Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel has not retired from international football, a team spokesman said Tuesday, despite the former Chelsea star being sidelined for the third straight match. Mikel, who plays for Chinese side Tianjin Teda, has not played for the Super Eagles since he led the team at the World Cup finals in Russia in June.

Egypt s Premier League side Pyramids announced on Monday that coach Hossam Hassan will succeed Argentinean manager Ricardo La Volpe as the team s coach. "Pyramids are announcing the appointment of Hossam Hassan as team s new coach and Ibrahim Hassan as football director," the club said on their official Twitter account on Monday.

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as his side thrashed arch-rivals Real Madrid 5-1 on Sunday in a highly entertaining Clasico which surely will signal the end of hapless coach Julen Lopetegui s spell in charge of Real. Barca s Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring in the 11th minute following a slick team move and Suarez doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark by converting a penalty awarded after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR).

After beating eSwatini in two games in the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, Egypt climbed six positions to 58th in the FIFA global football rankings published 25 October. The Pharaohs defeated eSwatini in two games, 4-1 and 2-0, in the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifiers to claim second place in Group J as well as booking a place in the tournament s finals.

Egyptian giants Ahly have reached their 12th African Champions League final on a 3-2 aggregate win after suffering a 2-1 away defeat aginst ES Setif of Algeria on Tuesday. Walid Soliman opened the scoring for Ahly just one minute after the hour-mark but ES Setif responded quickly with two consecutive goals from Mohamed Bakir and Hossammadine Chacha on 71and 68 minutes respectively.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced late Tuesday that Egypt will play a friendly match against the UAE 20 November. Meanwhile, the Pharaohs will take on Tunisia 16 November in the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifiers after both teams already booked their places in the tournament.

Egyptian representative in the African Champions League Ahly will be looking to secure their place in the competition s final when they face Algerian side ES Setif away in the second leg of the semi-finals on Tuesday. Despite their 2-0 win in the first leg earlier this month, Ahly s mission in Algeria will not be easy as the hosts will fiercely defend their chances in the continental competition.

Ahly squad flew to Algeria Sunday morning ahead of their game against ES Sétif on Tuesday. The return of injured midfielder players Amr El-Sulaya and defender Saad Samir will boost the Reds in their bid for their ninth African Champions League title. The Egyptians will face the Algerian team in the return match of the CAF Champions League semi-final after winning the first leg 2-0 in Cairo on 2 October.

Egyptian Football Association (EFA) board member Magdi Abdel-Ghani has announced that they received more offers to play friendly games next month after the Pharaohs superb performance in the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. "We have more offers from the Brazil Football Association and Argentinean FAC to play a big friendly in November, and will face one of them after facing Tunisia in the qualifiers," Abdel-Ghani told a television programme late Wednesday.

Marouane Fellaini should be fit for Manchester United s Premier League trip to Chelsea on Saturday despite sitting out Belgium s friendly against Netherlands, the midfielder s national team manager Roberto Martinez has said. The 30-year-old was not involved in the 1-1 draw against Ronald Koeman s Dutch side in Brussels on Tuesday, with Martinez confirming Fellaini was not "100 percent fit".

Even when missing influential winger Mohamed Salah, Egypt eased past eSwatini 2-0 on Tuesday in Manzini to reach next year s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon. A first half goal by defender Ahmed Hegazi and another one after the break by striker Marwan Mohsen ensured the Pharaohs superiority over their southern African rivals as the first leg ended with a 4-1 win in Cairo on Friday.

Egyptian Football Association chairman Hany Abo Rida has said that the EFA has not yet made a decision to treat players from north African countries as locals in terms of club hiring restrictions, as the matter is still under consideration. “The decision has not been yet made and it won t be applied in January. The current situation is no more than a study which is still far from being applied,” read a statement by the EFA boss.

Spain coach Luis Enrique declared himself an admirer of England manager Gareth Southgate ahead of the two sides meeting on Monday in the UEFA Nations League, saying that he even studies his counterpart s news conferences. "I like Southgate as a coach and what he offers, he always wants the ball even though his team do not exactly dominate possession, and he adapts to his players," Luis Enrique told reporters on Sunday.

Spanish language newspaper El Pais has claimed that Egypt and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah was part of the reason for Zinedine Zidane s departure from Real Madrid. The 46-year-old Zidane left Real Madrid after winning an unprecedented third straight Champions League title last May spurred by a disagreement with club president Florentino Perez over Gareth Bale.

Liverpool star winger Mohamed Salah and West Bromwich defender Ahmed Hegazy joined Egypt s training camp Wednesday amid final preparations for first match on Friday in the double-header against eSwatini in the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. "The squad is full now after the arrival of Salah and Hegazy to the camp on Wednesday morning," read a statement by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA).

Arab Contractors striker Ahmed Ali won t be available for Egypt s first match in a double-header against eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, on Friday in the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifiers due to an injury, the Egyptian Football Association has said. "Ali left the national team training camp after picking up a muscular strain in the opening training session on Monday. Medical scans revealed that he couldn t be available for eSwatini match," a Tuesday statement from the EFA read.

Egypt national team will kick off on Monday their preparatory camp for the double-header against Swaziland in the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. The Pharaohs, who are second in Group J with three points, three behind leaders Tunisia, host Swaziland in Cairo on Friday before facing them away four days later in the fourth round of the qualifiers.

Mo Farah scored a stunning Chicago Marathon victory as he won in an unofficial two hours five minutes and 11 seconds in only his third race at the distance on Sunday. After bidding his time for much of competition, the British four-time Olympic track champion surged to the lead in the final four miles and broke Ethiopian Mosinet Geremew to shatter the European marathon record of 2:05:48.

Ahly s Tunisian key left-back player Ali Maaloul will be out of action for two months after sustaining a muscle injury during the 2-0 win over Algerian ES Setif in the CAF Champions League semifinal on Tuesday. “Maaloul suffers from a hamstring injury and he needs two months to recover,” Ahly s doctor Khaled Mahmoud was quoted as saying on the club s official website on Thursday.

Ahly coach Patrice Carteron rued his team s many missed chances in Tuesday s 2-0 home win over Algeria s ES Setif, adding that the road to the CAF Champions League final is not over yet. Despite the comforting 2-0 victory in the first leg, The Reds missed a number of easy chances that would have made their mission a lot easier in the return match on 23 October.

Egypt s Ahly will face a tough mission when they take on Algeria s ES Setif in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semifinals at Cairo s El-Salam Stadium on Tuesday. The return match will be played in Algeria on 23 October. Ahly, who are eyeing their first Champion s League trophy since 2013, booked their place in the continental tournament s semis after thrashing Guinea outfit Horoya AC 4-0 on aggregate in the quarterfinals two weeks ago.