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African Players in Europe: Wissa Wonder Goal for Brentford 

Football - Premier League - Brentford v Chelsea - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - March 2, 2024 Brentford's Yoane Wissa scores their second goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Brentford v Chelsea - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - March 2, 2024 Brentford's Yoane Wissa scores their second goal. (Reuters)
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African Players in Europe: Wissa Wonder Goal for Brentford 

Football - Premier League - Brentford v Chelsea - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - March 2, 2024 Brentford's Yoane Wissa scores their second goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Brentford v Chelsea - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - March 2, 2024 Brentford's Yoane Wissa scores their second goal. (Reuters)

A stunning goal by Democratic Republic of Congo forward Yoane Wissa helped Premier League strugglers Brentford draw 2-2 with Chelsea in a London derby at the weekend.

The 27-year-old acrobatically hooked a bicycle kick past goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic into the roof of the net midway through the second half to put the home side 2-1 ahead.

But French international Axel Disasi equalized to leave Brentford six points above the relegation zone with 11 rounds remaining.

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

ENGLAND

Yoane Wissa (Brentford)

Chelsea scored first through Senegalese Nicolas Jackson, who atoned for an earlier missed opportunity by giving the visitors a 1-0 half-time lead. After Dane Mads Roerslev levelled, Wissa struck on 68 minutes for the Bees. The memory of his breathtaking sixth goal this season will linger for all who saw it at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)

The Ghana midfielder scored his fifth goal this season to wrap up a 2-0 win at struggling Burnley. Semenyo struck in the 88th minute, breaking down the right flank and curling his shot inside the corner with unerring precision. His goal doubled Bournemouth's lead and ensured they would win for the first time in the league in 2024.

SPAIN

Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla)

Morocco 2022 World Cup star En-Nesyri scored twice within 13 minutes of the kick-off for bottom-half Sevilla in a 3-2 La Liga win over seventh-placed Real Sociedad. The goals took his season tally to nine -- seven less than chart-topper Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid.

Munir El Haddadi (Las Palmas)

Spain-born Moroccan international El Haddadi scored the last goal in a 3-3 thriller between Getafe and Las Palmas, who twice trailed by two goals. El Haddadi levelled on 57 minutes in the mid-table clash.

GERMANY

Serhou Guirassy (Stuttgart)

The Guinea international lifted his Bundesliga season goal tally to 20 by scoring twice for third-placed Stuttgart in a 3-2 win at bottom-half Wolfsburg. He is second in the Golden Boot race behind England star Harry Kane, who has netted 27 times for Bayern Munich.

FRANCE

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Marseille)

Aubameyang, the 2015 African Footballer of the Year, triggered a second-half goal rush by sixth-placed Marseille in a 5-1 triumph at bottom club Clermont. After the losers cancelled the half-time lead Senegal international Iliman Ndiaye gave the visitors, the former Gabon captain netted to put Marseille in front a second time.

Terem Moffi (Nice)

Moffi, who was in the Nigeria squad that finished runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations won by hosts Ivory Coast last month, gave fifth-placed Nice an early lead at mid-table Toulouse. His goal was in vain, however, as the home side hit back in the second half to finish 2-1 winners.

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Sports

De la Fuente: Spain's Carvajal in Race to Make World Cup Squad

FILE - Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal plays the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Osasuna and Real Madrid in Pamplona, Spain, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File)
FILE - Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal plays the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Osasuna and Real Madrid in Pamplona, Spain, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File)
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De la Fuente: Spain's Carvajal in Race to Make World Cup Squad

FILE - Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal plays the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Osasuna and Real Madrid in Pamplona, Spain, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File)
FILE - Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal plays the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Osasuna and Real Madrid in Pamplona, Spain, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses, File)

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has not ruled Dani Carvajal out of his World Cup squad but said the right back must prove his fitness and form after the Real Madrid captain suffered a right foot injury in training last week.

"Carvajal is a very important figure in our dressing room," De la Fuente told reporters on ⁠Wednesday.

"I actually spoke ⁠with him yesterday, so I’m aware of what’s going on. He doesn’t have a specific injury, nothing serious, but he needs time to get back to his usual level.

"We’ll ⁠see in the remaining matches whether he truly gets the opportunity and delivers the performances."

According to Reuters, De la Fuente added that Carvajal, who made just one appearance for Spain in 2025, would understand if he was left out of the squad for the World Cup, which is being held in the United ⁠States, ⁠Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

Carvajal, 34, is approaching the final weeks of his contract with Real and has struggled for game-time this season amid competition from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Spain begin their World Cup campaign against Cape Verde on June 15 and also face Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H.

