Algeria clawed back from the brink of elimination to stun title favourites Ivory Coast 3-2 on Sunday and reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.
The winners fell 2-1 behind on 89 minutes to a brilliant Abdulkader Keita goal only for Madjid Bougherra to level in stoppage time and unmarked substitute Hamer Bouazza headed a 92nd-minute far-post winner.
Drama continued to the end with television replays suggesting a late shot from Ivorian defender Kolo Toure that found the net was wrongly judged offside by an assistant referee.
Ivory Coast coach Vahid Halilhodzic was furious and distraught in equal measure.
“This is a huge disappointment, of course,” said the 57-year-old Bosnian-born former Yugoslavian international.
“We were not good this evening (Sunday) and we are obliged to congratulate Algeria.
His Algerian counterpart Rabah Saadane had evidently vastly different emotions.
“I am really happy. We came up with what we wanted,” said Saadane.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admits he won’t stop Robinho leaving if the Brazil forward is not happy at Eastlands.
Robinho told a Brazilian radio station over the weekend that City’s directors are happy to let him return home to join Santos on loan before the transfer window closes on February 1.
After watching Robinho score City’s final goal in their 4-2 FA Cup fourth round win at Scunthorpe on Sunday, Mancini denied any knowledge of an imminent exit for the former Real Madrid star but did concede that he would let him leave if he isn’t happy.
Robinho, who cost City a club record 32.5 million pounds last season, has repeatedly produced below-par displays and Mancini appeared to run out of patience when he replaced the winger after sending him on as substitute against Everton earlier this month.
Former Bafana Bafana player Mark Fish on Monday hailed Argentinean legend Diego Maradona as the greatest football player of all time.
The two met during Maradona’s inspection tour of the High Performance Centre in Pretoria on Monday.
The venue will be his team’s base during the 2010 FIFA World Cup which starts in June and its management is spending around R2m to upgrade all facilities including security for the team.
Fish said he was extremely excited to meet his soccer hero.
The Indian football team has announced a lucrative new shirt sponsorship deal with Panasonic.
Speaking at a press conference make the announcement, AIFF president Praful Patel said, "Football is the second-most popular sport in India and there is a huge potential to grow."
"We are hopeful that our association with Panasonic will support our mission to take Indian football to global standards. The game is now only restricted to some specific areas.
"There is also a need for more corporate houses to come forward and promote the game."
Panasonic will pay US$ 1 million per year for three years as part of the deal.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Three Duke freshmen from Georgia who were kicked off the school's football team were due in court to face felony gun charges.
The Herald-Sun of Durham reported the men were to make a first court appearance Tuesday after gunshots were fired near a university residence hall early Sunday. The students have been charged with felony possession and discharge of a weapon.
Campus police say the shots were fired into the air. No one was hurt and a pistol was recovered.
John Drew and Kyle Griswould, both of 18 of Midland, Ga.; and 19-year-old Brandon Putnam of Peachtree City were dismissed from the team after their arrest Sunday.
BENGUELA, Angola — The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have disclosed that they are unaware of a presidential directive that they should sack coach Shuaibu Amodu with immediate effect.
It has been speculated in a section of the Nigerian media that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) for the 2010 World Cup at the weekend conveyed an order from the country's Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan, that Amodu be fired immediately following Nigeria's tentative start to the Nations Cup.
Nigeria are second in Group C behind leaders Egypt with three points from two matches, but must avoid defeat against the Mambas of Mozambique to progress to the quarter-final of Angola 2010.
Speculation has been rife about the future of coach Amodu since Nigeria fell to Egypt in an opening Group C match here in Angola.
Amodu first qualified Nigeria for the 2002 World Cup, but was fired after the Eagles failed to reach the final of the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations in Mali, allowing Adeboye Onigbinde to take the team to the World Cup.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted his side were now genuine title contenders after goals from Cesc Fabregas and Fran Merida helped them beat Bolton 2-0 at the Reebok Stadium.
Sunday’s success left the third-placed Gunners just three points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and they will go top, on goal difference, if they beat Bolton again at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday in a fixture re-arranged following the recent cold snap in Britain.
After losing 3-0 at home to Chelsea on November 29, Wenger?s men were written off as potential champions but have since gone eight matches unbeaten to transform their season.
However, having seen Fabregas mark his return to the Arsenal side in style to help ruin Owen Coyle’s first match in charge of Bolton, Wenger said: “We are now in a quite interesting position that nobody expected us to be in.
“When the season started we were not all convinced maybe in our squad that we could be where we are today,” the Frenchman added.
“But now we are where we are, we want to have a go. We are a big club and when you are a big club, the most difficult thing is like last season in October and November, when you know you don’t fight for the title.
“But now we have a chance to fight for the championship, so let’s have a go.”
Fabregas had missed Arsenal’s three previous matches with a hamstring problem but the break did not appear to have done him any harm as he ran the show for the visitors on Sunday, including playing a part in setting-up fellow Spaniard Merida for the Gunners’ second goal 12 minutes from time.
