The Nigeria Football Federation has dismissed claims that FIFA has ruled on Nigeria’s protest against the Democratic Republic of Congo over alleged ineligible players.

Nigeria filed the complaint after losing to DR Congo on penalties in the final round of the African play-offs last November, a result that ended the Super Eagles’ hopes of reaching the intercontinental play-offs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

According to the NFF, some Congolese players were questioned because the country’s laws do not fully recognise dual citizenship, raising concerns about players holding European passports while representing the Leopards.

However, the federation has clarified that FIFA has not issued any verdict on the matter. NFF Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, said reports claiming that a decision has been made are false.

“There is no decision from FIFA at this time. Any claims that a ruling has been made are false. FIFA has not communicated any verdict to the NFF or the Congolese federation,” Olajire said.

The federation also warned fans to ignore fake documents circulating online that claim FIFA awarded Nigeria a 3-0 win and reinstated the Super Eagles in the qualification process.

Explaining the petition, NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi said the federation raised concerns about the documents submitted by DR Congo to FIFA.

“As far as FIFA is concerned, once you have the passport of your country, you are eligible. But our concern is that FIFA may have been deceived into clearing them,” Sanusi said.

DR Congo has rejected Nigeria’s claims and urged the Super Eagles to accept the result. The Congolese FA, through Director of Football Hérita Ilunga, said FIFA rules on sporting nationality, not domestic citizenship laws, determine player eligibility.

Tyson Fury has revealed a shock trainer decision ahead of his upcoming fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Fury will return from his latest retirement when he faces Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on April 11, with the event broadcast live on Netflix.

‘The Gypsy King’ was last in action in December 2024, when he suffered his second straight defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, the first of those losses coming in May of that year.

There was criticism of the Fury corner in that first bout, with some fans claiming that Tyson’s father John was too involved and speaking over head trainer Sugar Hill Steward, leading to John to not be present for the second bout.

Fury and Sugar Hill have worked together for a number of years, including his two victories over Deontay Wilder, but it appears the relationship between the duo has come to an end.

When asked at his press conference what his training situation will be for the fight against Makhmudov, Fury claimed he will be doing things solo.

“I’m like Clubber Lang. I’m going to train alone. I know how to do it and know how to go 12 rounds, know how to push myself when I need to and when to take a rest when I need to.

“People try and make it like rocket science but it’s not, as long as you train hard and eat well and get plenty of rest. I’m an experienced veteran in this game.

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“Sometimes you need people to point stuff out to you and remind you of certain aspects of it all, but what I don’t know about my own body now, I’m never going to know.”

Fury will still require an official trainer in his corner for the clash against Makhmudov, but at this stage it appears that it won’t be Sugar Hill.

With Kylian Mbappe back in the squad, Real Madrid returns to Portugal looking for some payback against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the Champions League. Three weeks after Mourinho’s team stunned his former club in a 4-2 win that allowed Benfica to qualify and kept the Spanish giant from automatically reaching the round of 16, the two teams will meet again at the Stadium of Light in the first round of the knockout stage. “I hope history does not repeat itself,” Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said. “We are prepared for the difficulty of the match, the opponent, the atmosphere and what awaits us on Tuesday. It’s 180 minutes and we have to play a great game there. We have it very fresh in our minds, so we know how complicated it will be.”

Benfica got the goal it needed to qualify thanks to a last-minute header by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin against Madrid, allowing it to grab the 24th — and final — spot for the knockout stage on goal difference.

The rematch highlights a knockout round that will also include defending champion Paris Saint-Germain against Monaco and Inter Milan, last year’s runner-up, facing Norwegian outsider Bodø/Glimt.

Mbappé, who already has 38 goals for Madrid this season, will be available again after he missed the Spanish league match against Real Sociedad at the weekend because of discomfort on his knee.

He has scored nine goals in his last six matches with Madrid, including both goals in the loss to Benfica.

“He is doing very well,” Arbeloa said. “Obviously, he has been dealing with these minor knee issues for quite some time this season. He is making a great effort every time he steps onto the field, and we have decided not to take risks so that he will be ready to start the match on Tuesday.”

PSG dropped out of the top eight that automatically qualified for the last-16 after a 1-1 home draw against Newcastle in the last round of the league phase, dropping it to 11th place.

On Friday, it lost 3-1 at Rennes in the French league for its third defeat of the year — and sixth this season.

Monaco, which finished 21st in the league phase, beat Nantes 3-1 on Friday, but before that it had won only once in its last seven matches across all tournaments.

Inter heads to its match at Bodø/Glimt on Wednesday after six straight victories, including Saturday’s last-minute 3-2 triumph over Juventus, a result that increased its Serie A lead.

Inter won its first four games in the league phase this season, but then lost three in a row before finishing off with an away victory at Borussia Dortmund that secured it 10th place.

Bodø/Glimt, in its first Champions League campaign, needed back-to-back upset wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid to make it to the knockout round in 23rd place.

The other first legs on Tuesday include Juventus visiting Galatasaray and Dortmund hosting Atalanta.

