Head Coach Eric Chelle has included captain Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman in a 23-man squad for Nigeria’s international friendly matches against Iran national football team and Jordan national football team.

The matches, originally planned for Amman in Jordan, will now be played in Antalya, Turkey due to security concerns in the Middle East.

Nigeria will face Iran on March 27 before taking on Jordan on March 31, both in Antalya.

Chelle has also invited goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, defender Semi Ajayi, midfielder Frank Onyeka, and forwards Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Akor Adams and Paul Onuachu.

There are first-time call-ups for defender Emmanuel Fernandez and forwards Philip Otele and Yira Collins Sor, while goalkeeper Adebayo Adeleye returns to the squad.

Full Squad:

Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye; Adebayo Adeleye; Francis Uzoho

Defenders: Calvin Bassey; Semi Ajayi; Bright Osayi-Samuel; Bruno Onyemaechi; Zaidu Sanusi; Igoh Ogbu; Emmanuel Fernandez

Midfielders: Alex Iwobi; Frank Onyeka; Wilfred Ndidi; Raphael Onyedika; Fisayo Dele-Bashiru

Forwards: Ademola Lookman; Samuel Chukwueze; Moses Simon; Chidera Ejuke; Paul Onuachu; Akor Adams; Philip Otele; Yira Collins Sor

The upcoming Ranvet Stakes is shaping as a direct confrontation featuring Aeliana versus Sir Delius, whose handler Adrian Bott is optimistic the three-week turnaround will peak him perfectly.

Last season’s ATC Australian Derby hero leads the market for the Saturday 2000m showdown, yet Sir Delius holds firm at $3.30 as the outright next-best and only authentic rival in sight.

Favourite for spring majors like the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, the Tulloch Lodge gelding endured a divisive withdrawal from Victorian spring riches due to botched compulsory veterinary clearance.

Breaking a near five-month absence with third behind Autumn Glow and Aeliana in February 28’s Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m), Bott confirmed marked progress post that effort.

“Three weeks, it has been that real sweet spot to get him to where we need him to be stepping out to 2000,” Bott said.

“He is out to his right trip now, and he has shown the necessary improvement. I’m ready to see him bounce back.”

Bott appreciates the magnitude of Sir Delius’s assignment opposite Aeliana, who dazzled in both preparatory outings this preparation.

She placed second to Autumn Glow in the preceding Apollo Stakes (1400m) before Verry Elleegant and now looks to overturn a heartbreakingly close defeat to Broadsiding in the prior year’s Rosehill Guineas (2000m).

Sir Delius demands a revival of his Group 1 Underwood and Turnbull Stakes conquests from spring to threaten Aeliana, according to Bott.

“The mare was very sharp last start, and she has been excellent this campaign,” he said.

“We’re going to need to recapture that spring form to be getting to that point of beating her, but I do feel he’s on his way there.”

Alalcance, from the same barn, is dual-nominated for the Ranvet Stakes (2000m) alongside the Manion Cup (2000m) support act.

With Campaldino earmarked for the Manion representation, Bott eyes the tight Ranvet peloton as prime for the mare’s Group 1 podium push and black-type boost.

“A smaller field at weight-for-age level, it might be a chance for her to try to improve her value with some black type, and she is very good around that 2000 metres,” he said.

Compare online bookmakers for the keenest Ranvet Stakes prices.

Vikings Territory Breakdown

It’s the offseason in the NFL, where speculation trickles down from the sky (or internet) and lands like so much wet, March snow, becoming frozen and as slippery a slope as any Purple prediction. It often means little and is gone in a trifling, yet sometimes that speculation holds and the Vikings get their guy.

Well, this offseason it did hold and Kyler Murray is a Viking—as nearly every podcaster with a microphone predicted. He was signed last week a one-year deal worth the league minimum (because he is getting paid $36 million by his former team, the Arizona Cardinals). 

So, what does Murray’s contract mean—one season costing $1.3 million for a 7-year veteran quarterback? Is it a one-year prove it deal? Or is it a rent-a-quarterback until JJ McCarthy gets ready? Will there be a real competition at the position? Or, as some folks online have suggested, the Vikings should trade JJ and make Murray the QBOTF?

All interesting questions that the fellas at the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast—Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com, and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com—will ponder for you. Because we don’t have the answers yet; it’s the season of speculation. So, tune in and check out the latest prognostications. Skol!

Listen here or on your favorite podcast network.

