Sports
AFCON crown up for grabs as roaring Senegal take on hosts Morocco
Senegal and Morocco will meet in Rabat Sunday night with the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title at stake, a heavyweight final that brings together the reigning continental force and a host nation driven by history.
The 35th AFCON edition reaches its climax at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT).
Senegal, champions in 2021 and runners-up in 2019, face a resurgent Moroccan side chasing their first AFCON title since 1976 and their first triumph in a traditional final format.
Although the two sides have met 31 times across qualifiers and international competitions, this will be their first encounter in the Africa Cup of Nations proper.
That rarity adds an extra edge to a final already rich in narrative, contrasting Senegal’s counter-attacking efficiency and physical authority with Morocco’s composure, control and technical fluency.
Teranga built on steel
Senegal’s road to Rabat has been built on discipline and experience.
Pape Thiaw’s team topped their group and advanced through the knockout rounds with trademark pragmatism, conceding little and striking when opportunities appeared.
Their semifinal against Egypt on Wednesday night followed a familiar script: tight, tense and decided by a single moment.
Sadio Mane’s second-half goal sealed a 1-0 victory, once again eliminating the Pharaohs and underlining Senegal’s growing dominance in high-pressure AFCON matches.
The win also reinforced Mane’s status as one of the tournament’s great figures, a player who continues to deliver when margins are smallest.
Defensively, Senegal have been anchored by Kalidou Koulibaly and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, forming a foundation that has frustrated opponents throughout the competition.
Koulibaly’s knock-in the semifinal has raised mild concern, but Senegal’s structure has rarely wavered.
Ahead of them, Mane, Ismaila Sarr and Nicolas Jackson have provided pace, movement and decisive touches, particularly on the break.
This final marks Senegal’s fourth AFCON appearance at this stage and their recent success has given them the calm assurance of a side that knows how to finish the job.
Composed hosts
Morocco, meanwhile, have carried the weight of expectation with remarkable poise.
Under Walid Regragui, the Atlas Lions have been the tournament’s most resolute defensive unit, conceding just one goal in six matches heading into the final and that from the penalty spot.
Their semifinal against Nigeria, played at the same Rabat venue, ended goalless after 120 minutes before Morocco prevailed 4-2 on penalties.
Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou emerged as the hero, his saves sparking celebrations in a stadium that has steadily become a fortress for the hosts.
Backed by a home crowd advantage, Morocco have combined control in midfield with intensity out wide.
Achraf Hakimi’s relentless overlapping runs, Sofyan Amrabat’s authority at the heart of the pitch and Youssef En-Nesyri’s physical presence have given the hosts balance and depth.
Rabat ready
The final returns to the newly renovated Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which reopened in 2025 and holds close to 70,000 supporters.
It staged the tournament’s opening match and Morocco’s dramatic semifinal and on Sunday night it is expected to be awash in red and green.
Morocco have yet to lose there during the competition and the atmosphere promises to be intense from the opening whistle.
Tactical contrasts
Tactically, this final is unlikely to open up early.
Senegal will look to stay compact and strike through quick transitions, while Morocco will seek to control possession and push their fullbacks high.
The duel between Hakimi and Ismaila Sarr on the flank, the midfield battle for tempo and Sadio Mane’s movement against Morocco’s center backs could all prove decisive.
Everything points toward a contest decided by fine margins.
Morocco’s home advantage and defensive record make them slight favorites, but Senegal’s knockout pedigree and big-game mentality cannot be underestimated.
Extra time and even penalties, remain a strong possibility.
Turkish short-track speed skater Furkan Akar says he feels prepared, confident, and hungry for a medal as he gets set to compete at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, aiming to turn experience into a podium finish.
Speaking from the Olympic Village in Milan, Akar described a smooth build-up to his second Games and said years of racing at the highest level have sharpened both his mindset and his belief.
“I gained experience with a sixth place and a bronze medal, then raced many more international events,” Akar said. “This is my second Olympics. I feel very ready and very motivated. I believe I can finish on the podium.”
Akar arrives in Italy with a growing resume. He finished sixth in the 1000 meters at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the best Olympic result ever for Türkiye in short track speed skating.
A year later, he claimed bronze at the 2023 European Championships in Gdansk, delivering Türkiye’s first European medal in the discipline.
