In today’s edition of Pundit Daily Digest, Super Eagles defeat Cape Verde, France end their winless run, FIFA begins investigation of the Brazil vs Argentina match and lots more.
It’s another edition of Pundit Daily Digest and it promises to be as entertaining as ever. Let’s take a look at the trendiest football news from all over the world.
1. France End Winless Streak As They Defeat Finland
France defeated Finland 2-0 to end their five-match winless streak.
After consecutive 1-1 draws against Bosnia and Ukraine, Deschamp modified his tactics with a 5-2-3 formation that ended their winless run.
Antoine Griezmann scored a goal in each half for Les Blues to put them in a healthy position at the top of group D with 12 points.
France coach, Didier Deschamps was pleased with his side’s win and had this to say:
“We had more confidence, it was more like us. It’s a very important result for us, now we have to finish the job in November.”
2. Burkina Faso Share Spoils With Algeria
Burkina Faso came from behind to hold Algeria to a 1-1 draw in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – Group A – match at the Stade de Marrakech.
The draw left Algeria’s Desert Foxes level on points with Burkina Faso’s stallions with four games left to play.
Sofiane Feghouli scored in the 18th minute to put Algeria in front while Abdoul Tapsoba beat keeper Rais M’bolhi with a decent finish to equalise in the 64th minute.
Eventually, the match ended in a 1-1 draw as both sides shared the spoils and Algeria extended their impressive unbeaten run to 29 matches across all competitions while their six-match winning streak came to an end.
3. Super Eagles Come From Behind To Beat Cape Verde
The Super Eagles came from behind to record a 2-1 win over Cape Verde in the Group C match at the Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena on Tuesday evening.
The win ensured Nigeria claimed a commanding three-point lead at the top of Group C with four games left.
The Super Eagles started the match brightly but the Blue Sharks grew into the match and eventually broke the deadlock as Dylan Tavares scored to hand Cape Verde a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.
However, barely 10 minutes later, the Super Eagles equalized after Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha parried Jamilu Collins’ cross into Victor Osimhen’s path and the most expensive African player scored from close range.
The game seemed to be heading for a draw until Santos gifted Nigeria a goal after his backpass caught his goalkeeper off his line and sailed into the net.
The game ended 2-1 in favor of Nigeria.
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4. English Clubs Spent More Than Others In Summer Transfer Window
According to FIFA’s International Transfer Snapshot report, English clubs spent the most money in the transfer window among FIFA’s member associations in the transfer window which ran from June to August.
The report claimed that English clubs spent $1,146.6 million on players in the window, which was far more than the next two countries – Spain ($473.8 million) and France ($428.9 million) – put together.
English clubs were also at the top of the summit for incoming transfers, down from 485 last year to 380, while outgoing transfers fell from 524 to 494.
German and French clubs were however – $462.7 million and $457.3 million respectively – ahead of England ($409.8 million) in terms of income from transfer fees, while Italy ($408.2 million) and Spain ($260.2 million) completed the top five.
The report also claimed that total fees in the international transfers of players amounted to $3.72 billion, a drawback of 7.5 per cent from last year and just over 60 per cent of the record set in 2019.
5. FIFA Investigate Abandoned Brazil- Argentina Match
World soccer’s governing body FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings into Sunday’s Brazil vs Argentina World Cup qualifier which was abandoned after seven minutes due to uneasy scenes.
On Sunday, Brazilian health authorities enteres the pitch to stop the game in an attempt to arrest four of Argentina’s English Premier League players over violation of the country’s Covid-19 quarantine rules.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Tottenham Hotspur duo Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso were on the pitch as part of Argentina’s team when officials from Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa halted the match. The fourth player was Emiliano Buendia who didn’t start the match.
FIFA released a statement saying;
“Following the analysis of the official match reports related to the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Brazil and Argentina, FIFA can confirm that disciplinary proceedings have been opened involving both member associations.
“The two teams were asked to provide further information on the facts that led to the suspension of the match, which will be gathered and then thoroughly reviewed by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee,” it added.
Anvisa said Brazilian rules clearly state that travellers who have been in the UK, South Africa or India during the previous 14 days are forbidden from entering the country unless they are Brazilian citizens or have permanent residency.
The statement said Argentine players had made false statements about their previous whereabouts on immigration forms.
Brazil’s Federal Police also said that they had opened a formal inquiry into the negative actions of the Argentine players who were said to have been deported by a spokesperson.
This article was compiled by Kayode Ogunbote.
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