Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches

Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches
TT

Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches

Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches

Algeria extended an unbeaten run to 19 matches with a 1-0 victory over Nigeria Friday in an international friendly between two of the top five ranked African countries.

In another high-profile warm-up match behind closed doors ahead of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying next month, Morocco triumphed 3-1 over a depleted Senegal.

Burkina Faso, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania and Tunisia also won while 2021 Cup of Nations hosts Cameroon drew 0-0 against Japan.

Cup of Nations title-holders Algeria needed less than six minutes to score the goal in the Austrian town of Sankt Veit an der Glan that sank Nigeria in a rematch of the 2019 semi-final at the flagship African competition.

Center-back Ramy Bensebaini ventured forward for a corner and after heading the ball downward, poked it into the net.

Nigeria gave a debut to Frankfurt-born Kevin Akpoguma who, like Bensebaini, plays in the Bundesliga, and represented Germany at under-age level before switching his allegiance.

The defender is the latest of many Europe-born footballers to represent the African country where parents or grandparents come from.

Algeria last lost in October 2018 away to Benin and now move to the Netherlands for a friendly against Mexico on Tuesday.

Senegal, the top ranked African national team ahead of Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria and Morocco, suffered a series of major withdrawals from the squad.

Liverpool forward and 2019 African Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane tested positive for Covid-19 and injuries ruled out goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

So a challenging task in Rabat for the Senegalese became that much harder and they trailed by three goals before Ismaila Sarr converted an 88th-minute penalty.

Selim Amallah put the Moroccans ahead after 10 minutes and Youssef en Nesyri and Youssef el Arabi added to the scoresheet in the second half.

On Tuesday, Morocco host a Democratic Republic of Congo team that will be smarting from a 3-0 drubbing by Burkina Faso in Moroccan city El Jadida while Senegal entertain Mauritania.

The Mauritanians will travel south to neighboring Senegal boosted by a 2-1 win over Sierra Leone in Nouakchott, where Hemeya Tanjy fired in the 79th-minute winner.

Mali shrugged off losing a number of players to injuries and positive coronavirus tests to wallop Ghana 3-0 in the Turkish resort city of Antalya.

Hamari Traore put the Malians ahead inside three minutes and El Bilal Toure and Amadou Haidara netted early and late in the second half.

Tunisia were another nation to triumph 3-0 with all the goals against Sudan in Rades near Tunis coming during the first half.

France-based captain Wahbi Khazri was involved in all the goals, scored by Seifedine Khaoui, Ali Maaloul and Anis Ben Slimane.

In other friendlies, the Gambia edged Congo 1-0 in Portugal through an Assan Ceesay goal and a brilliant run and fierce shot from Cliff Nyakeya helped Kenya beat Zambia 2-1 in Nairobi.

The coronavirus sidelined African national teams from last November until late September when Sudan won two friendlies against Chad.



Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
TT

Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)

Lindsey Vonn had surgery on a fracture of her left leg following the American's heavy fall in the Winter Olympics downhill, the hospital said in a statement given to Italian media on Sunday.

"In the afternoon, (Vonn) underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize a fracture of the left leg," the Ca' Foncello hospital in Treviso said.

Vonn, 41, was flown to Treviso after she was strapped into a medical stretcher and winched off the sunlit Olimpia delle Tofane piste in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Vonn, whose battle to reach the start line despite the serious injury to her left knee dominated the opening days of the Milano Cortina Olympics, saw her unlikely quest halted in screaming agony on the snow.

Wearing bib number 13 and with a brace on the left knee she ⁠injured in a crash at Crans Montana on January 30, Vonn looked pumped up at the start gate.

She tapped her ski poles before setting off in typically aggressive fashion down one of her favorite pistes on a mountain that has rewarded her in the past.

The 2010 gold medalist, the second most successful female World Cup skier of all time with 84 wins, appeared to clip the fourth gate with her shoulder, losing control and being launched into the air.

She then barreled off the course at high speed before coming to rest in a crumpled heap.

Vonn could be heard screaming on television coverage as fans and teammates gasped in horror before a shocked hush fell on the packed finish area.

She was quickly surrounded by several medics and officials before a yellow Falco 2 ⁠Alpine rescue helicopter arrived and winched her away on an orange stretcher.


Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
TT

Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned anti-Olympics protesters as "enemies of Italy" after violence on the fringes of a demonstration in Milan on Saturday night and sabotage attacks on the national rail network.

The incidents happened on the first full day of competition in the Winter Games that Milan, Italy's financial capital, is hosting with the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Meloni praised the thousands of Italians who she said were working to make the Games run smoothly and present a positive face of Italy.

"Then ⁠there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating 'against the Olympics' and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from departing," she wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

A group of around 100 protesters ⁠threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at police after breaking away from the main body of a demonstration in Milan.

An estimated 10,000 people had taken to the city's streets in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Games.

Police used water cannon to restore order and detained six people.

Also on Saturday, authorities said saboteurs had damaged rail infrastructure near the northern Italian city of Bologna, disrupting train journeys.

Police reported three separate ⁠incidents at different locations, which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed, Intercity and regional services.

No one has claimed responsibility for the damage.

"Once again, solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals," added Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition.

The Italian police have been given new arrest powers after violence last weekend at a protest by the hard-left in the city of Turin, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.


Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026  Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
TT

Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026  Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Liverpool's new signing Jeremy Jacquet suffered a "serious" shoulder injury while playing for Rennes in their 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat at RC Lens on Saturday, casting doubt over the defender’s availability ahead of his summer move to Anfield.

Jacquet fell awkwardly in the second half of the ⁠French league match and appeared in agony as he left the pitch.

"For Jeremy, it's his shoulder, and for Abdelhamid (Ait Boudlal, another Rennes player injured in the ⁠same match) it's muscular," Rennes head coach Habib Beye told reporters after the match.

"We'll have time to see, but it's definitely quite serious for both of them."
Liverpool agreed a 60-million-pound ($80-million) deal for Jacquet on Monday, but the 20-year-old defender will stay with ⁠the French club until the end of the season.

Liverpool, provisionally sixth in the Premier League table, will face Manchester City on Sunday with four defenders - Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley - sidelined due to injuries.