Those milestones, he said, helped shape his confidence heading into Milan.
The atmosphere has already left a mark. Akar was one of the Turkish flag bearers at the opening ceremony, an experience he described as overwhelming and unforgettable.
“Carrying the Turkish flag in front of 80,000 people was incredibly exciting,” he said. “The energy here is completely different from Beijing. It was intense, emotional, and special. We are still training twice a day, fitness and ice sessions, right up to the 16th. The excitement keeps building.”
On the ice, Akar knows where the biggest challenge lies. He pointed to Canadian skaters as the strongest contenders in the men’s 500 meters but made it clear he is not intimidated.
“I think the Canadians are strong in the 500,” he said. “Other than that, I trust myself. I will give more than my best and represent my country in the strongest way possible.”
The Olympic environment, he added, carries a unique weight.
“Racing against the best athletes in the world is a very different feeling,” Akar said. “I worked hard for this, sacrificed a lot, and now I am seeing the reward. I want to thank everyone who supported me, from the federation to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. I am getting so many messages from across Türkiye, and that support means everything.”
Türkiye will be represented by two skaters in short track at Milano-Cortina for the first time. Denis Örs will join Akar in competition, with Örs also saying he feels strong and focused ahead of the races.
Akar and Örs are scheduled to compete in the men’s 500-meter heats on Monday, Feb. 16, at 1:17 p.m. local time. The event is known for its explosive pace, tight margins, and unpredictability, often producing dramatic finishes.
Cristiano Ronaldo still waits for his first major trophy in Saudi Arabia, and Al-Nassr hope their longest-running drought ends with his return to the pitch this week in continental competition.
The Riyadh club faces Arkadag of Turkmenistan on Wednesday in the first leg of the AFC Champions League Two round of 16, a two-match tie that offers Al-Nassr a clear path toward silverware.
The return leg will be played in Saudi Arabia next week, with a quarterfinal place at stake.
Ronaldo, now 41, has missed Al-Nassr’s last two Saudi Pro League matches amid reports of frustration over the club’s transfer strategy and funding structure.
Those concerns surfaced after rivals Al-Hilal signed Karim Benzema during the January window, reigniting debate over how Saudi football’s biggest clubs are backed despite all four being majority owned by the Public Investment Fund.
The Saudi Pro League moved quickly to address the issue, stressing that clubs operate independently within a shared framework.
In a statement, the league said Ronaldo has played an important role in Al-Nassr’s growth but emphasized that no player holds influence beyond their own club.
Transfer funding, the league added, comes from a centralized acquisition pool and individual club resources, not personal preference.
Despite the noise, Al-Nassr have shown resilience without their marquee name.
They beat defending league champions Al-Ittihad 2-0 on Friday, their second straight win without Ronaldo, easing immediate pressure ahead of the Arkadag trip.
Al-Nassr’s continental campaign unfolds as Saudi clubs continue to dominate the top-tier AFC Champions League Elite.
Al-Hilal sit comfortably atop the West Zone with six wins from six matches, allowing coach Simone Inzaghi room to rotate his squad.
Al-Ahli have also secured progression after claiming their first continental title earlier this year.
Al-Ittihad remain the only Saudi side yet to confirm a place in the knockout stage.
Sixth in the standings with two matches left, they can secure advancement by defeating Al-Gharafa of Qatar on Tuesday, even after losing Benzema to Al-Hilal.
Elsewhere in Asia, Vissel Kobe are the only East Zone team already through, while Japan could send three clubs into the round of 16 if Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Machida Zelvia deliver wins this week.
Chinese teams face mounting pressure, with Shanghai Port rooted to the bottom and Chengdu Rongcheng and Shanghai Shenhua clinging to qualification hopes.
For Al-Nassr, however, the focus is narrower and more urgent. Ronaldo has elevated the club’s profile since arriving in January 2023, but a major trophy remains missing from his Saudi chapter.
Turkish center Alperen Şengün of the Houston Rockets on Sunday was named an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career.
“Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Team World for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game (Sunday, 2/15 on NBC & Peacock),” the NBA said in a statement on Sunday.
Canadian star Gilgeous-Alexander has been sidelined by an abdominal strain but was voted a starter in taking his fourth All-Star selection in a row.
