Sports
Arsenal Outshine City On Penalties, Grab Community Shield
Arsenal lifted the Community Shield to end Manchester City’s silverware streak with a 4-1 penalty shoot-out victory after a 1-1 draw against the treble winners on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side forced the shoot-out thanks to Leandro Trossard’s heavily deflected equaliser 11 minutes into stoppage time at Webley.
Cole Palmer’s superb curler had given City the lead late in the second half, but Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri missed their penalties before Fabio Vieira converted the decisive kick in the annual curtain-raiser to the English Premier League (EPL) season.
De Bruyne hit the bar with City’s first spot-kick and Rodri’s effort was saved by Aaron Ramsdale, while Arsenal converted all four of their kicks.
Arsenal’s celebrations were far more frenzied than would normally be seen in what in the glamour friendly, but their jubilation underlined the months of anguish endured since they blew a golden opportunity to win their first title since 2004.
City made history by becoming only the second English club to lift the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in a single season last term.
Their fifth Premier League title in six seasons came at Arsenal’s expense as the Gunners wasted the eight-point lead they held at the start of April to finish five points behind the champions.
Showcasing £160 million worth of new signings in Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, it was clear Arsenal had a point to prove to City as they snapped into tackles with the kind of urgency that usually accompanies a title decider.
While Arteta and his players cavorted around the pitch and soaked up the raucous celebrations from their fans, they might wish to note that the Community Shield winners have gone on to secure the Premier League title just once since 2011.
Inevitably, it was City who bucked that trend in 2018 and it is far too early to bet on Arsenal following in their footsteps.
Arsenal led the table for 248 days last season and still fell short, prompting Arteta to admit they will need an “unheard of” points total to stop the champions this term.
– Composed Rice –
Pep Guardiola’s men, aiming for an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League crown, start their title defence at promoted Burnley on Friday, while Arsenal host Nottingham Forest the following day.
Arteta will have been encouraged by a composed display from England midfielder Rice following his £105 million move from West Ham.
Timber, another new recruit, was also solid at left-back but Havertz was typically profligate as he wasted Arsenal’s two best chances to take the lead.
Havertz will be expected to lead the Arsenal attack while Gabriel Jesus recovers from knee surgery and this was hardly the ideal introduction to his new club for the inconsistent German.
Mateo Kovacic was energetic on his City debut after the midfielder’s move from Chelsea, but fellow Croatian Josko Gvardiol was unavailable following the defender’s arrival from Leipzig on Saturday.
Palmer was the anonymous Erling Haaland’s second half replacement and the promising youngster netted in the 77th minute.
City broke at pace and when Kieran Tierney lost the ball carelessly, De Bruyne’s header found Palmer and he curled a sublime finish into the far corner from the edge of the area.
But in a sign of things to come under the new time-wasting rules, there was a huge amount of stoppage time and Arsenal snatched the equaliser 11 minutes into the additional period.
It was a hugely fortunate goal as Trossard cut in from the right and hit his shot straight at Manuel Akanji, only for the ball to deflect off the City defender past the wrong-footed Stefan Ortega.
Still feeling the pain of last season’s title collapse, Arteta celebrated as though Arsenal had won the league.
The Spaniard let his emotions hang out again when Vieira converted the winning penalty to light the fuse on the looming title race.
Story from AFP, excluding headline
Team Nigeria delivered a remarkable display at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, producing a world record, a historic gold medal and a hard-fought bronze to underline the country’s growing dominance in athletics.
Leading the charge was para-athlete Goodness Nwachukwu, who successfully defended her women’s F42 discus throw title in spectacular fashion by setting a new world record of 39.66 metres with her final throw.
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The 27-year-old surpassed her previous world record by more than three metres to register her fourth career world record and add another Commonwealth gold medal to her impressive collection.
Wales’ Funmi Oduwaiye settled for silver with a throw of 38.52 metres, while Bree Cronin claimed bronze after recording 36.00 metres.
Reacting to her achievement, an emotional Nwachukwu said, “I feel like I am on top of the world. I feel so great. I feel so wow, I was like, ‘Ah, what?’ and I started shouting.”