On Wednesday, Newcastle is at Qarabag, Olympiakos hosts Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico visits Club Brugge.

It’s important to draw a distinction between resume metrics and predictive metrics when talking about a team like Miami University and the NCAA Tournament bubble. Selection decisions are closely tied to your resume and what you’ve accomplished, which is a good thing for Miami. 

The cries are already coming: “but Miami hasn’t even played a Quad 1 game.”

Despite the fact that it has played zero Quad 1 games and is just 1-0 in Quad 2, there is a metric on official NCAA team sheets that acknowledges the brilliance of Miami’s 25-0 start.

It’s called Wins Against Bubble (WAB), and it calculates how the average bubble team would perform against your schedule. With a 1.92 WAB, the Redhawks are recognized for having nearly two more victories than the average bubble team would against their slate.

If Miami doesn’t win the MAC Tournament and needs an at-large ticket to the Big Dance, WAB will be one of its best friends. The Redhawks rank No. 34 in WAB entering Tuesday night’s game at UMass, which appears to be the most challenging of six regular season games left on their slate. That’s within at-large territory. Where it gets tricky is that any loss against MAC opposition carries a significant WAB penalty.

Here are all the Selection Sunday scenarios for Miami as it heads down this the stretch with its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 in sight.

NCAA Tournament selection scenarios for Miami University

The simple scenario (win MAC Tournament) 

Record: Between 28-6 and 34-0 
Confidence level: It’s a party
Likely WAB range: Doesn’t matter

Bust out the balloons and hire a caterer for the watch party. Miami can go 6-0 to close the regular season, 0-6 or something in between. It doesn’t matter, so long as the Redhawks are cutting down the nets inside Cleveland’s Rocket Arena at the end of the MAC Tournament on March 14. 

Winning the MAC Tournament is the only 100% guaranteed path to the Big Dance, and it won’t be easy. The MAC isn’t one of the handful of conferences now offering automatic byes to the semifinals for its top two seeds. The Redhawks will have to win three games in three days against a field consisting exclusively of the league’s top eight teams.

Many of the players on this Miami team were part of a gutting 76-74 loss to Akron in last year’s MAC Tournament title game in which the Zips rallied late to stun the Redhawks. That should only provide more motivation as Miami seeks its first conference tournament title since 2007.

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David Cobb

The MAC Madness scenario

Selection Sunday record: 31-1, 32-1 or 33-1
Confidence level: optimistic
Likely WAB range: 35-43

Miami could still feel reasonably hopeful about making the Big Dance if it entered the MAC Tournament 31-0 and then dropped a game. While on some level it could matter who the loss came against, the Redhawks would still enter Selection Sunday with a WAB ranking in the at-large realm, regardless of who was responsible for handing them their first defeat.

A loss on a neutral floor in the MAC Tournament would likely come with a WAB cost of around 0.80. If Miami lost 0.80 in WAB today, it would drop the Redhawks from No. 34 in the metric to No. 42.

The team with the best WAB ranking left out of last year’s field was West Virginia, which arrived at Selection Sunday at No. 43 in the WAB. The 2025 selection process was the first to utilize WAB, so there isn’t a trove of past precedents to rely upon. But WVU’s exclusion last year sets a benchmark for Miami to aim for: don’t fall to No. 43.

Finishing the regular season undefeated and then losing in the MAC Tournament would likely be good enough to keep the Redhawks in the upper 30s or lower 40s of WAB, which would be enough for them to enter Selection Sunday with some cautious optimism.

Double defeat scenario

Selection Sunday record: 30-2, 31-2 or 32-2
Confidence level: nervous
Likely WAB range: 43-52

The double defeat scenario involves Miami losing one regular-season game, in addition to a MAC Tournament game. 

This would not be advisable, as it would likely lead to Miami’s Selection Sunday WAB ranking landing in the mid-40s, at best. However, in this scenario, the opponent for the conference tournament loss could make a difference. If it’s a high-end Quad 2 loss against Akron in the title game, then it would be less costly.

The team with the worst WAB ranking selected to last year’s field was Xavier, which was among the Last Four In at No. 49 in WAB. However, the Musketeers counterbalanced their lagging resume metrics with a predictive metrics profile hovering around 40th nationally. 

Miami University does not have good predictive metrics to fall back upon. So slipping out of the low-to-mid 40s in WAB would make things dicey. If Miami loses twice, a slip of that magnitude is likely, and it would make Selection Sunday uncomfortable.

Three-loss scenario

Selection Sunday record: 29-3, 30-3, 31-3
Confidence level: bracing for disappointment
Likely WAB range: 50-60

A 4-2 finish to the regular season, combined with a loss in the MAC Tournament, would decimate Miami’s at-large chances. In this scenario, the best conceivable outcome would be that the Redhawks lose in the MAC Tournament title game against Akron in a heartbreaking way that tugs on the heartstrings of committee members. But it would be a tough case to make. 

With three losses on its ledger, Miami would almost certainly lag behind other bubble teams in resume metrics. Remember, it’s not just about win-loss record. It’s about the totality of your resume. WAB does a good job of quantifying that, and it wouldn’t be on Miami’s side if the Redhawks lost three times.

