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Carlo Ancelotti plays down Vinicius Junior injury fears

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti is expecting to have Vinicius Junior available for selection once again after the September international break.

The Brazil international was replaced in the early stages of Friday’s 1-0 win over Celta Vigo, and there were initially fears that the injury could keep him on the sidelines for an extended period.

However, Ancelotti has suggested that the issue is only minor, and while he is unlikely to feature against Getafe next weekend, the forward should be back for the clash with Real Sociedad on September 16.

“Vinicius had a niggle in the first half and we changed him. We’ll see what it is in the next few hours, it looks like some discomfort in the muscle in his leg,” Ancelotti said on Friday night.

“Vini Jr. wanted to continue and I don’t think it was too serious. He tried and it was niggling him a little bit, so we made the decision to replace him. I don’t think he’ll play against Getafe and the break will help him to recover for when we play again.

“He had a good start to the game, he seemed unstoppable. It’s a shame. We found it more difficult without him, but also due to the fact that they played very well at the back.”

Jude Bellingham continued his excellent start to his Real Madrid career with the only goal of the match against Celta, and the Englishman has now netted four times in three league appearances for Los Blancos.

“Bellingham is doing very well, he keeps scoring and contributing to the team,” said Ancelotti after the match when questioned on the big-money arrival from Borussia Dortmund.

“Goals aren’t his biggest quality but he’s doing well. He is good off the ball, he’s intelligent and his timing is good. He’s got a lot of ability on the edge of the area.”

Ancelotti also opened up on Kepa Arrizabalaga’s debut for the club, with the Spaniard being given the nod between the sticks over Andriy Lunin following his recent arrival on loan from Chelsea.

“Kepa played well and we struggled a bit at the back at the beginning and it was difficult for us, but the team played well,” added the Italian.

“A clean sheet is a good sign. This wasn’t a victory purely based on quality, but rather on commitment. There were some negatives, but we battled until the end.

“He deserved to play, we’ve been well covered by Lunin and Kepa in the last three games. We’ll see about the next game.”

Real Madrid currently have six players on the sidelines through injury, with Vinicius joining Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, Arda Guler, Dani Ceballos and Ferland Mendy in the treatment room.

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King Ademola Lookman Brings Out His Love

Like his father opened up, Ademola Lookman is essentially a private person, who prefers to do his stuff without all the media blitz.

But on one of his biggest days, when he was crowned Africa’s best player, he could not but make the first public appearance with the woman in his life – Jayda Love.

‘Adebobo’ would even steal a moment on his big night to kiss his American beau.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles star is still single.

Rumours of this romance first surfaced in the summer when the couple appeared to have spent the holidays together.

This was after ‘Mola’ scored his unforgettable hat-trick for Atalanta to win the UEFA Europa League in super style.

Jayda, an Information Technology specialist is based in Dallas, Texas, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2021 with a degree in public relations.

She follows Ademola Lookman and his foundation on social media.

She is also known to have visited him at his Italian base.

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FIFA Rankings: Nigeria’s Super Eagles End 2024 Ahead Of Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have ended 2024 ranked as Africa’s fifth-best team in FIFA’s latest global standings, released Thursday morning, Soccernet.ng reports.

Despite a challenging end to the year that saw the team drop eight places to 44th globally, the Super Eagles still managed to hold their own against eternal continental rivals like South Africa, Cameroon, and Ghana.

This year’s ranking represents a mixed bag for Nigeria. While the team retained its fifth spot in Africa, their decline in global rankings was driven by underwhelming performances in key fixtures.

Most notably, the Super Eagles struggled during the final rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, securing just a solitary point in lackluster outings against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Nigeria were forced to a scored draw by the Cheetahs in Abidjan only for Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent strike to end up as consolation in a 2-1 home defeat to the Wasps.

Looking at year-to-year standings, at this time in 2023, Nigeria’s Super Eagles were ranked 42nd in the world but sixth on the continent.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana showed marked improvement, climbing th

Cameroon and Ghana, however, endured disappointing campaigns. Ghana’s Black Stars finished the year ranked 77th, a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles within the Black Stars setup.

At the continental summit, Morocco retained their status as the continent’s best, finishing as Africa’s top-ranked team in 14th place globally.

Senegal (17th), Egypt (33rd), and Algeria (37th) rounded out the top four, with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, and South Africa completing the top 10.

Globally, Argentina retained their position as FIFA’s top-ranked team, followed by France, Spain, England, and Brazil.

With 1,181 international matches played across the calendar year, the rankings reflected consistent dominance from the world’s elite teams.

As Nigeria enter 2025, all eyes will be on the Super Eagles to reignite their competitive spark, with the World Cup qualifiers returning in the first quarter of the year.

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Mbappé: Would Have Been ‘Fun’ To Play With Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappé has said he wishes he could have played with Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s all-time leading scorer.

The France international has been a teammate of other football icons but would have relished playing alongside Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal captain.

“I’ve played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema…” Mbappé told BeINsports.

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo — it’s going to be very difficult now — but I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

Ronaldo, 39, left the Spanish giants in 2018 now plays for Saudi Pro-League side Al Nassr.

Mbappé helped Madrid win the Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, his second title since joining the Spanish giants in the summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.

Speaking to young people with disabilities as part of the BeUNITED program, Mbappe, 25, said he would have never left Paris Saint-Germain had it not been to join Madrid.

“I went to the biggest club in the world,” the 2018 World Cup winner said.

“I have always said that it was the only club I would have left PSG for. If I hadn’t been able to go to Madrid, I would have stayed at PSG all my life.”

Although Mbappé has been prolific for Madrid so far, he has faced criticism for his all-round performances with the team having suffered some high-profile defeats earlier in the season.

“Since I was 14, everyone told me I was going to be great,” Mbappé said.

“But when you’re big, sometimes you feel small…At first I was too hungry and it played tricks on me because I was impatient. But I have passion and this competitive side.

“My dream now is to win trophies with my team, not individual awards. What great title is left for me? The Champions League, but I’m in the best club in the world for that.”