Batshuayi Refutes Gay Accusations On Twitter

A Twitter handle was on hand to inform the general public of Michy Batshuayi's decision to come out as gay after secretly coming out to his Chelsea teammates. The twitter account made the world know of this 'false claim' about 16 hours ago but king of twitter bants Batshuayi was on hand to shutdown those claims.

This was the account's claim.

Michy Batshuayi set to become the first openly gay footballer in the premier league after coming out to teammates 🏳️‍🌈 #CFC pic.twitter.com/ly9tqR3T6h

— TCD (@TheChelseaDaily) November 15, 2017

Batshuayi's response

😂😂😂😂 bro even your mother knows thats false 🙈 https://t.co/Vs0gEl711b

— Michy Batshuayi (@mbatshuayi) November 16, 2017

In Premier League history no player has openly come out as gay while still playing. Former Aston Villa midfielder and ex-Leeds winger Robbie Rogers both came out as gay after leaving English football.

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Chelsea Star Has A Message For Antonio Conte Over David Luiz Feud

Chelsea's Brazilian defender David Luiz was an absentee in their last league game before the International break as Chelsea were narrow winners against Manchester United. Eden Hazard has stressed the importance of the centre-back in the Chelsea squad following the much talked about fall out with the manager.

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Although Conte insisted his decision to pick Andreas Christensen ahead of David Luiz was a tactical one, the Italian said after the game that he was unsure of Luiz's future at Stamford Bridge (is he sure of his own??). The manager-player bust up has been largely linked to Chelsea's game v. Roma about a fortnight ago when the English Champions were drubbed 3-0.

When asked who was the biggest joker in the Chelsea squad Hazard replied to Soccer AM 'Luiz, The geezer, always smiling, so he's in a good mood all the time.

'It's good to have people like this in the team.'

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David Luiz has been permitted to train with the group but relationship with the manager is far from getting better since September. In Chelsea's two games against Roma they conceded six goals a slight on Antonio Conte's reputation. The 3-0 loss in Rome was only the third time Conte lost by that score-line which is his joint biggest defeat. Chelsea's victory over United and a clean sheet in Luiz's absence was a political victory for Conte over his player.
 

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Ex Nigerian Striker Inducted Into Newcastle United Hall Of Fame

Former Super Eagles forward Shola Ameobi has been rewarded for his contributions to Newcastle. The 36-year-old graduated from the Magpies' youth set-up and went on to have a stellar career at the St. James' Park. Ameobi has now been inducted into the Newcastle United's foundation hall of fame as a reward for a stellar career with the Geordies.


In a career that spanned 14 years Ameobi scored 79 goals in 397 appearances across all competitions, he now joins the likes of Alan Shearer, Jackie Milburn and Sir Bobby Robson in the prestigious hall of fame.

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Ameobi At The Dinner

Ameobi was inducted alongside ex-England International Les Ferdinand in recognition of their achievements while at the club.

Ameobi who is currently employed by Notts County feels honoured to be inducted by his boyhood club and wants to help youngsters fulfill their dreams.

"I'm actually quite embarrassed to be mentioned in the same vein with the other hall of famers," Ameobi told the club website.

"It's such an honour. This club has meant the world to me.

"It has been my lifeblood, growing up a stone's throw away from the stadium and aspiring to play football.

"To get a chance to do this is such a dream come true and to get a chance to share it with so many passionate people in this passionate football city, it just means such a lot.

"I grew up watching the likes of Rob Lee and Nikos Dabizas, who are also here at the dinner, and they inspired me - and I just want to be able to help inspire youngsters now."

goal.com

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Klopp Believes Liverpool Can Still Win The League

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp still believes The Reds can lift the Premier League title at the end of the season despite their position on the log. Klopp who is currently in South Africa took part in a fans' question and answer session where he said "there are two teams who are owned by a Country in Europe, so it makes it difficult to win the Champions League. But in England, we can win the Premier League, but we need a bit of luck."

The German is adamant Liverpool can be Champions in May despite picking up 19 points from their first 11 games and falling 12 points behind leaders Manchester City.