She also expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their unwavering support, adding, “I love you all and I can’t wait to see you. Love you.”
Nigeria’s celebrations continued in the men’s shot put, where Chukwuebuka Enekwechi made history by becoming the first Nigerian to win Commonwealth Games gold in the event.
The African record holder secured victory with a throw of 21.07 metres, improving on the silver medal he won at the 2018 Commonwealth Games while erasing the disappointment of his fourth-place finish in Birmingham four years ago.
Defending champion Tom Walsh of New Zealand claimed silver with a throw of 21.03 metres, while England’s Scott Lincoln finished with bronze after throwing 20.99 metres.
Meanwhile, world record holder Tobi Amusan displayed determination in the women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 12.60 seconds to claim bronze and extend her Commonwealth Games medal streak to three consecutive editions.
Although she narrowly missed out on a third successive Commonwealth title, Amusan revealed after the race that she had been hampered by a knee injury sustained during Team Nigeria’s training camp in Aberdeen.
The outstanding performances by Nwachukwu, Enekwechi and Amusan capped another memorable day for Team Nigeria, as the athletes combined to deliver medals, history and a world record at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
FIFA has been thrown into fresh controversy after a senior adviser to President Gianni Infantino resigned over a proposed plan to sell a stake in the commercial operations of the FIFA World Cup, describing the move as harmful to the future of football.
The resignation, announced on Friday, marks a major setback for Infantino as criticism continues to mount over the governing body’s plans to commercialize aspects of the world’s biggest football tournament.
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Carlos Cordeiro, a former president of the United States Soccer Federation and one of Infantino’s senior advisers, said he could not support the proposal, insisting it would undermine the interests of FIFA’s member associations and the sport itself.
“As a senior advisor to the FIFA president, a former banker, and a lifelong football fan, I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in his resignation statement.
He stressed that he had no role in developing the proposal.
“Let me be clear: I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” he said.
Cordeiro further described the initiative as detrimental to football’s long-term future.
“It is a bad deal for FIFA’s member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game,” he added.
His resignation came just hours after FIFA announced it would continue with what it described as an “open and democratic” consultation process on the proposal, despite growing opposition.
The development represents one of the most significant internal challenges facing Infantino in recent months and is expected to intensify debate over the commercial direction of global football and the governance of the FIFA World Cup.
Brazilian football icon Neymar Jr. has officially announced his retirement from international football, ending a remarkable 16-year career with the Brazil national team and closing one of the most celebrated chapters in the country’s football history.
The 34-year-old Santos forward confirmed his decision after his side’s 4-2 victory over Universidad Central in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana knockout round playoffs, putting an end to months of speculation about a potential return to the Seleção.
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Reflecting on his decision, Neymar said he had given everything for his country.
“My time with the national team is over. I made history, I was very happy, I gave my blood, my life. I always fought for the yellow jersey, but now I don’t want to anymore,” he said.
Neymar’s final appearance for Brazil came in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Norway. Although he converted a stoppage-time penalty, Brazil suffered a 2-1 defeat, ending their hopes of winning a sixth World Cup title.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star retires as Brazil’s all-time leading men’s goalscorer, having scored 80 goals to surpass the legendary Pelé’s record of 77.
Since making his senior debut in 2010, Neymar represented Brazil in four FIFA World Cups, multiple Copa América tournaments, the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Olympic Games.
He played a key role in Brazil’s 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup triumph and captained the nation to its first-ever Olympic men’s football gold medal at the Rio 2016 Games.
Despite his extraordinary achievements, injuries often hampered his international career. A calf injury sustained while playing for Santos ruled him out of Brazil’s opening two matches at the 2026 World Cup.
He later returned as a substitute against Scotland in the final group-stage match before making his final international appearance against Norway, scoring the last goal of his Brazil career.
Neymar’s retirement marks the end of an era for Brazilian football, leaving behind a legacy of record-breaking achievements, unforgettable moments and unwavering commitment to the famous yellow jersey.
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