The FA Cup fifth round draw takes place tonight before non-league Macclesfield look to continue their run against Premier League opposition.

All eyes will be on Moss Rose for Macclesfield’s second visit from the top-flight, having dumped out holders Crystal Palace in the last round in arguably the greatest upset in FA Cup history. High-flying Brentford will be hoping to spoil the party on Monday night.

Already through to the fifth round are the likes of Premier League leaders Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle, Sunderland, Leeds, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Mansfield Town, 13th in League One, are still in the draw after beating Burnley, while Wrexham will also hope to continue their excellent season with another big cup tie – having knocked out Ipswich on Friday night.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the fourth-round draw.

When is the FA Cup fifth-round draw?

The fifth-round draw will take place on Monday 16 February, ahead of Macclesfield’s tie against Brentford which kicks off at 7:30pm GMT.

The draw will take place in the broadcast before kick-off, which starts at 6:30pm, with the draw set to start at around 6:35pm GMT.

How can I watch the FA Cup draw?

You can watch the FA Cup fifth-round draw live on TNT Sports 1, discovery+ and the TNT Sports YouTube channel. The draw will be made by Joe Cole and Karen Carney – presented by Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist.

FA Cup draw ball numbers

1. Liverpool

2. Fulham

3. Sunderland

4. Southampton

5. Wrexham

6. Arsenal

7. Chelsea

8. West Ham United

9. Mansfield Town

10. Norwich City

11. Port Vale or Bristol City

12. Wolverhampton Wanderers

13. Newcastle United

14. Manchester City

15. Macclesfield or Brentford

16. Leeds United

FA Cup fourth-round fixtures and results

Friday 13 February

Hull City 0-4 Chelsea

Wrexham 1-0 Ipswich Town

Saturday 14 February

Burton Albion 0-1 West Ham (a.e.t)

Burnley 1-2 Mansfield Town

Manchester City 2-0 Salford City

Norwich City 3-1 West Bromwich Albion

*Port Vale v Bristol City – postponed

Southampton 2-1 Leicester City (a.e.t)

Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle United

Liverpool 3-0 Brighton & Hove Albion

Sunday 15 February

Birmingham City 1-1 Leeds United (Leeds win 4-2 on pens)

Grimsby Town 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Oxford United 0-1 Sunderland

Stoke City 1-2 Fulham

Arsenal 4-0 Wigan Athletic

Monday 16 February

7.30pm: Macclesfield v Brentford – TNT Sports 1 and discovery+

When will the FA Cup fifth round be played?

The fifth round of the FA Cup will be played around the weekend of Saturday 7 March, with games likely to run from Friday to Monday, depending on TV picks.

FA Cup matchdays in full

Here are the dates for the remaining rounds of FA Cup action.

Fifth round: Saturday 7 March 2026

Quarter-finals: Saturday 4 April 2026

Semi-finals: Saturday 25 April 2026

Final: Saturday 16 May 2026

In the wake of losing a legendary juvenile from Lindsay Park’s distinguished past the day prior, the Hayes clan uncovered a young contender who could rise to become the operation’s next elite talent.

Hard Kick, gelding sired by All Too Hard, made a dazzling debut by demolishing foes in the $175,000 Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m), the curtain-raiser for Saturday’s Black Caviar Lightning at Flemington.

The result landed scarcely 24 hours after champion filly Miss Finland’s death aged 22, and J D Hayes noted that while Hard Kick trails the accomplishments of the 2006 Golden Slipper winner, he was ecstatic seeing the newcomer validate the stable’s confidence.

“What a thrill, he’s been very well-educated at home and we thought he was pretty good and he won with authority there,” Hayes, who trains in partnership with brothers Ben and Will, said.

“We’re not sure he’s as good as Miss Finland, but he looked pretty good there.”

Among Miss Finland’s five Group 1 conquests was the Slipper, alongside triumphs in the Australian Guineas, Thousand Guineas, VRC Oaks and Storm Queen Stakes for trainer David Hayes.

The $3 favourite, sourced for $30,000 as an Adelaide Magic Millions yearling and later traded for $140,000 at Inglis Ready2Race Sale last year, Hard Kick seized the lead with brisk speed and drew away decisively by 2-3/4 lengths from Zambales in 1:03.90.

Diameter ($13) trailed by another 1-3/4 lengths for third.

Rider Damian Lane, familiar with the colt from preparatory gallops, lavished praise and indicated a potential upgrade in his estimation.

“I thought before today that he was a good horse, but just off the better ones, but off the back of that, he might be right up there,” Lane said.

Hard Kick is eyed for a shot at emulating Miss Finland’s close call in next week’s Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes, with JD Hayes keeping doors ajar.

A $55,000 fee applies for late entry to the $2 million prize as original nominations bypassed him.

“We’ll keep the option open next week as he did win with head on his chest there, but there’s plenty of options going ahead with this horse. It’s very exciting,” Hayes said.

Visit the online bookmakers to engage with Talindert Stakes wagering.

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