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Manchester City lead the chasing pack by eight points but Klopp is unfazed apparently

The Reds have managed to put an early season poor form behind them to put together three straight wins but their overall performance this season have been underwhelming. Telling defeats against Manchester City (5-0) and Tottenham (4-1) have been the major talking points of Liverpool's season so far.

futnsoccer.com

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This Nigerian Club Has Signed A Brazilian Manager

Nigerian Professional football league, NPFL club Abia warriors have announced that they have hired Brazilian Rafael Everton as their new manager.

The Eastern club is yet to divulge much about their new employee for now but the club has high hopes and big dreams for next season.

Nigeria v Algeria Has A New Date

Everton has previously been in charge of FC Ifeanyi Ubah and he helped them win the last Federation Cup. FC Naija.

Abia Warriors only won promotion to the top flight in 2013 after being founded 10 years earlier.

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Tottenham Manager Is Furious At Guardiola's Disrespectful Comments

Tottenham and Manchester City aren't exactly direct rivals but Pep Guardiola's comments about Spurs and Harry Kane did sit very well with Mauricio Pochettino and the Argentine has decided to voice his displeasure.

Guardiola referred to Tottenham as the 'Harry Kane Team' prior to the International break and Pochettino saw those comments as 'disrespectful' despite the Man City boss also considering Spurs legitimate title contenders alongside the citizens, Chelsea and Manchester United (no Liverpool ??).

Well Pochettino did not hesitate to make his unhappiness known in a pre-match interview ahead of the clash against Bournemouth.

"It was funny when I heard him the other day because I know Pep very well. When it's exciting after an amazing victory against Chelsea, sometimes (he) can struggle to keep his position and be a gentleman.

Pochettino went on "It didn't affect me but it's very disrespectful for many people and it's difficult to understand because he was part of the big success at Barcelona with Messi at his best. I always said it was Barcelona or Pep Guardiola.

"I think everyone deserves to be recognized as part of the success of the team.But I think many people took those words very disrespectful for the club, and for many players here I think it's a strange situation. Personally I didn't take it in a bad way. It wasn't disrespectful for myself. Only I express my feeling that, for a lot of people, it wasn't necessary to say.

"But I think we need to move on. For me, Harry Kane is one of the best strikers -  it doesn't change anything. And it's important that our position is clear, to be calm and not to be aggressive with our opponents. Our responsibility is massive. But I think it's important to respect every single opinion.

"I think everyone knows how Tottenham is, how Manchester City, how Barcelona, how Argentina is. It is a collective sport. Everyone needs to do his job. Of course sometimes it's difficult, because in the media the temptation is to be focused on some players." Pochettino concluded.

Tottenham who are yet to win at their makeshift home go into the game against AFC Bournemouth placed third, five points behind the leading Manchester clubs.

NBC

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Former Manchester United Manager Is Eyeing This National Team

Gordon Strachan's failure to deliver Scotland a World Cup Berth has officially put a time frame on the Scot's stint as Scotland manager, the Scottish football association (SFA) on Thursday took a unanimous decision to not extend Strachan's contract and this implies that the Scottish National team will have a new manager before the end of the year.

Michael O'Neill and Derek McInnes are early favourites to replace Strachan. The 60 year old's inability to deliver the World Cup signaled the end of his tenure which began in 2013. Strachan has been in charge of three qualifying campaigns and the SFA had a key agreement that most countries would not give their manager a third qualifying campaign as was the case for Strachan.

The Guardian reports that Malky Mackay will be in charge of Scotland when they play a high profile friendly game in November but he (Mackay) is not a candidate to Succeed Strachan. Northern Ireland's Michael O'Neill qualified the Country for the Euros last year and has now led Northern Ireland to a play-off place and will be first choice for the SFA.

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O'Neill Is Close To Leading Northern Ireland To Their First World Cup In 31 Years

O'Neill who turned down Sunderland in the summer will surely be a target for many British clubs if he manages to get Northern Ireland to a second major tournament in two years, this will surely make the 46 year old a wanted commodity and here's where the David Moyes Factor comes in.

