The latest actions in top European leagues continue to defy the odds, with Premier League champions Liverpool plummeting into a historic slump in a humbling 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, which marked their biggest Anfield loss in the Premier League era, plunging them to 11th place.

Achraf Hakimi finally got his hands on the CAF Men's Player of the Year award, becoming the first Moroccan to win the award since Mustapha Hadji in 1998, after making the finals in three consecutive editions and not winning it.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is almost set with the qualifiers, except for the playoffs coming up in March, and 42 of the 48 teams that will compete in the global showpiece have now secured their places.

Cristiano Ronaldo may be one of the best players of all time, but there is no denying that he is not a personality when things are not going his way on the pitch, but this isn't to undermine his greatness; it just highlights his competitive mindset

For the first time since their debut appearance in 1994, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will miss back-to-back FIFA World Cup tournaments after falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the CAF playoff final on Sunday.

Nigeria secured their place in the final of the CAF World Cup qualifiers playoff on Thursday after a commanding extra-time performance against Gabon, while DR Congo joined them in Sunday's final after overcoming Cameroon later in the day.

In international football, goalscoring could be the biggest highlight, because it have not so much games or trophies to spare like the club games, and few achievements better define a player’s legacy than how swiftly they reach the half-century mark.

The most recent games of Nigeria's FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign have held more promise, and that has given rise to the belief that the longer route could bring joy and the ticket to the global showpiece next year.