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Nagelsmann to remain Germany national football coach till 2026

Julian Nagelsmann has signed a contract extension with the German men’s national team, the domestic football association said Friday, putting to bed speculation of a quick return to club football.

The new deal keeps Nagelsmann with Germany for an additional two years and will see him coach the team at the 2026 World Cup in North America.

“This is a decision from the heart. It is a great honour to coach the national team,” Nagelsmann said in a statement.

The announcement comes just a few weeks before Germany is set to host the 2024 European championships over June and July.

Nagelsmann said he was “moved by the enthusiasm of the fans” after victories in recent friendlies against France and the Netherlands.

“Together, we now want to have a successful home Euros,” said Nagelsmann, whose deal with the national team was set to run out after the summer tournament.

The German Football Association (DFB) was already “absolutely convinced” of the need to retain Nagelsmann’s services, national team director Rudi Voeller said in the statement.

Nagelsmann was a “brilliant tactician, who not only has great knowledge of the game, but has the passion to motivate and inspire each and every one of his players”, said the legendary German striker turned executive.
– Bayern links –

Nagelsmann’s decision to stick with Germany sent a “strong signal”, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said in the statement.

The extension meant Germany “can plan with a degree of stability” beyond Euro 2024, Neuendorf said.

It also silenced rumours that Nagelsmann could make a quick return to club football after the tournament and little more than a year after leaving Bayern Munich.

The 36-year-old coach was “on the wish list” for a lot of top clubs in Europe, Neuendorf said.

Nagelsmann was strongly linked with a return to Bayern, who sacked the native Bavarian in March last year after a run of poor results.

Bayern jumped at the chance to replace Nagelsmann with former Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel but things have only gone from bad to worse for the German giants.

This season under Tuchel, Bayern surrendered their Bundesliga crown to Bayer Leverkusen, ending a streak of 11 straight titles.

The failure in the league means Tuchel will leave Bayern at the end of the season.

A successor has yet to be named but two widely touted candidates, Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso and Nagelsmann, are now out of the running.

Germany will be looking to perform on home turf after being dumped out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the group stage.

A miserable run of results following the tournament was enough for DFB management to decide they could not continue with coach Hansi Flick.

Germany’s fortunes have since picked up with Nagelsmann at the helm, boosted by the return to the fold of experienced midfielder Toni Kroos.

Euro 2024 kicks off in Munich on June 14, when Germany face Scotland at Bayern’s Allianz Arena.

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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.

News

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.”