David Moyes
Moyes was listed as the early bookmakers' favourites to succeed Strachan and is thought to be keen on the prospect of managing his Country but the SFA is worried about the direction of Moyes' career since he left Everton.

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Moyes has had disappointing spells at Manchester United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland since leaving Everton in 2013

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Neymar Finally Reacts To Argentina's World Cup Qualification

Neymar has shown that there is no love lost between himself and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, while Argentina needed to win Ecuador in Quito on the final day of the CONMEBOL qualifiers they required Brazil to do them the favour of beating South American champions Chile.

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A Lionel Messi Hat-trick helped Argentina Squeeze Into Russia

Brazil were 3-0 victors on the night against the continental champions and that result gave life to Lionel Messi's exploits for the alibiceleste in the Ecuadorian capital. The emotions exhibited by the Argentine team after the victory only showed how close the 2014 finalists were close to missing out on next year's World Cup. 

Messi Fires Argentina To Russia

After Brazil's game v.Chile Journalists asked Neymar if he was happy Argentina made it through to the World Cup and the 25-year-old replied "yes, very happy" and with a huge smile. There's a huge rivalry between Brazil and Argentina in football but it seems Neymar put his personal ties with Messi first as Brazil played professionally. The selecao finished the qualifiers with a 10-point lead on top of the log table.

There were talks and rumours of bad blood when Neymar seemingly took a €222 million step to PSG all in a bid to be away from Messi's 'shadow', the Brazilian captain repeatedly shutdown those talks but after the final South American qualifying round there's little or nothing to show that Neymar has a problem with Messi. In Neymar's absence Barcelona has made a 100% start to life in the Spanish league this season while Neymar who now has the company of Edinson Cavani and co. has scored eight goals in as many games.

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Hamsik Close To Breaking This Maradona's Record At Napoli

Napoli captain Marek Hamsik is on the verge of equaling Diego Maradona's goalscoring record at the club. There were no games in the top European leagues in the past weekend but club football returns on Friday and Hamsik will have the chance to equal and/or break the record against AS Roma on Saturday.

Napoli have won all of their seven games in the Serie A this season and have scored 25 goals in the process. A trip to Rome to play AS Roma on Saturday will represent the biggest challenge yet for the Naples outfit in the 2017/18 season.

Marek Hamsik is one goal shy (114) of equalling Diego Maradona's record (115) of all-time goalscorer for Napoli. #KickOff pic.twitter.com/pAr6MDUoUy

— Kick Off (@KickOffMagazine) October 2, 2017

The Slovakian attacking midfielder lags the legendary Maradona by just one goal.

Napoli top the Serie A log  with 21pts, two points more than Juventus and Inter who are tied on 19pts, but the Partenopei club has played mostly bottom half clubs in the league such as Benevento, Verona, Atalanta, Bologna, SPAL 2013 and Cagliari. AS Roma who play host have played a game less than Napoli but have managed five wins out of six.

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The 30-year-old is one goal short of equaling Maradona's record for Napoli (115) between 1984 and 1991.

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Nigeria Has A New Date For The Game Against Algeria

The Algerian Football Association FAF has announced a new date for their World Cup qualifier against Nigeria next month . Algeria has chosen November 10. as the new date and the game will be held in Constantine, 400Km east of Capital city Algiers, this is according to FC Naija.

The kick-off is slated for 8:30 pm local time , FAF has said that the changes were made so as to enable the Algerian football body arrange for a friendly game within the  FIFA-friendly window.

The game between Nigeria and Algeria is a dead-rubber as Nigeria have already taken the only available World Cup slot in Group B after their 1-0 win over the Chipolopolos of Zambia last week in Uyo,Nigeria.

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Alex Iwobi's 73 minute strike was enough to qualify the Super Eagles for their third consecutive World Cup, their sixth overall since making their debut in the competition in 1994 in USA. Egypt is the only other African nation to have qualified (their first finals appearance since 1990).

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Liverpool winger Mohammed Salah helped Egypt To A First World Cup Appearance in 28 years.

