Sweden clinched third place at the Women’s World Cup for the third time after they exposed England’s defensive frailties in a 2-1 bronze-medal match victory.

Kosovare Asllani and Sofia Jakobsson scored inside the opening 22 minutes at Allianz Riviera, where the Lionesses failed to recover from a slow start despite Fran Kirby pulling a goal back just after the half-hour.

Ellen White was denied the record of being the first player to score in six consecutive matches in the same tournament when a VAR review deemed she used her arm to control the ball before putting it in the net and Sweden locked the gates thereafter.

Karen Carney, who announced her decision to retire from football before the game, came on as a second-half substitute but there was to be no fairy-tale ending for her or for England.

Egypt were left stunned as Thembinkosi Lorch’s late strike silenced the home fans to send South Africa to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals.

A daunting task awaited Bafana Bafana on Saturday night as they took to the field in front of a packed Cairo International Stadium.

Coming up against the hosts Egypt in the Round of 16, Bafana were clear underdogs on paper, having snuck into the knockout rounds as one of the four best third-placed teams, while the Pharaohs were among the tournament favourites – boasting a 100% win record thus far in the competition.

Their chances were given an even further boost with the news that talisman Mohamed Salah had shrugged off illness ahead of kick-off and was raring to go.

But with the match looking destined for a further 30 minutes, a well-worked move saw Bafana finally break the deadlock when Lorch showed great composure to deliver what proved to be the killer blow, stunning the Egypt fans into complete silence and justifying calls for his selection after being snubbed during the Group Stage.

Nigeria defeated Cameroon 3-2 in a thrilling Round of 16 fixture at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

A brace from Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi’s strike were enough for the Super Eagles to see off the reigning African champions at the Alexandria Stadium on Saturday.

The breakthrough came in the 19th through Odion Ighalo’s effort, which was deflected into the back of Andre Onana’s net.

Cameroon’s push for an equaliser finally paid off in the 41st minute, with Stephane Bahoken slotting Bassogog’s cross past Daniel Akpeyi. The situation turned sour for Nigeria as Njie fired the Indomitable Lions ahead a minute before the half-time break.

Ighalo inspired the comeback in the 63rd minute after turning a pass from Ahmed Musa into the back of the net to set up a thrilling finale.

Even after getting the equaliser, Nigeria kept pushing for the lead and it came three minutes later, with Alex Iwobi finishing a fine assist from Ighalo.

Lionel Messi has stated that “football wasn’t fair” to Argentina following their third-place finish at Copa America.

The Barcelona forward was at the centre of controversy as Argentina beat Chile 2-1 in the third-place play-off game, receiving a red card alongside Gary Medel after the pair clashed on the pitch after 36 minutes.

Messi’s team-mates provided the goods despite his dismissal as Sergio Aguero and Paulo Dybala’s efforts proved enough to secure third place, despite Arturo Vidal’s goal from the penalty spot on 59 minutes.

In an Instagram story published after the final whistle, Messi said: “We are leaving this Copa with a win but above all with our heads held high and the feeling that this time football wasn’t fair with us.

“Because of how we played and because we were better than Brazil, we deserved to be in the final tomorrow.

“But we have to look ahead with optimism because there is a future here and a great base in this national team and we just have to give it time.”

Lionel Messi was sent off as Argentina beat Chile 2-1 to clinch Copa America bronze with both sides reduced to 10 men in an ill-tempered clash at Arena Corinthians.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner appeared to be the victim of shoving by Chile’s Gary Medel, but the referee sent both players off after 37 minutes with Argentina already two goals to the good.

Messi provided the assist for Sergio Aguero’s 12th-minute opener before Juventus forward Paulo Dybala doubled Argentina’s lead, but the first half ended with protests against the contentious red cards.

There were 21 fouls before the break and sparks continued to fly as Chile were awarded a penalty just before the hour, Arturo Vidal scoring from the spot.

Reinaldo Rueda’s men failed to force an equaliser, but there was time for three further bookings that took the tally of cards shown to nine at the end of an explosive encounter.

The world has lost one of its brightest rising stars. Cameron Boyce is dead at just 20 years old. “It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron,” a spokesperson on behalf of the Boyce family said in a statement to HollywoodLife.

“He passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated. The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights, but his spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him.”

Cameron was also set to appear in the upcoming HBO series Mrs. Fletcher and upcoming series “Paradise City”.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency has said two people have been confirmed dead and 30 vehicles burnt in the Ijegun, Lagos pipeline explosion.

He said, “On arrival of the LRT at the scene of the incident, it was gathered that some vandals were engaged in illegal bunkering activities at Fire Junction, Ijegun, within the vicinity where NNPC pipelines were buried.

“The vandals had already siphoned petrol into a 33,000 litres tanker while a second tanker of the same capacity was being loaded when security agencies suddenly intercepted them.

“While trying to escape, some of the siphoned fuel spilled into the drainage and the vandals were alleged to have set the spilled fuel on fire in a bid to deter the security agencies from apprehending them.

“It will take time before the inferno can be tackled until the supplies from the pipeline is weak and disabled when supplies are shutdown and the main source and valves closest to the scene.

Philippe Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian says that the Barcelona midfielder will remain with the Spanish champions amid reports linking him with a move away from the Catalan club.

Coutinho has experienced an up and down tenure with Barcelona since joining the La Liga side from Liverpool in January 2018.

He was booed several times by Barcelona fans towards the tail end of the season, and was relatively ineffective against his former club as Barca were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-final.

As a result, the Brazilian star has been linked with a departure, with Paris Saint-Germain among those said to be interested.

“I talked a few days ago with Pep Segura at Barcelona,” Joorabchian told RMC Sport.

“He told me that the club does not want to sell Coutinho this summer, no matter what. And then, we have not had any contact with PSG.”

Coutinho has featured in 75 matches for Barcelona since making the move from Anfield, having scored 21 goals during his Camp Nou stay.

Jackie Groenen’s brilliant strike in extra time secured European champions Netherlands a place in the Women’s World Cup final thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sweden on Wednesday.

Neither side managed to find a way through in the regulation 90 minutes despite the woodwork being struck twice, but recent Manchester United addition Groenen finally found the mark to set up a final against the United States on Sunday.

The respective defences generally came out on top in the first half, as neither team particularly captured the imagination when on the front foot, providing a stark contrast to Tuesday’s semi-final contest between USA and England.

Proceedings opened up more after the break and both sides were denied by the frame of the goal, but it took until extra time for the decisive goal to arrive, with Groenen producing a fine finish to seal a first ever World Cup final for her side.