Category: International Sports

By Ken Andrew

kennyandrewmuganda@gmail.com

In what was arguably the greatest game of football, Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties enabling Lionel Messi to lift a trophy he has yearned for throughout his career, the World Cup.

Argentina took a comfortable 2-0 lead in the first half and with fifteen minutes left on the clock, it was almost certain that they would be crowned world champions but it was not to happen that way. A Kylian Mbappe brace sent the match into extra time where Lionel Messi got his second of the night but another Mbappe penalty(completing his hattrick!), meant that the game was to be decided by penalties.

Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman’s penalty and Aurelien Tchouameni sent his wide allowing Gonzalo Montiel to put away the winning spot kick for Argentina.

Lionel Messi has won all trophies available to him in his career and the World Cup had eluded him four times before. The closest he had come was in 2014 where Argentina lost out to Germany after a Mario Gotze goal in extra time. Winning the world cup is his greatest achievement in an extremely illustrious career.

Even though they lost,  Les Bleus gave a valiant effort, treating fans to some premium football. Kylian Mbappe undoubtedly has shown that he is ready to dominate football for multiple years. He will be gunning for his second World Cup trophy in 2026.

For Argentina, they can rejoice that Lionel Messi will retire a world champion and arguably the greatest to ever do it.

Before it was Maradona, now it is Messi. It was not easy for the latter but he now sits in an exclusive list of players who have ‘completed football’. You have to think that an eighth Balon d’or is on the way for him.

By Ken Andrew
kennyandrewmuganda@gmail.com
2022 has been an epic year for the UFC especially in terms of upsets. Leon Edwards, Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka were some of the biggest winners in title fights, each earning their title in the final moments of the fifth round. The UFC also held events outside of the United States and Fight Island in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the pandemic started. This year, fans were treated to shows in Singapore, The United Kingdom, and for the first time ever, France.

2023 looks to be a good year for fans of the UFC as the already announced events and rumoured fights are looking tasty.

Three of the first four Pay Per View events will  be outside the United States. The company will open their Pay Per View calender with UFC 283 in Brazil. It is a much anticipated fight card with two title fights, both with Brazilian fighters contesting for the gold. Perth will then host UFC 284, featuring Australian Alex Volkanovski. He will be looking to earn his second belt as he takes on Islam Makhachev for the Lightweight belt.

UFC 285 will take place on March 4th in Las Vegas. Finally, UFC 286 will take place at the O2 Arena in London. This will be the UFC’s third visit to London in a year but only the second ever numbered event in the UK. The reviews of the past events in London have been amazing and UFC London is a fan favourite event.

The UFC 286 fight card is unfinished and there are hopes that Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett will participate. Paddy and ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann have been the biggest stars in the UFC London events. Hopefully, they recover from their recent fights and are ready on March 18th.

By Blaise Ogutu

ogutublaise@gmail.com

Ever since the season kicked off 5 months ago in Bahrain, the F1 campaign has been a constant slugfest between Red Bull and Ferrari. Back and forth throughout 12 races, all the winners have either come from the Italian team or the team run by the energy drinks company. In the drivers’ championship, the battle seems to be going Max Verstappen’s way with seven wins out of twelve compared to his counterpart Charles Leclerc with only three wins this season. The other two race winners have also been Red Bull and Ferrari drivers in the form of Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.

For a team that was believed to have the best package on the grid in terms of performance and reliability, Ferrari have often found themselves throwing away race wins with poor strategies and surprisingly engine malfunctions. Something their fans have grown accustomed to since 2018 with Sebastian Vettel.

Behind all this Ferrari-Red Bull battle is 8-time constructors champion Mercedes who had a torrid time finding form in the earlier races but have since improved on their consistency. For many races, the team struggled to come to terms with the new regulations and the one thing hurting their title defence challenges was the cars ‘porpoising.’ Recently that has seemed to be water under the bridge but their pace is still ways off the top two sides.

Their drivers have also had different stories to tell. Multiple world champion Lewis Hamilton struggled to get in sync with the machinery as he posted some of his worst ever finishes this season. In Italy, at the Emilia Romagna GP, Hamilton finished in a measly 13-place but has since bounced back. His teammate George Russell has looked more comfortable than Lewis consistent top five finishes throughout the season.