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N'golo Kante Could Miss Over 5 Games... .Worse Than First Feared

Chelsea midfielder suffered a hamstring injury while on International duty. It was in France's World Qualifier that Kante sustained the injury that may rule him out for at least five games. Kante was substituted in the 34th against Bulgaria.

Early predictions put the return date of Kante to 2-3 weeks but Kante will certainly be out of Chelsea's visit to Crystal Palace on Saturday. The former Leicester City player is now being assessed by Chelsea medics after returning form International duty.

The 26 year old who was in the starting line up in 35 out of 38 league games as Chelsea became champions last term with a record number of wins is certainly going to be on the sidelines for a while although the club doctors are yet to put a time frame on Kante's absence.

Chelsea play Italian club AS Roma twice in October and the English side are bracing themselves to be without their diminutive midfield enforcer for both games. Chelsea also play Crystal Palace (A) , Watford (H) and Bournemouth (A) in the league before the end October.

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Kante's  last appearance for Chelsea was in the loss to Manchester City on September 30


Antonio  Conte will have to make do with Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas in Kante's absence as Danny Drinkwater is also sidelined and is yet to feature for Chelsea after his £35 million move from Leicester City.

It's not all doom and gloom for Chelsea, David Luiz is available for selection after suspension and is in contention for selection and will go head-to-head with Andreas Christensen after the Danish defender has put in a string of impressive performances. Eden Hazard, Michy Batshuayi and Pedro Rodriguez are all unscathed after International duties and can form an attacking troika at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

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Mourinho Has A Few Words Concerning Fellaini And Lukaku Injuries

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has disagreed with various suggestions that the injury concerns surrounding Romelu Lukaku and Maroune Fellaini will have a bearing on Saturday's trip to Anfield. Lukaku struggled with an ankle injury heading into the International break and missed the game against Bosnia on Saturday.

The 24-year-old however made a second half cameo appearance in the final qualifying game on Tuesday evening and managed to get on the scoresheet as Belgium ran out 4-0 winners against Cyprus.

Mourinho took a sly dig at Belgium as he told Sky Sports "It's a very important match for them (Belgium) , they need the match to qualify so I just wait". C'mon Jose we all know Belgium qualified a month ago.

Mourinho said of Lukaku's injury concern "if he doesn't play, I will play another one". While Lukaku has a decent chance of featuring against Liverpool, Fellaini will surely miss the encounter at Anfield but Mourinho believes the club cannot use injuries as an excuse.

"we don't cry over injuries, we may cry about the process that leads to the injuries, we just trust the players that are going to help."

The red devils manager claims no game is more important than the other and his preparations will not change because of the trip to Liverpool.

"It is good to prepare without any added pressure or emotion, I have to act in a professional way, there are not any matches that are more important than the others.

It would not be the right example to my players to prepare for Liverpool in a different way to say Huddersfield."

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THEY MADE IT : Messi's Three Goals Sends Argentina To Russia

On Tuesday night, just before the final qualifying round Argentina's World Cup hopes were in tatters as the two-time champions faced the reality of missing out of  next year's World Cup, but as a nation watched nervously a certain no.10 carried the hopes of a nation on his back without pain.

One of the most tension filled nights in South American football saw six teams all in contention to qualify for the tournament next year. For Argentina The venue for the last game of the CONMEBOL qualifiers did not hold much good tidings for them in the past, the altitude of Quito the Ecuadorian capital was high and this was a place where Argentina had won just once.

It was also in the minds of the 43 million Argentines that their team had not scored a single goal from open play since November 2016 but the diminutive captain showed his class not for the first time but perhaps the most important time yet.

Watch The Messi Goals  via Goal.

The moment Lionel Messi made a nation believe again #ARG pic.twitter.com/vlfGB9bAYE

— Goal (@goal) October 10, 2017

Lionel Messi... The best player in history? pic.twitter.com/ih1MxALBHg

— Goal (@goal) October 10, 2017

Messi is simply willing Argentina to the World Cup! pic.twitter.com/lG4VSSW80j

— Goal (@goal) October 11, 2017

While Messi carried his team on the night, the albiceleste needed a massive help from their old foe Brazil. In the World of football Brazil and Argentina do not see eye to eye but the results went Argentina's way on the night and edged Chile out on goal difference.

