FIFA has released appointments of officials for the Match days 3 and 4 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying race (Africa series), with Egyptian top official Gehad Grisha and respected Gambian Papa Gassama to take charge of the two potentially –explosive encounters between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

Grisha, full name Gehad Zaghloul Ibrahim Selim Grisha, has been designated to be at the centre for the big clash between the reigning African champions and the three –time African champions in Uyo on Friday, 1st September 2017, to be assisted by Redouane Achik (Moroccan, Assistant Referee 1), Waleed Ahmed Ali (Sudanese, Assistant Referee 2) and Mahmoud Zakaria Mohamed (Egyptian, Fourth Official). Former FIFA referee Felix Onias Tangawarima from Zimbabwe has been assigned as Referee Assessor, with Congolese Jean Médard Kossa as Match Commissioner. The match will start at 5pm Nigeria time at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

For the return leg scheduled for the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaoundé on Monday, 4th September 2017, Papa Bakary Gassama will be at the centre, to be assisted by Jean Claude Birumushahu (Burundian, Assistant Referee 1), Aden Marwa Range (Kenyan, Assistant Referee 2) and Maudo Jallo (Gambian, Fourth Official). Jerome Kelvyn Damon, a former FIFA referee from South Africa, will be Referee Assessor, while Sudanese Osama Ataaelmanan Hassan will be Match Commissioner. The match starts at 6pm Cameroon time.

Source: Vanguard

Alphonse Tchami was accorded a hero’s welcome by the supporters and leaders of Buca juniors, the mythical club of the Argentinean capital, Buenos Aires.

The 46-year-old former Cameroonian striker had defended the colors of Boca juniors in two sports seasons, precisely between 1995 and 1997, with a record of 11 goals in 48 games. Beyond this record, the fans remember his decisive goals scored during high stake matches.

Tchami is the first African to play in the Argentinean championship, “Negro” alongside legend Diego Maradona.

Returning to Argentina 20 years after his departure, Alphonse Tchami was welcomed on Tuesday 26 July 2017 in La Bombonera, the magic stadium of the club and at the presidential palace by President Mauricio Macri, former general president of Boca juniors.

After a rich career that took him to South America and Europe, Alphonse Tchami has been for the last two years the Team Manager of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from Cameroon Info.Net

Tottenham forward Clinton Njie is to join French side Marseille on a permanent deal after the two clubs agreed a deal.

The Cameroon international, 23, was on loan to the Ligue 1 club last season, scoring four goals.

Njie joined Spurs from Lyon in 2015 for a reported £10m and made 14 appearances for the club, though he suffered a serious knee injury in December 2015.

“We wish Clinton all the best for the future,” Tottenham said.

Source: BBC

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) may have laid to rest the controversy that preceded the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier between the Super Eagles and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

There was a heated debate of whether the match will be played at the Nest of Champions International Stadium in Uyo or not after the Super Eagles lost 0-2 to the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at the stadium.

But the NFF who spoke through its Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire has confirmed the stadium as the venue for the encounter which will now be played on September 1.

Olajire told journalists yesterday in Abuja the issue of venue has been settled and that all the necessary stakeholders are being informed of the date and venue. He also assured that the federation is putting in place every necessary arrangement that will ensure that the Super Eagles who are leading their group with six maximum points will get the desired result when the defending African champions visit Nigeria.

“I want to confirm that the match against Cameroon will take place in Uyo on the September 1. Uyo has been a good ground for the Super Eagles irrespective of what happened in the last game against South Africa in the AFCON qualifier.

“Equally, I have to reassure all lovers of Nigerian football that the NFF is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that we defeat Cameroon because that will brighten our chances of qualifying for the World Cup” Olajire concluded.

Source: Vanguard

Turkish Super Lig side Antalyaspor have contacted free agent Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting according to reports in Turkey.

The German-born Cameroonian and Schalke could not agree terms over a new deal and subsequently saw his three-year stay at the Gelsenkirchen side come to an end.

Moting’s relationship with Schalke began in the summer of 2014 after he arrived on a free transfer from Mainz. He would go on to become a regular and appear 106 times and score 22 goals.

But according to the Turkish Daily Hurriyet, Akrepler have recently been in contact with the attacker over a possible switch.

The report further suggests that negotiations are at an advanced stage and could result in a transfer within the next few days which will see the 28-year-old line up next to Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o who is a household name at the Antalya Arena side.

Source: Goal.com

Ex international, Moses Kpakor has charged the Super Eagles Technical crew to work tirelessly to ensure that the team picks the three points against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. Super eagles Nigeria are top of Group B of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with six points after beating Zambia 2-1 and Algeria 3-1.

However, the senior national team faces an uphill task against the current African champions, Cameroon on August 30 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo before the reverse fixture four days later in Yaounde.

Kpakor believes that the Super Eagles have no choice but to overcome their Cameroonian counter-parts in a bid to brighten their chances of picking the automatic slot for the World Cup. “We have to beat Cameroon because the two games are a huge step towards our qualification for the World Cup.

“Yes, we can qualify and so far we stand the best chance in our group with six points, four points ahead of our nearest opponents. The coach should ensure we have our very best players in the next games wherever they are.”

“We all need to assure the players that they can qualify us for the World Cup and we have confidence in them because I believe that will help them a lot.”

Source: Vanguard

The high rating the Super Eagles enjoyed before their embarrassing defeat in the hands of the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Uyo last month has dropped. With the 2018 World Cup qualifying match between Nigeria and Cameroon approaching, the respect for the Indomitable Lions among Nigerian football fans is growing bigger. Cameroon’s performance at the just concluded FIFA Confederations Cup – albeit unimpressive – gives Nigerians enough reason to worry. The Lions showed promise and with a few changes, particularly in the attack, the team can stand their own anywhere in the world.

While Cameroon coach, Hugo Broos participated in the 2017 AFCON – which they won – and the recently concluded FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, Rohr has been engaged in friendly matches and played only one competitive match – the loss against South Africa, since the victory over Algeria in November last year. Can Nigeria handle Cameroon? The question was put to former Nigeria international and U-17 World Cup winning coach, Emmanuel Amuneke. His answer was in the affirmative. “Yes, we can handle Cameroon by remaining focussed and believing in our ability. You also have to accept that the opponent you are playing is better than you. With that in mind one can fight one’s opponent with respect and the motivation to do battle.”

Amuneke said, “in the game against South Africa, the opponents were better tactically, individually and collectively. They knew each other very well and knew they were playing Nigeria, a very strong team. “What we need do is to sit down, analyse the last game and seek solutions to where we went wrong before the Cameroon match. Cameroon too has a lot of pedigree and any match involving Nigeria and Cameroon is always tough. Our players must have that in mind.” Veteran coach, Tunde Disu believes the Eagles need a more aggressive midfield. “Most of our midfielders are defensive minded. Mikel, Onazi, Ndidi are all defensive midfielders. We need more aggression from the midfield so that the attack can be given more bite.”

He also believes that with the expected return of Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and Leon Balogun the Coach Rohr-tutored team could pose a better force than the one against the Bafana Bafana. Veteran journalist and chairman of Akwa United, Paul Bassey said, “I align with those who say we can beat Bafana Bafana in South Africa only if we use the right calibre of players and do the right thing tactically. When we face Cameroon, we need our best legs. The coach must go for players who can stand the aggressive and tough-playing Cameroonians; not school boys, because playing Cameroon is not a child’s play. I believe we can beat the Indomitable Lions if the right decisions are made by the coaching staff and the players.”

Amuneke advised Nigerians to show more support to the Super Eagles. The team need mass support from Nigerians to excel. Support can actually motivate them. Fans should know they have a very important role to play in the quest to beat Cameroon and go to Russia 2018.” He said Nigeria is blessed with a good coach in Gernot Rohr. “We have a very good coach who has been doing a wonderful job. We have to support him and show him love.”

Source: Vanguard

If Germany retain the World Cup next year, then perhaps this was the night that laid the groundwork. Chile will ask themselves how they lost this Confederations Cup final after they missed a number of chances and let in Lars Stindl for the winning goal with a defensive slip. But it was a triumphant night for Joachim Low and a group of players he opted to test run this summer ahead of the bigger challenge in 2018; he now has 11 months to sift through a more battle-hardened set of options than any other international coach has at his disposal.

Chile started at a ferocious tempo and carved Germany open within five minutes. Excellent work from Arturo Vidal freed Charles Aranguiz but, with the midfielder poised to pull the trigger, Antonio Rudiger executed a perfect tackle. The ball stayed alive and Vidal’s low drive was kept out by the legs of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The early onslaught continued, Vidal and Eduardo Vargas both trying their luck. It was near-incessant pressure and in the 19th minute Alexis Sanchez missed a glorious chance. He seemed certain to convert after Ter Stegen parried from Vidal but, perhaps taking his eye off the ball, failed to make a clean contact.

Within seconds Sanchez was made to pay. Germany had barely laid a glove on Chile but took the lead with a gift of a goal, Marcelo Diaz allowing Timo Werner to rob him of possession just outside his own box. Werner squared to Stindl for the simplest of tap-ins; nobody could say this turn of events had seemed remotely likely.

It was a shock to Chile; they began to huff and puff, and Leon Goretzka might twice have doubled Germany’s lead before half-time. First the in-form Schalke player fired across goal from Sebastian Rudy’s smart pass, then he was denied well by Claudio Bravo after Julian Draxler had capitalised on another lapse.

Draxler, surging through before a lunging Gonzalo Jara deflected his shot wide, threatened 10 minutes into the second half and Germany looked more than capable of picking off their older opponents on the counter. Chile were becoming fractious and Jara received a let-off when, after appearing to elbow Werner, a lengthy VAR review led to nothing more than a yellow card.

Tempers raised even further when, 15 minutes from time, Sanchez went down in the box after colliding with Rudy. Vidal shot over from the loose ball but Chile’s players furiously claimed a penalty and urged referee Milorad Mazic to review using the VAR. To their disgust, he failed to oblige although more conventional replays suggested Sanchez did not have a case.

Chile rallied for one last push, Ter Stegen tipping wide from Aranguiz, and then they missed their final big chance. Substitute Angelo Sagal had a gaping net to fire into when fellow replacement Edson Puch squared past a committed Ter Stegen, but he blazed over and with that wayward finish went his side’s hopes.

Source: ESPNFC

Cameroon captain, Benjamin Moukandjo is confident that they will beat the Super Eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Cameroon and Nigeria face off in a doubleheader in August/September for the top spot in Group B of African qualifiers.

Cameroon are second in the group after two games with two points while Nigeria top with six points. The Indomitable Lions just left Russia, venue of next year’s FIFA World Cup where they played in the FIFA Confederation Cup.

“We showed that we’ve got quality, but obviously, we’ve still got work to do if we’re going to trouble the big boys,” Moukandjo told FIFA official website of Cameroon’s Confederation Cup results, losing to Chile and Germany and getting a draw against Australia all in the Group Stage. “We’ve got a young team that’s only just getting acquainted with international competitions.”

Moukandjo is confident that they can return to Russia next year for the FIFA World Cup at the expense of the Super Eagles. “We’ve now got a better idea of where we stand, which will help us come back stronger next year and target the World Cup with a lot more going for us,” he added.

Source: Vanguard

Announced everywhere since the beginning of the transfer window, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may eventually leave Europe. According to the authoritative German news magazine, Bild, the Dortmund striker is moving closer to a deal in China.

The Tianjin Quanjin seems to have decided to take out their heavy artillery in order to recruit the top scorer of the last Bundesliga season. Shu Yuhui, the rich president of the club, is ready to offer more than 80 million euros to the Borussia player.

The 28-year-old Gabonese international would be offered an annual salary of 30 million euros-an astronomical proposal that would make him the highest-paid player in the world, ahead of Ezequiel Lavezzi (27.5 million).

In eastern China, Aubameyang would evolve under the command of Fabio Cannavaro alongside Axel Wistsel and certainly Anthony Modeste if he is about to join the Tianjin club.

Camcordnews Desk