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August 3, 2023 Man City Agree £77m Fee For Leipzig Defender Gvardiol

Man City Agree £77m Fee For Leipzig Defender Gvardiol

Manchester City have agreed a 90m euro fee (£77m) with RB Leipzig for Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol.

The deal for the 21-year-old does not include add-ons, meaning the £80m Manchester United paid Leicester City for Harry Maguire in 2019 remains the British record for a defender.

He has been a key player for Leipzig in the 87 games he played for them since signing from Dynamo Zagreb in 2021.

It is expected Gvardiol will fly to England for a medical later this week

The deal looked unlikely to be agreed last week when Leipzig insisted they would not sell for less than €100m (£86m).

Manager Pep Guardiola believes Gvardiol will strengthen the left side of his central defence and, with Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake also able to fill that position, his arrival may put the future of Aymeric Laporte at Etihad Stadium under the microscope.

Gvardiol, who is also able to play left-back, becomes City's second major signing of the summer following the arrival of fellow Croatian Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea in June for an initial £25m.

Gvardiol, who has scored twice in his 21 caps for Croatia, helped his country finish third at the 2022 World Cup as well as runners-up to Spain in this year's Nations League.

He won back-to-back titles with Zagreb, signing off with a league and cup double before making his move to the Bundesliga.

Leipzig also twice qualified for the Champions League during Gvardiol's time in Germany as a result of their fourth and third-placed finishes in the Bundesliga.

The club that has sold him were effectively knocked out of the Champions League twice in the past two seasons by the club he has now joined.

Leipzig finished third in a group topped by City in 2021-22 and lost 8-1 over two legs in the round of 16 last season, including a 7-0 defeat at the Etihad.

August 3, 2023 D’tigress Overcome Mozambique To Qualify For Afrobasket Semi-Finals

D’tigress Overcome Mozambique To Qualify For Afrobasket Semi-Finals

D’Tigress have advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 FIBA AfroBasket competition in Rwanda.

The Nigerian women defeated Mozambique 59-52 to advance to the semifinals against hosts Rwanda and extend their unbeaten streak to 22 games with their last loss coming against Cameroon in the 2015 edition.

D’Tigress came through in determined fashion as they returned from losing the first two quarters, 16-18 and 13-15, to win the last two quarters, 18-10 and 12-9, and edge the dogged Mozambicans.

Amy  Okonkwo  top-scored for  D’Tigress with 17 points and six rebounds, while Elizabeth Balogun added 12 and six rebounds.

Coach Rena Wakama started with Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah, Okonkwo, Balogun, Sarah Ogoke, and Blessing Ejiofor. Kunaiyi-Akpanah won the jump ball, but Mozambique got the first points of the encounter through Stefania Chiziane.

Okonkwo gave Nigeria her first points after 70 seconds and took the lead through Balogun with a three-pointer. Ogoke pushed the lead to 7-2 after three minutes of the encounter. Murjanatu Musa, off the bench, made it 9-2, and at that stage, D’Tigress looked to be heading for another easy win.

But Ingvild da Ofilia Agostinho Mucauro sparked the fightback even though Nigeria led 14-9 with about three minutes left in the first quarter. Ifunaya Okoro committed a foul and allowed Chiziane two free throws, which she made, and from there, the Nigerian team withered.

Balogun made a layup, giving Nigeria a 16-15 lead, and then committed a turnover, from which Mucauro made a three-pointer to take an 18-16 lead into the break.

The two teams evenly fought the second quarter, with Okonkwo scoring five points to keep the deficit at 29-33 at the end of the second quarter.

Balogun made two free throws with four minutes left on the clock in the third quarter to draw the Nigerians’ level at 40-40. By the end of the quarter, D’Tigress had reversed the four-point deficit into a four-point lead, 47-43.

The Nigerian team consolidated their lead in the fourth with superior rebounding power on both ends of the court to take the 59-52 win.

August 2, 2023 Sadio Mane Departs Bayern Munich to Team Up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr

Sadio Mane Departs Bayern Munich to Team Up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr

Former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has made a significant move, leaving Bayern Munich to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, where he will play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite an initially promising start at Bayern, the 31-year-old's season was deemed underwhelming, with 12 goals in 38 games.

Mane's time at Bayern was not without challenges, and it was reported that he was involved in a physical altercation with Leroy Sane in the Manchester City dressing room after a Champions League defeat. However, it appears that the German champions have managed to recoup a substantial part of the £35 million they paid Liverpool for Mane just a year ago.

Jan-Christian Dreesen, CEO of Bayern, acknowledged that Mane had faced difficulties since his move from Anfield. He stated that the Senegal player had not experienced an "easy year" with the club and hadn't been able to contribute as much as everyone, including himself, had hoped.

Earlier on Tuesday Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel said he and Mane agreed "it was the best solution to untie the knot".

"We had a long, big hug and we both agreed we don't like what's happening now, but we think it's for the best in this situation," said the Bayern coach.

"Sometimes things don't work out as everybody wants. I have always had a very good relationship with him and this will stay.

"I can totally understand he feels hurt and I also wouldn't feel happy if things like this happened.

"Obviously it's something that we didn't bring into the full potential, which is my responsibility, but in this particular situation it was the best solution to untie the knot."

August 2, 2023 Sweden Triumphs Over Argentina To Set Up USA Last-16 Clash

Sweden Triumphs Over Argentina To Set Up USA Last-16 Clash

Sweden continued their impressive run at the Women's World Cup, securing a perfect record of three wins from three matches in Group G.

Their latest victory, a 2-0 result against Argentina in Hamilton, guarantees them the top spot in the group and sets up an enticing last-16 encounter with the USA.

With their superior goal difference essentially sealing the top position, Sweden made nine changes to their starting lineup in Hamilton. Despite lacking the same level of cohesion displayed in their previous games, Sweden proved to be too strong for their Argentine opponents.

The match remained fiercely contested for an hour until Sweden's superior quality came to the fore. Rebecka Blomqvist found the space she needed in the box to convert Sofia Jakobsson's cross from close range, putting Sweden in the lead.

Late in the game, Elin Rubensson calmly converted a penalty after Blomqvist was fouled in the box while Argentina was attempting to defend a free-kick. This second goal sealed the result, making it a 2-0 victory for Sweden.

Argentina's journey in the tournament ends with a last-place finish in the group, having earned only one point. Although they put up a valiant effort against Sweden, they were unable to break through their opponent's defense and achieve a historic milestone of winning a maiden match and progressing to the knockout rounds in a World Cup finals.

In the same group, South Africa secured their spot in the last 16 with a thrilling 3-2 triumph over Italy in a dramatic encounter in Wellington.

The stage is now set for Sweden and South Africa to compete in the knockout stages, promising further excitement and exhilarating matches in the Women's World Cup.

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