The Final Standings

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See How The Teams In The Playoffs Could Be Paired

World Cup qualifications in most continents came to a conclusion on Tuesday night. In Europe 8 out of the 9 teams that finished in second place will enter for the playoff draws to be held next week and the playoffs will be played during the International break in November.

On Tuesday evening France and Portugal inched past the qualification line with victory over Belarus and Switzerland respectively. 2014 third placed team Netherlands will not be in Russia after failing to beat Sweden with the required amount of goals and in Group H Greece grabbed second place after demolishing Gibraltar thereby quenching all hopes for Bosnia.

The Eight Teams That Made It To The Draws Are

Switzerland
Denmark
Italy
Croatia
Northern Ireland
Sweden
Greece
Republic Of Ireland

Slovenia and Slovakia are both tied on 18 points in Group F miss out on the Playoffs. The eight teams will be split into two groups of four based on their FIFA rankings - the highest 4 teams on FIFA's list will be in one pot and the lowest ranked 4 will be in another pot.

POT1

Switzerland, Italy, Denmark and Croatia

POT2

Sweden, Greece, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

The draws will be held on the 17th of October and the playoff  first leg will be played on November 9-11 and the second legs will be played across November 12-14.

Metro

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Clean Up : McClean's Strike Sinks Wales

Martin O'Neill's Ireland team earned themselves a place in next week's draw for the World Cup Play-offs after a dramatic second half goal from West Bromwich Albion winger James McClean helped the visitors to all three points.

Jeff Hendrick harried captain Ashley Williams into a mistake and delivered the ball to McClean who finished in the 57th minute. The result in Serbia meant that Wales had to finish the game with a win as the Serbs narrowly inched passed Georgia at home, Chris Coleman's Wales suddenly and urgently needed to score two goals but their assault on the Irish defence lacked the required amount of conviction.

O'Neill had Daryl Murphy alone in attack in the first period but that was a tactic that hardly delivered, in the end the 4,000+ Irish fans can make the short journey home knowing that their team still stands a chance for Russia 2018.

In tomorrow's games three points will be enough for Greece to make the playoffs as they host Gibraltar in Group H's final round of games whereas Bosnia who travel to Estonia will need a win and expect Greece to slip up against Gibraltar - isn't that unlikely?

Group A

In Group A 1998 winners France will need a win against Belarus to seal automatic qualification, a draw will do if Sweden draw at Holland and a loss will do if Sweden lose at Holland. Sweden have their work cut out for them, a draw against Holland will guarantee at least a play-off spot, but if Belarus pull of the unthinkable and beat France a draw will see Sweden win the group on goal difference. Holland also have a very straightforward path to Russia but they will have to beat Sweden by seven clear goals.

Group B

In Group B the only teams still in the race for Russia 2018 are Portugal and Switzerland. They play each other tomorrow in Portugal in a winner takes all affair. Portugal need a win and nothing less but a draw will do for Xhedran Shaqiri and co.

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Ryan Giggs Blasts Two England Stars

Former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has picked on two England stars for failing to replicate their club form for Country. Kyle Walker endured a lot of sticks after England's game v. Slovenia on Thursday whereas Dele Alli was mostly anonymous in the game against Lithuania.

The likes of Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane have brought their club form to the National team but Ryan Giggs claims numerous England players have underperformed.

"It's disappointing when you fall underneath the quality you have shown at your club which these England players have." Giggs told ITV.

"You see Kyle Walker, Dele Alli playing well for their clubs. But when they play for their Country you don't see the same quality.

"The character and excitement isn't there from when they play for their clubs."

England needed a scrappy 1-0 win against Slovenia on Thursday evening to help them qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The England manager Gareth Southgate after the game stated that there are no 'big names' in the team, three days later the Three Lions also played out another flat 1-0 win at Lithuania.

In England's workmanlike win against Slovenia the fans entertained themselves and were visibly disappointed with the team. The mood among the England fans suggests the spark is gone (at least for now).

