Nigeria made a winning start, Zimbabwe created an upset, and South Africa and Zambia were held at home as the first matchday of CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifying continued Saturday. Cape Verde Islands scored seven goals and Angola four against weak rivals in other games as the contest to find 15 teams for the 2017 finals in Gabon unfolded. The Eagles of Nigeria celebrate their victory against Chad A disastrous start to the last qualifying competition robbed then defending champions Nigeria of a place in the 2015 tournament won by Côte d'Ivoire . But the Super Eagles patiently wore down dogged minnows Chad in northern city Kaduna for a 2-0 Group G victory. Gbolahan Salami broke the deadlock on 63 minutes and Odion Ighalo converted a penalty 10 minutes from time to complete a routine victory. Zimbabwe , who missed a flight to Malawi and travelled by bus via...
Benfica clinched their second successive Portuguese Liga title with a goalless draw at Guimaraes as their only challengers Porto were also held. Benfica players celebrate winning the league Benfica went into the penultimate round of games with a three-point lead - and that is where they stayed, meaning their superior head-to-head record against Porto guaranteed them the trophy. The crucial goal came in the event from Belenenses substitute Tiago Caeiro, who cancelled out Jackson Martinez's strike to earn his side a 1-1 draw and end Porto's hopes of overhauling the Eagles. Benfica chairman Luis Filipe Vieira told his club's official website: "We are all happy. All Benfica are happy and this title is dedicated to all of them." At the other end of the table, three of the four relegation places are now settled after Gil Vicente and Arouca followed Penafiel in succumbing to the drop. Penafiel were already down but took Gil Vicente with them than...
Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker has said Alexis Sanchez is "definitely" staying at the club next season. Sanchez's future remains unclear as he is set to enter the last year of his contract, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reiterated on Tuesday that he will not sell the Chile international. And Mertesacker, who is retiring next season to take charge of Arsenal's academy, told Fox Sports in Australia that he is expecting to line up alongside Sanchez in his final year as a player. When asked if Sanchez is staying at Arsenal, Mertesacker said: "Yes, definitely. I think [Sanchez] was impressive in the Confederations Cup. He's now on holiday so it's quiet in terms of conversations. But he's a warrior on the pitch. "I think he wants to come back as quickly as possible -- he hates holidays, he hates to calm down. I'm looking forward to playing alongside him in my last season and he thinks the same." Arsenal are...
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