Joe Oberle is a veteran sportswriter/editor/reporter and has covered the Vikings since 2008. The author of three books, he … More about Joe Oberle

Following the unprecedented decision to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title and hand it to Morocco, Mark Owen is pleased to welcome Eurosport’s Ruben Slagter. Not only is our guest troubled by the decision itself, but also the opacity of its timing and communication: the delayed ruling, coupled with its quiet release during a major European fixture, the Champion’s League, raises questions about institutional transparency and intent. According to Mr. Slagter, this situation reflects deeper structural issues within football governance.

First Published: Mar 19 2026 | 12:23 PM IST

Flau’jae Johnson’s career stands out not only for her on-court accomplishments but for defying the transfer-heavy landscape of the modern NIL era in college sports.

More than four years ago, Johnson committed to LSU. Fast-forward to 2026, and she’s never left the school where she first enrolled. Her ties to the Southeastern Conference powerhouse run so deep she buried her beloved pet, a bearded dragon named Four in a nod to her jersey number, on the Baton Rouge campus.

On Friday, Johnson will take the court for the final time in a Tigers’ jersey as she concludes her prolific college basketball career. 

But when LSU tips off against 15th-seeded Jacksonville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Johnson’s other bearded dragon, Champ, will be with her — in spirit at the very least.

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Flau’jae Johnson and the LSU Tigers take on the Tennessee Lady Vols Feb. 26, 2026, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. (Scott Clause/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Most of Johnson’s teammates would likely prefer to avoid the reptile. But LSU guard Izzy Besselman, a close friend of Johnson, has been tricked into opening a basket she thought was empty but actually contained the bearded dragon.

Johnson is contemplating bringing Champ to the gym for practice sessions, noting some of her teammates bring along their dogs.

LSU STAR FLAU’JAE JOHNSON SAYS UNRIVALED LEAGUE ‘CHANGING THE GAME’ AS SHE JOINS IN NIL PARTNERSHIP

Nevertheless, with her final run on the horizon, Johnson said she’s embracing the challenge ahead, no matter how far LSU advances. 

“March is always a good month,” she told reporters during the SEC Tournament. “I love March. The thing is, this is when everyone’s the most focused, and you just got to rely on your work.”

Johnson, who is also a recording artist and is signed to Roc Nation, has a morning routine that includes watching game film with her coach and fitting in workouts outside team practices. Several brands have also partnered with Johnson, and she makes time to fulfill commitments associated with those deals.

Besselman noted Johnson’s ability to bring out the best in her teammates. 

“Seeing how hard she works motivates me and everybody else in this locker room,” Besselman told Yahoo Sports. “It’s a good person to look up to.”

Flau’jae Johnson of the LSU Tigers in action against the Tulane Green Wave at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., Nov. 20, 2024. (Reagan Cotten/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)

Johnson’s coach, Kim Mulkey, is known for her “tough love” approach, a style that has produced results with three national titles at Baylor and another at LSU. Johnson said Mulkey helped shape her into a more efficient and ultimately better player.

“It could be easier to go into the transfer portal, go to a team with a terrible record and average 30,” Johnson said. “I could do that. I did that in high school. You know what I’m saying? College is not much different.

“But I want to play with All-Americans. I want to play with a tough coach who won championships. I want to play with people so I can learn how to be efficient. I want to play in positions where it’s not favorable for me and still come out on top. For me, it’s more so, I like to do the hard stuff.”

LSU Tigers women’s basketball player Flau’jae Johnson speaks during “The Money Game” world premiere at Pete Maravich Assembly Center Sept. 4, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La.  (LSU Athletics/University Images via Getty Images)

Johnson is on track to compete in Unrivaled as soon as next year after already signing an NIL deal with the women’s 3-on-3 league.

Mulkey said she believes Johnson is one of the best athletes to have played at LSU in part because of her philanthropy, but also for what she did for the program’s trajectory.

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“She took a chance on LSU when what did we have to sell?” Mulkey said on senior night. “We just got here, and she was the first McDonald’s All-American that I signed at LSU. The story on Flau’jae will be all those things I just mentioned, but the greatest story of all to me is she stayed four years at LSU and will graduate. 

“When you think of college athletics now, people don’t do it anymore. And she loves LSU, and, in return, LSU embraced her and loved her back.”

LSU earned a No. 2 seed in this year’s women’s basketball Division I tournament. The Tigers will play in the Sacramento regional.

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