Super Eagles’ midfielder, Alex Iwobi, is optimistic of playing European football with Fulham at the end of the 2025/2026 English Premier League season after picking a 1-1 draw against Brighton in their opening game of the season.
Iwobi, who played 66 minutes of the game before departing the pitch for Adama Traore in the 66th minute of the game said all player’s target is to play in Europe.
The Nigerian international is no stranger to European competition, having featured in the UEFA Europa League during his time at Arsenal, where he famously scored in the final against Chelsea.
“Everyone wants to play in Europe,” Iwobi told the Standard.
“I’ve played in Europe before and want to experience it again. Everyone was pleased with last season, but that was just a stepping stone. The target now is to finish in the top 10 again and hopefully qualify for the Europa Conference League. That’s the aim for this season.”
Fulham, also completed with another Super Eagles’ star, Calvin Bassey, who played the whole 90 minutes of the game scored the equaliser through substitute Rodrigo Muniz during the added time to share the spoil after Matt O’Riley had given the home side the lead in 55th minutes from the penalty spot.
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Nathaniel smashes own record in men’s 400m hurdles
…as Amusan, Enekwechi shine
It’s all looking good for Nigeria ahead of the 2025 World Athletics Championships with one of the country’s medal prospects, Ezekiel Nathaniel, breaking his own 400m National Record at the Wanda Diamond League at the Stadion Slaski, Chorzow, Poland.
Nathaniel with his latest performance already smashed the National Record four times this year after dethroning Henry Amike (48.50secs) who held the record for 35 years before Nathaniel broke the record in 2022 and has continued to improve his time in the race.
The African 400m indoor Record Holder has broken the record multiple times since 2022, and he is now the Nigerian Record Holder in the event. He has also achieved the feat of being the first Nigerian and eighth African to run a sub-47 second 400m hurdles.
He has now run four National Records under 48secs in 2025, 47.90secs, 47.89secs and 47.86secs before his latest achievement of 47.31secs at the Diamond League where he finished second behind Norway’s Karsten Warholm, the reigning world record holder and Olympic champion, who clocked a blistering 46.28secs — the fastest time in the world this year.
Meanwhile, World record holder in Women’s 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, clocked 12.25secs to finish third in the women’s 100m hurdles in Silesia. America’s Masai Russell, the Olympic champion, won the race in a Diamond League record of 12.19secs, ahead of fellow American Tonea Marshall, who ran a personal best of 12.24secs.
Amusan opened her 2025 season with a modest 12.74secs in Xiamen but has improved with every outing. She ran 12.66secs in Doha, 12.53secs in Atlanta, 12.45secs in Rabat and Ostrava, and stormed to a season’s best of 12.24secs in Paris. She also clocked 12.38secs at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene before winning her fifth national title at the Nigerian Championships in Lagos with 12.57secs.
It was not only Ezekiel and Amusan who flew Nigeria’s flag in Silesia as Chukwuebuka Enekwechi threw 21.56m to place seventh in a loaded field of the men’s Shotput event.
Amusan will return to action at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 20, facing a stacked field that includes Russell, Jamaicans Ackera Nugent and Megan Tapper, former world record holder Kendra Harrison, fellow American Alaysha Johnson, Netherlands’ Nadine Visser, and Switzerland’s Dijati Kambundji.
Enekwechi and Ezekiel are also set to compete in Lausanne as they fine-tune preparations for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo next month.
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EPL: Halland scores twice in City’s win
*Sunderland beat West Ham, as Spurs hit three against Burnley
Manchester City have started the 2025-26 Premier League season with a convincing 4-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring to put City in front after the home side saw Marshall Munetsi’s header ruled out for offside. Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders then made it two on his Premier League debut.
Haaland added his second of the game with a sharp finish after a lovely attacking move and then Rayan Cherki also scored on his Premier League debut to make it 4-0.
Tributes were paid to Diogo Jota throughout the day by the Wolves fans in their first league match since the passing of their former striker.
Meanwhile, Sunderland made a winning start to their first Premier League campaign since 2016-17 as they deservedly beat West Ham at a raucous Stadium of Light.
Eliezer Mayenda, who scored in the Championship play-off final in May, nodded substitute Omar Alderete’s delivery into the corner shortly after the hour mark to spark wild scenes of jubilation among the home supporters.
It was another play-off hero who doubled Sunderland’s lead as Dan Ballard – who rescued Regis le Bris’ team in the semi-final first leg against Coventry – guided his header into the corner.
And Wilson Isidor put the icing on the cake in added time, beating Hermansen with a well-placed shot into the far corner.
Also, two goals from Richarlison, including a stunning scissor kick, helped Thomas Frank win his first Premier League match in charge of Tottenham as his Spurs side proved too good for newly promoted Burnley.
Brazil forward Richarlison only scored four Premier League goals in 2024-25 but was superb as he showed the form that convinced Spurs to pay £60m to sign him from Everton three years ago.
He scored the first league goal in the Frank era when he did superbly to spin and control a shot on the turn after only 10 minutes, following excellent work on the right from Mohammed Kudus on his Spurs league debut following his £55m summer move from West Ham.
The two linked up again for Spurs’ second, Kudus hanging up a cross from the byeline and Richarlison acrobatically volleying in, with the goal repeatedly shown and enjoyed by the home fans on the stadium’s four big screens.
It got even better for Tottenham in the 66th minute as Richarlison started the move – the ball fell for Pape Matar Sarr and he played it through for Brennan Johnson to race clear and provide a clinical finish.