Sports

Dortmund Defender Suele to Retire at End of Season

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Quarter Final - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 5, 2025 Borussia Dortmund's Niklas Sule during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Quarter Final - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 5, 2025 Borussia Dortmund's Niklas Sule during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
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Dortmund Defender Suele to Retire at End of Season

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Quarter Final - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 5, 2025 Borussia Dortmund's Niklas Sule during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Quarter Final - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 5, 2025 Borussia Dortmund's Niklas Sule during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Suele will retire at the end of the season, the 30-year-old said on Thursday.

Suele, capped 49 times by Germany, began his career at TSG Hoffenheim before joining Bayern Munich in 2017, where he won five league titles as well as the Champions League in 2020. He moved ⁠to Dortmund in 2022.

In ⁠an appearance on the Spielmacher podcast on Thursday, Suele said he made the decision to hang up his boots after injuring his knee during a ⁠match against Hoffenheim last month.

“When I went for an MRI the next day and received the good news (that it wasn’t a cruciate ligament tear after all), it was 1,000% clear to me that it was over," Reuters quoted Suele as saying.

"I couldn’t imagine anything worse than looking forward to ⁠life – ⁠being independent, going on holiday, spending time with my children – only to then have to come to terms with my third cruciate ligament tear."

Dortmund, second in the standings, host Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday before finishing their league campaign with a trip to Werder Bremen on May 16.

Sports

Roma's Champions League Return Back on as Milan, Juve Wobble

Donyell Malen has scored 12 times for Roma since signing from Aston Villa. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP/File
Donyell Malen has scored 12 times for Roma since signing from Aston Villa. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP/File
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Roma's Champions League Return Back on as Milan, Juve Wobble

Donyell Malen has scored 12 times for Roma since signing from Aston Villa. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP/File
Donyell Malen has scored 12 times for Roma since signing from Aston Villa. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP/File

Roma have a return to the Champions League firmly within their sights ahead of Sunday's trip to Parma as both Juventus and AC Milan's hope's of finishing in Serie A's top four are threatened by the resurgent capital club.

A hammering by new champions Inter Milan a month ago seemed to signal the end of Roma's hopes of ending a long absence from Europe's top club competition.

But 10 points from their subsequent four matches have taken Roma to within one point of fourth-placed Juventus, with Milan only two further points ahead in third, said AFP.

"We're going well, but we know that we cannot make any mistakes if we're going to have any chance of making the Champions League," coach Gian Piero Gasperini said after last weekend's thumping of Fiorentina.

"We've got three matches that we have to get right and hope that others don't."

Roma have found form at just the right time, and Gasperini has solidified his position at the helm after a battle with Claudio Ranieri seemed to have put his job at risk.

Ranieri was dismissed from his role as senior advisor to Roma's billionaire American owners a fortnight ago, after a spat between him and Gasperini boiled over in public just before the 3-0 thumping of Pisa which began this recent hot run of form.

The Friedkin family has decided to put their faith in Gasperini, who is liked by fans even after his row with local boy and lifelong Roma fan Ranieri, in the hope he can break the club back into the Champions League.

Roma haven't played in Europe's top club competition since being knocked out by Porto in the last 16 seven years ago but their prospects of doing so are looking up with three matches remaining this season.

Also playing into Roma's hands is how Milan's form has fallen off a cliff, Massimiliano Allegri's team picking up just seven points since beating Inter two months ago.

That derby win looked to have reopened the league title race but Milan have scored just once in five matches and are now looking over their shoulders at Roma, with Como also only three points off the top four.

Making things worse for Milan, who have Atalanta at the San Siro on Sunday night, is midfield lynchpin Luka Modric missing the rest of the season with a cheekbone fracture, and his absence was keenly felt at Sassuolo last weekend.

Parma have nothing to play for and Roma's final opponents Verona are already relegated, but sandwiched between those two fixtures is the Rome derby, with Lazio always keen to give their neighbors a bloody nose.

Player to watch: Donyell Malen

With 12 goals since arriving on loan from Aston Villa in January, Malen has been the star of Gasperini's Roma team in the second half of the season.

The Netherlands striker has become a key player and has provided cut and thrust to Roma's attacking in a similar way to some of the best players of Gasperini's nine hugely successful years at Atalanta, like Ademola Lookman or Alejandro Gomez.