The rest of the grid looks far detached from the top three teams with Renault Alpine in fourth place 177 points behind Mercedes. They are followed by McLaren who have been a disappointing outfit this season. Touted as one of the teams to break the Red Bull-Mercedes dominance of previous years, the team has drastically dropped as they can’t get veteran driver Daniel Ricciardo to put in performances that match his teammate Lando Norris. Alfa Romeo and Haas follow in sixth and seventh place and both teams would be proud of their performances this season. Haas have had Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen consistently getting point finishes, which helped lift the team in the standings.

The three remaining teams are Alpha Tauri, Aston Martin and Williams. Alpha Tauri are also another disappointing outfit performing way below their standards as a mid-table team. Aston Martin have also had their issues with reliability and with the announcement of Sebastian Vettel’s retirement, they have to find a new driver for next season. Williams haven’t had their luck in quite a while and it isn’t changing with the kind of finishes their two drivers are posting.

By Blaise Ogutu
The 2022 summer transfer window has been open for the past three weeks and player movements are in full swing. Let’s take a look at the Premier League and what different clubs are up to.
The two top clubs in the form of Manchester City and Liverpool have both made blockbuster signings with Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez respectively. City has been on the lookout for a new striker ever since the departure of veteran Sergio Aguero and seems to have found the perfect replacement in the tall Norwegian. With 86 goals in 89 matches for Borussia Dortmund, Erling Haaland decided a new challenge was on the cards for him and Manchester was the city in mind.
Liverpool on the other hand has added Darwin Nunez to their ranks, in an attempt to win another Premier League title under Jurgen Klopp. The 23-year-old Uruguayan penned a six-year deal from Benfica, the second signing from the league by Liverpool in recent months since Luis Diaz from Porto. Coming into the squad with 34 goals from last season, Klopp will be banking on the young striker to produce the goods in the frontline.
Tottenham Hotspur has been arguably the most active in the window so far with Antonio Conte at the helm looking for an instant impact. The Italian has brought Ivan Perisic from Inter on a free transfer effectively improving his flanks. They have also secured the services of Yves Bissouma from south coast club Brighton and Hove Albion and recently Richarlison from Everton. The latter will be a sore miss for Everton as his goals in the final stretch of last season ensured safety for the Toffees. It is also reported that the club is in advanced talks with Middlesborough to sign Djed Spence.
Spurs’ crosstown rivals Arsenal have also made moves this summer with the impending arrival of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City to bolster their attack following the departure of Alexander Lacazette to Lyon. Courtesy of the Gunners, there will be another Vieira in the league in the form of Fabio Vieira who they signed from Porto. For a long time, the club had been linked with Leeds forward Raphinha but that has since evaporated as Chelsea came swooping in for the Brazilian and are now involved in a battle with Barcelona for his signature.
Plenty of movements all around with pending deals (Manchester United still eyeing Frenkie De Jong from Barcelona) with plenty of time to go before deadline day in September.

(Photo Courtesy of Bleacher)

By Abdul Shaban

Mo Salah is the PFA Players’ player of the year for the second time

(Picha kwa hisani ya SportsArena)

{Na Abdul Shaban}

Manchester United wametangaza rasmi kuachana na kiungo wao Mfaransa, Paul Labile Pogba akiwa kama mchezaji huru.

Pogba akiwa na Manchester United amecheza michezo 233, amefunga mabao 39 na kutoa assists 51.

By Joy Miano
Joymiano18033@daystar.ac.ke
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, often referred to as Imola Grand Prix, in Italy, is usually one of the most emotional races in the Formula 1 season. Max Verstappen won his second Grand Prix of the season with the fastest lap, ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez.  Lando Norris came in third to ensure McLaren fill the last podium position with his first podium of the year. The season leader, Charles Leclerc, slipped down to position six after spinning into the barriers. Unfortunately, his teammate Carlos Sainz was out in the first lap. This was a repeat of the Australian Grand Prix, after being spun into the gravel trap by Daniel Ricciardo’s Mclaren.

George Russell had a better race than his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had a very miserable day and finished position 13. He was embarrassingly lapped by Verstappen during the closing stages of the race. Lewis is more likely to lose a chance to battle with the top drivers for the Driver’s championship this year. It was a sad day for the Tifosi (Scuderia Ferrari fans) and the seven time world champion Hamilton fans. On the other hand, a great day for Redbull with Verstappen on pole on Friday ,won the sprint on Saturday and a double podium.
Formula 1 returns in a fortnight in the United States with the much awaited Miami Grand Prix .