saiss failed to take a good chance to open the scoring when he nodded Boufal s fizzed free-kick over the bar a few minutes before the end of a poor first half
The quality did not improve after the break, but Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced a brilliant save to tip Joseph Paintsil s measured right-foot shot around the post after 72 minutes.
Boufal then snatched the victory when he drilled in with …
Hull City will look to seal consecutive Premier League victories for the first time since October 2008 when they host West Ham on Saturday.
Steve Bruce s side picked up an impressive win last weekend against Newcastle United, and after victory in the League Cup over Huddersfield in midweek, they will be brimming with confidence.
And they will be hopeful of collecting their third league triumph of the season against West Ham, who have not won on their travels since March.
Sam Allardyce s team have not had the best of times away from Upton Park and have only won three of their last 20 away matches in the league.
However, Allardyce s side have won 17 of their 41 meetings with Hull and they are unbeaten in their last five meetings – winning four.
Both sides h…
Jean-Philippe Mateta is finishing everything that comes to him , according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner s first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in…
Cardiff City F.C. have completed the signing of England international centre-back Steven Caulker from Tottenham Hotspur in a deal reportedly worth around £8 million, understands.
Caulker, who joined Spurs youth team during the 2007/08 season, has signed a four-year deal with the Bluebirds.
The England international, 21, scored two goals in 28 appearances in all competitions for Spurs last term.
Prior to last season, Caulker had spent three consecutive seasons on loan at Yeovil Town (2009/10; League One), Bristol City (2010/11; Championship) and Swansea City (2011/12; Premier League).
Caulker, set to team-up with new arrivals Andreas Cornelius, John Brayford and Simon Moore at Cardiff City Stadium, is delighted with the move, which has mad…
Heerenveen coach Marco van Basten has confirmed that Magnus Wolff Eikrem is set to leave the club amid rumours he will join Cardiff City.
Eikrem was in the stands at St James Park on Saturday as Cardiff came from behind to beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the FA Cup third round in their first game under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The versatile 23-year-old worked with Solskjaer during his spell at Molde and was also coached by his Norwegian compatriot when the Cardiff boss was in charge of Manchester United s reserve side from 2008 to 2011.
And Van Basten revealed that Eikrem is poised to leave, with the Cardiff City Stadium his reported destination.
It s a shame he s (Eikrem) leaving because in the final period of the first half of the season he has been important for us,…
Lyon midfielder Gueida Fofana could retire from football at the age of 25, according to club president Jean-Michel Aulas.
Fofana who joined Lyon from Le Havre in 2011 has seen just 41 minutes of Ligue 1 action in the past two seasons due to serious hyaline cartilage and malleolar injuries.
He was on the bench in Lyon s 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in February but did not feature all season, and Aulas hinted Fofana s time as a footballer may be up.
Gueida Fofana has not played for a very long time, Aulas told OLTV.
I will have a discussion with him during the week.
We are going to ask about the rest of his career.
I can see him becoming a great trainer or educator.
…
Juventus are set to join Chelsea and Liverpool in the race to sign Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, .
The 31 year old has been with the La Liga giants since he originally left Anfield in the summer of 2009, making 192 appearances in all competitions, but he is yet to feature this season having fallen down the pecking order following the arrival of £150m worth of new talent during the recently closed transfer window.
They also already had Luka Modric and Sami Khedira on board as cover, who have played in all and all but one of the clubs league games so far this season respectively.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea were linked with a move for the Spain international in the summer, and now Juventus are considering making an offer, with veteran midfielder Andrea Pi…
Manchester City match-winner Kevin De Bruyne insisted revenge was not on his mind as he brilliantly undid Premier League champions Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola s City returned to the top of the table, above rivals Manchester United on goal difference, after De Bruyne rewarded the visitors controlled dominance with a brilliant left-footed finish from 22 yards after 67 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old is shining at the second attempt in English football, having left Chelsea in search of first-team football.
De Bruyne initially left on loan for Werder Bremen in 2012 before joining Wolfsburg two years later, where his form persuaded City to make him their club-record signing in August 2015.
That s the past, he told BT Sport of a Chelsea tenure that amou…
Nantes have moved to their highest spot in Ligue 1 since 2005 but head coach Michel Der Zakarian is remaining cautious.
The once great French club have hit form recently after returning to Ligue 1 earlier this year for the first time since 2009.
Nantes win away to Bordeaux on Sunday has helped prove they are a serious contender in Ligue 1 this season but Der Zarkarian was careful not to get too carried away after the victory.
Beating a Bordeaux side that hadn t lost in seven league games is good, he said.
They had no luck, we did. My players were strong in defence and always carried a threat.
Nantes have been crowned champions of France eight times and were a powerhouse club from 1965-1983 when they won six league titles.
The east French club last wo…
Former Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart has little doubt Vincent Janssen will prove to be a shrewd signing for the Premier League club.
Janssen caught the eye by scoring 27 goals in 34 Eredivisie appearances during his solitary season at AZ last term, form that earned him international recognition with Netherlands.
The 22-year-old impressed enough for Tottenham to fork out a reported £17million for his services and the striker will provide competition for last season Premier League top scorer Harry Kane.
And Van der Vaart, who spent two years at White Hart Lane between 2010 and 2012, is backing his compatriot to make a big impact at Tottenham.
In my opinion Tottenham have signed a great striker, Van der Vaart told Tottenham s official website.
…