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Germany Set New World Cup Qualification Record

Germany set a new record in European World Cup Qualifying as they demolished Azerbaijan 5-1 in Germany. Joachim Low's men who were already assured of a place in Russia after overcoming Northern Ireland on Thursday finished off Group C with a 100% record and a +39 goal difference.

The Diemannschaft bettered Spain's achievement in the 2010 World Cup qualification where they also won all 10 qualifying games but with a goal difference of +23. There's more spice to Germany's qualification - 21 different players scored in the qualifiers more than any nation.

Watch Emre Can's first goal for Germany v Azerbaijan.

Emre Can first ever goal for Germany, take a bow son!👏👏🔴🔴 pic.twitter.com/UB3t9qla2V

— Maxi Generossi (@MaxiGenerossi) October 8, 2017

The Players Who Scored For Germany Are

Thomas Muller - 3, Joshua Kimmich - 2, Julian Draxler -3 , Sami Khedira - 2, Mario Gomez - 2, Sando Wagner - 2, Leon Goretzka - 2, Timo Werner - 3, Sebastian Rudy, Antonio Rudiger, Toni Kroos, Serge Gnarby, Jonas Hector, Kevin Volland, Andre Schurrle, Amin Younes, Shkodran Mustafi, Julian Brandt, Matt Hummels, Mesut Ozil and Emre Can.

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Jose Mourinho Close To Offering This Player A Huge Pay Rise

Manchester United are prepared to offer a pay rise to their young striker Marcus Rashford at the end of the month when he turns 20. It is believed according to The Sun that the club wanted to monitor the teenager's progress before handing him an improved pay cheque.

Arsene Wenger Eyes Manchester United's Attacker As Sanchez Replacement

The 19 year old's weekly wage of £50,000 before bonuses is a figure that falls well below the salary scale at Manchester United. The club is now prepared to give their former youth player a significant increase in his earnings.

Marcus Rashford made his debut in a Europa League game against Danish club midtjylland in February 2016.

The teenager has began the new season in fine form netting six goals in 14 appearances for Club and Country, Rashford's form is surely a contributing factor that has helped the Red devils to 19 points out of a possible 21.

Manchester United Midfielder Ruled Out For A Couple Of Weeks

Marcus Rashford and Manchester United travel to Anfield to face old enemy Liverpool when the Premier League returns on the 14th of October.

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Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini Out For Two Weeks

Manchester United's midfielder Marouane Fellaini picked up an injury in Belgium's win away to Bosnia on Saturday. The 29 year old had to be substituted in the 29th minute as Belgium edged Bosnia in a 7-goal thriller.

Fellaini will now miss the games against arch-rivals Liverpool next Saturday, Benfica on Wednesday and Huddersfield the following weekend. This news will come as a big blow to Manchester United who already are without their record signing Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick who Is nursing a knock.

Fellaini is a much maligned player among the Manchester United faithful but a string of impressive performances after Pogba's injury saw him nominated for player of the month award for September at the club.

⚽ @Fellaini is out for a couple of weeks & #BELCYP. Scan ➡ left knee injury (MCL sprain). Get well soon Marouane ! #RoadtoRussia pic.twitter.com/jozfljXOCl

— BelgianRedDevils (@BelRedDevils) October 8, 2017

The Belgium national team's twitter handle broke the news and we can imagine much to the chagrin of Jose Mourinho.



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Nigeria's Gunner Fires The Super Eagles To Russia 2018

The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Saturday qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia next year. The Nigerians needed all three points to seal passage into the World Cup Finals and a hard-fought 1-0 was enough for the men on green.

A first half saw no real chance from either side but it was the visitors who managed to put the ball in the Nigerian net only for the offside flag to spare the home side. The major sight in the game was the frequency at which both sides gave away possession.

A Nigerian team that boasted the likes of Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina on the bench could not break down a resolute Zambian team who were  determined to leave Uyo with at least a point.

Arsenal's attacking midfielder Alex Iwobi came off the bench to sweep home Abdullahi Shehu's low cross in the 73rd minute. A goal which was just enough to seal a 6th World Cup qualification for Nigeria.

Nigeria Is The First African Country to qualify for the World Cup.

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