African Players in Europe: West Africans Help Plymouth Stun Liverpool

Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Plymouth Argyle v Liverpool - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - February 9, 2025 Plymouth Argyle's Muhamed Tijani celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Plymouth Argyle v Liverpool - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - February 9, 2025 Plymouth Argyle's Muhamed Tijani celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
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African Players in Europe: West Africans Help Plymouth Stun Liverpool

Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Plymouth Argyle v Liverpool - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - February 9, 2025 Plymouth Argyle's Muhamed Tijani celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - FA Cup - Fourth Round - Plymouth Argyle v Liverpool - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - February 9, 2025 Plymouth Argyle's Muhamed Tijani celebrates after the match. (Reuters)

Sierra Leone international Mustapha Bundu and Nigerian Muhamed Tijani helped second-tier strugglers Plymouth Argyle stun Premier League leaders Liverpool 1-0 in the FA Cup at the weekend.

Bundu led the Pilgrims attack until replaced by Tijani after 72 minutes of a fourth-round tie settled by a Ryan Hardie penalty early in the second half.

Liverpool had hopes of a Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup quadruple dashed after resting several stars, including prolific scorer and Egypt captain Mohamed Salah.

Here, AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the FA Cup and major European leagues:

MUSTAPHA BUNDU/MUHAMED TIJANI (Plymouth)

Bundu had a penalty appeal rejected and set up a scoring chance for Callum Wright that was not far off target in the southern England port city. Later, Tijani mistimed a diving header that could have doubled the lead.

ANTOINE SEMENYO (Bournemouth)

The Ghana forward's ninth goal this season propelled the Cherries to a 2-0 win at Everton.In the last FA Cup tie at Goodison Park before Everton move to a new stadium next season, Semenyo put Bournemouth ahead with a 23rd-minute penalty awarded after James Tarkowski fouled the 25-year-old. Semenyo, who has scored four times in his last six games, said: "It would be lovely to reach a semi-final where we are playing at Wembley."

MOUCTAR DIAKHABY (Valencia)

The Guinea defender scored his first goal after returning from a severe knee injury as Valencia won 2-0 against Leganes in a relegation dog-fight. Diakhaby blasted home from close range to scored their second and sprinted off in celebration having missed nearly a year before he came back in January. "After everything I've been through, it was very special," said the center-back. "I thought about the moment of the injury, how hard I've worked and my family, who were very affected by it."

FISAYO DELE-BASHIRU (Lazio)

The Nigerian international came off the bench and netted Lazio's final goal in a 5-1 thrashing of Monza as the capital club moved back into the Serie A top four. The 24-year-old is on loan at Lazio from Turkish team Hatayspor.

AHMED HASSAN (Le Havre)

The 31-year-old Egypt forward scored his first goal for Le Havre in their shock 2-1 win at Lille, a result which lifted the struggling side off the bottom of Ligue 1. Hassan, also known simply as "Kouka", joined Le Havre during the January transfer window until the end of the season, having previously been at Rio Ave in Portugal.

PATRICK ZABI (Reims)

The tall 18-year-old Ivorian midfielder, whose skills on the pitches of Abidjan earned him the nickname "Magic", moved to Reims in early January. Destined to play for the reserve team in the French lower leagues, he was instead handed a Ligue 1 debut off the bench against Nantes last weekend, and also appeared in a French Cup tie in midweek. Zabi again came off the bench for Reims late on against Lyon on Sunday, only to be sent off in a 4-0 defeat for his team.



Report: France’s Ekitike Out of World Cup with Ruptured Achilles

 Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
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Report: France’s Ekitike Out of World Cup with Ruptured Achilles

 Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)

France forward Hugo Ekitike suffered a ruptured Achilles during Liverpool's Champions League clash against Paris St Germain on Tuesday and will miss the World Cup, French newspapers Le Parisien ‌and L'Equipe ‌reported on Wednesday.

The ‌23-year-old ⁠pointed to his ⁠Achilles tendon as medical staff attended to him before he was carried off on a stretcher at Anfield, ⁠where Liverpool lost ‌2-0 ‌in their quarter-final second leg, ‌exiting the competition with ‌a 4-0 aggregate defeat.

The French football federation (FFF) was not immediately available for ‌comment.

Ekitike has 17 goals in all competitions this ⁠season ⁠since Liverpool signed him from Eintracht Frankfurt for 69 million pounds ($93.58 million) in July.

The World Cup is being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11-July 19.


Asia Cup Draw Set for May 9 in Saudi Arabia

A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)
A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)
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Asia Cup Draw Set for May 9 in Saudi Arabia

A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)
A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)

The draw for the 2027 Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia next month, Asian football officials said on Wednesday, after being postponed when the Middle East war broke out.

The draw was supposed to take place on April 11 in Riyadh, but the event was moved "to ensure the full participation of all key stakeholders and participating member associations", the Asian Football Confederation said.

It will now be held on May 9 at the historic At-Turaif District in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Kuala Lumpur-based federation said.

The 19th edition of the Asian Cup is scheduled to take place from January 7 to February 5 next year, and 23 out of 24 participating nations have been confirmed.

The final berth is to be decided with a Group B tie between Lebanon and Yemen rescheduled to June 4, the AFC said.

Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar are the host cities.

The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four.


Arsenal Faces Pivotal Week with Key Games in the Champions League and Premier League

 Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)
Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)
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Arsenal Faces Pivotal Week with Key Games in the Champions League and Premier League

 Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)
Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)

A crucial week for Arsenal starts Wednesday night against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Mikel Arteta's team faces two huge games in its pursuit of a Premier League and Champions League double this season.

Leading 1-0 against Lisbon after the first leg in Portugal last week, Arsenal is closing in on a place in the semi-finals for the second successive year. Then on Sunday it faces Manchester City in a top two showdown in the Premier League.

Arteta said there was “zero fear” ahead of a potentially pivotal few days.

“We are in April, we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. Let’s confront it, let’s go for it by really putting absolutely everything into it,” he said.

Arsenal's form has slumped in recent weeks — losing the English League Cup final against City and then being dumped out of the FA Cup by second division Southampton. Last weekend it was beaten at home in the league by Bournemouth, allowing City to close the gap at the top of the standings to six points with a game in hand.

For now, the focus is on the Champions League, a trophy Arsenal has never won.

“I said to the players, ‘guys, we are trying to do something that hasn’t been done in the history of the club in 140 years. So that tells you the difficulty of what you are doing,’” Arteta said.

Declan Rice faced a late fitness test after missing practice on Tuesday. Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were also doubtful starters.

Arsenal or Lisbon will face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals after the Spanish club beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate.