World Cup: Former Senegal international predicts success for Lions of…

Former Senegal international Souleymane Diawara has shared his thoughts on the nation’s 2026 FIFA World Cup chances.

The Lions of Teranga are paired in Group I against former champions France, Iraq and Norway with Diawara tipping the West Africans for success.

Senegal are making a fourth World Cup appearance with a repeat of the 2002 FIFA World Cup clash against France in mind for coach Pape Thiaw. betsport.cv

Diawara has full belief that the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winners have what it takes to cause an upset against France.

“It’s going to be a good match. It’s going to be a very difficult match. Because the French team, let’s face it, is a tough one. In fact, for me, they’re also the favorites in this competition. But Senegal also has what it takes to hurt the French team. So, it’s going to be a magnificent match, I think.”

“With two great teams, two attacking teams. The Senegalese are warriors, people who never give up.

“And when you never give up, it’s very difficult to play against a team with such a strong mentality. So, I think it’s the mental aspect, beyond the technical qualities as well. But the mental aspect can make the difference.”

“Because the Senegalese, I think you saw it during the last Africa Cup of Nations. Beyond the circumstances that caused controversy, we saw Sadio Mané rally his troops. Come on, let’s go like men. And I find that positive for this team. Because they’re going to need courage and mental strength against a French team.”

“They’re almost otherworldly when they’re on form. “But I think Senegal can hurt them,” says the former defender. In their minds, they’re still African champions. We saw it, the trophy came to the Stade de France for the Senegal-Peru match.”

“Le Sénégal a les armes pour faire mal à l’équipe de France. Ce sont des guerriers avec un gros mental !”

Coupe du monde, Sénégal et liste des Bleus… Souleymane Diawara, ex-international sénégalais, est invité exceptionnel de l’AFTER FC !https://t.co/sSSlvmpw2n pic.twitter.com/NKYdSvt2Pw

— After Foot RMC (@AfterRMC) May 14, 2026

“So in their minds, Senegal are the African champions, as long as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hasn’t made its decision. But I don’t think that… You know, every competition is different. An AFCON is different from a World Cup. They’ll go there with the same mentality, the same desire, the same determination. I think they can achieve something.”

Senegal cruised to the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, beating hosts Morocco 1-0 in the finals in January courtesy of Pape Gueye’s late goal before the Confederation of African Football decided to award the hosts a forfeit victory under controversial circumstances.

Morocco, however, is contesting the result at the Court of Arbitration for Sports .

À moins d’un mois du coup d’envoi de la Coupe du monde 2026, Emerse Faé a levé le voile sur les 26 joueurs retenus pour défendre les couleurs de la Côte d’Ivoire. Le sélectionneur des Éléphants a annoncé sa liste ce vendredi 15 mai sur la chaîne nationale RTI 1, à l’occasion du journal de « 13 heures ».

Les champions d’Afrique s’envoleront pour les États-Unis, le Canada et le Mexique, pays hôtes de cette Coupe du monde 2026 prévue du 11 juin au 19 juillet. Pour cette grande échéance internationale, le technicien ivoirien a misé sur un groupe mêlant expérience et jeunesse.

« Avec le staff, on a toujours cette envie de créer un groupe avec des joueurs qui entrent dans le cadre que le staff a mis en place. Bien évidemment, un groupe, ce n’est pas ce qui se passe sur le terrain, c’est aussi ce qui se passe en dehors », a expliqué Emerse Faé.

Le capitaine Franck Kessié conduira une sélection ivoirienne ambitieuse, qui tentera de briller dans le groupe E face à l’Allemagne, l’Équateur et Curaçao.

La liste des 26 Éléphants

Gardiens

Yahia Fofana, Alban Lafont, Mohamed Koné

Défenseurs

Evan Ndicka, Ousmane Diomandé, Odilon Kossounou, Emmanuel Agbadou, Ghislain Konan, Guéla Doué, Wilfried Singo, Clément Akpa

Milieux

Franck Kessié, Ibrahim Sangaré, Seko Fofana, Christ Inao Oulaï, Jean Michaël Seri, Parfait Guiagon

Attaquants

Simon Adingra, Yan Diomandé, Amad Diallo, Evann Guessand, Nicolas Pépé, Ange-Yoan Bonny, Oumar Diakité, Bazoumana Touré, Elye Wahi

Réservistes

Ira Tapé, Malick Yalcouyé, Sébastien Haller, Christopher Opéri, Martial Godo.

ALSENY BALDÉ

The post Mondial 2026 : Emerse Faé dévoile sa liste des 26 Éléphants appeared first on AFRICASPORT.ORG.

There are few annual schoolboy rugby derbies as understated as Oakdale versus Outeniqua — the last true battle for South Western Districts supremacy. Given the pedigree and calibre of both programmes, this fixture deserves to be spoken of among the country’s great rivalries.

What perhaps works against it is that Oakdale’s primary derby remains their season-ending clash against fellow agricultural powerhouse Boland Landbou — a fixture wrapped in far greater fanfare and tradition. In an indirect way, that has somewhat dulled the shine of the Oakdale-Outeniqua rivalry, despite the quality it consistently produces.

Yet make no mistake: this remains a heavyweight contest between the only two dominant rugby schools in the region.

Oakdale have largely lived up to expectations in 2026. While results have not always fallen their way, their performances in the nation’s test match fixtures have reinforced the belief that the Bulle belong among the elite.

Outeniqua, by contrast, entered the season as more of an unknown quantity. Improvement was anticipated, but not that many would have committed to predicting a ceiling this high. The Kwaggas currently sit in the Top 12 on a combined national ranking model — an excellent return and, to some extent, an overachievement relative to preseason expectations.

Still, the numbers suggest Riversdale remains one of the toughest assignments in schoolboy rugby. Wynr’s match predictor gives Oakdale an 82% probability of victory, and with good reason. Outeniqua have not won there since 2012. That said the Anthropic prediction in Wynr has it by only a two-point margin.

There is also an intriguing generational subplot at play.

Oakdale have emphatically controlled this rivalry in recent seasons, recording crushing 50-7 and 60-8 victories in 2024 and 2025 respectively. However, the current 2026 matric class represents the final Outeniqua age group to have experienced defeat to Oakdale in their school careers.

From Under-15 through to Under-17 level, there is not a single Kwagga A-team player who has lost this derby.

That suggests the balance of power beneath 1st XV level may be shifting and settling in for a few seasons to come.

As for the Under-14s, both major all-age-group ranking systems currently place Oakdale a few positions ahead of Outeniqua, hinting that fixture may favour the hosts. Should that prove true, it could signal the beginning of Oakdale’s next cycle of dominance.

And that would be no small achievement.

For a relatively small agricultural school, Oakdale’s sustained excellence at the top end of South African schoolboy rugby has been nothing short of remarkable.…

NONGO- C’est désormais officiel, le centre technique de Nongo vient d’être fermé par la fédération Guinéenne de Football. Une decision consécutive aux fissures observées sur les lieux et qui a obligé plusieurs responsables à évacuer leurs bureaux.

C’est le cas notamment de la Ligue de football Amateur et la Ligue de football féminin, qui ont vu leur bâtiment subir des fissures qui rendent impraticable les bureaux. Le centre technique est donc fermé et les services qui y étaient logés, sommés de quitter les lieux. “Dans l’attente de trouver un autre local pour nos effectifs impactés, nous comptons sur la compréhension de tous pour l’exécution de cette décision ” précise la Féguifoot qu dit prendre cette décision pour des mesures de sécurité.

A préciser que Nongo est une zone réputée sismique. En plus des infrastructures sportives, plusieurs habitations ont été fissurées, ce qui a obligé certains locataires à quitter temporairement leurs domiciles.

Ci-dessous, la décision de la Féguifoot

Celtic forward Kelechi Iheanacho has revealed that his side will put up a fight to clinch the Scottish Premiership title as they prepare for a crucial league clash against Hearts.

Martin O’Neill’s side currently sits in second place, just one point behind Hearts. Celtic will host the league leaders at Paradise on Saturday in what is being hailed as a potential title-decider.

Iheanacho: “We need to be ready”

The Nigerian international, as quoted by the Daily Record, insisted that Celtic is fully prepared for the winner-takes-all showdown.

“We’re happy where we are at the moment and we’ll fight on Saturday to see that we win. It’s going to take for us to have this fighting spirit of winning trophies, fighting together as a team, working together as a team to win.”

“We’ve had that all season, so we just take that in on Saturday. It’s like a cup final, so we’ll give everything. And we’re at home, so we have to give everything to win and they’re a very, very strong side.”

Iheanacho emphasized the magnitude of the fixture, noting that Celtic must be ready for the toughest challenge in the league.

“I think it’s a massive moment. It will be a massive moment for the club. Since this season, Hearts has been one of the strongest teams in the league. It’s going to be a very, very difficult game. It’s a title challenge game. They’re going to come out with everything to win the title. We need to be ready to face that.”

Iheanacho also noted that a decision regarding his future at the club will only be made after the final whistle on Saturday.

“I think after 90 minutes on Saturday, then we’ll talk about that.”

The 29-year-old joined the Hoops on a free transfer last summer after severing ties with Spanish club Sevilla. He signed a one-year contract, with Celtic holding the option to extend his stay by a further year.