The 75th NBA All-Star Game will be played next Sunday at Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Şengün was named an All-Star for the first time last year. In his fifth NBA campaign, Şengün is averaging 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists over 44 games.
Şengün has helped the Rockets to a 32-19 record, sharing fourth place in the Western Conference.
In a revamped All-Star format, the World squad will face two teams of American players, USA Stars and USA Stripes, in a round-robin mini-tournament with three 12-minute games deciding which two sides advance to the 12-minute final.
England survived a major scare to beat Nepal in its T20 World Cup Group C opener in Mumbai on Sunday, despite Lokesh Bam’s blistering 39 not out off 20 balls.
Sam Curran held his nerve at the iconic Wankhede Stadium and defended just 10 off the last six balls as Nepal was restricted to 180-6 in 20 overs, replying to England’s 184-7 (20 overs).
Bam hit two sixes and four fours to raise the possibility of an improbable and stunning upset, but Curran bowled an exceptional final over to get England across the finish line.
Earlier, England had won the toss and opted to bat. Jacob Bethell hit 55 off 35 balls, including four sixes. Skipper Harry Brook added 53 off 32 balls with three sixes.
Will Jacks provided the finishing touch with 39 not out off 18 balls, hitting four sixes, and took England to a more defendable target from a precarious 137-5 in 15.3 overs.
In the morning game at Chennai, Tim Seifert’s 65 off 42 balls helped New Zealand get off to a winning start in the tournament and beat Afghanistan by five wickets in Group D.
It is expected to be the toughest group that also includes 2024 finalists South Africa.
New Zealand cruised to 183-5 – its highest ever chase at the T20 World Cup – with two overs to spare. Afghanistan scored 182-6 after winning the toss.
Curran took 1-27 in four overs, while left-arm spinner Liam Dawson picked up 2-21. For Nepal, skipper Rohit Paudel hit 39 off 34 balls, and Dipendra Singh top-scored with 44 off 29 balls.
Group C also includes West Indies, Italy and Scotland. Two-time champions West Indies beat Scotland by 35 runs Saturday.
England were 57-3 after 6.1 overs, when Bethell and Brook came together. They added 71 off 45 balls for the fourth wicket.
Bethell scored 50 off 28 balls, while Brook hit 50 off 31. Bethell fell in the 14th over and England slipped further before Jacks came to the rescue.
Jacks was named player of the match for his all-round showing. He helped England to reach a par score, and then picked up 1-17 in two overs.
He dismissed opener Kushal Bhurtel, who hit 29 off 17 balls and provided Nepal with a quick start as England searched for a breakthrough.
Dawson picked up two wickets as slower deliveries hit Nepal batters. Paudel and Singh added 82 off 54 balls for the third wicket, setting up a base for the finish.
Adil Rasheed proved expensive – 0-42 in three overs – but Curran dismissed Singh in the 15th over, in what was a crucial moment for the game. Bam’s heroics fell short in the end.
Gulbadin Naib, batting at No. 3 for the first time in T20s since the 2024 World Cup when Afghanistan knocked out the Black Caps from the race to the semis with an 84-run win at Guyana, smashed 63 off 35 balls.
But opening batter Seifert (65) raised his maiden T20 World Cup half-century to overcome Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s twin strike that had rattled New Zealand to 2-14 inside the first two overs.
Mujeeb clean bowled Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra off successive balls before Glenn Phillips (42) dealt with the hat-trick ball and then put the chase back on track by putting on an aggressive 74-run partnership with Seifert.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan (1-36) also couldn’t stem the flow of runs as New Zealand continued to accelerate in the middle overs against the experienced leg-spinner.
Rashid broke the stand in the 10th over when Phillips dragged it back onto his stumps.
Seifert completed his fifty in style by smacking off-spinner Mohammad Nabi for two successive sixes and followed it with a boundary before he was caught at deep square leg.
Mark Chapman (28 off 17 balls) and Daryl Mitchell (25 not out) then accelerated to get Black Caps home in the team’s first game of the tournament.
Earlier, Naib struck four sixes and three boundaries and laid a platform for Afghanistan’s strong finish with a 79-run partnership with Sediqullah Atal (29).
Naib took his time, scoring 14 off 16 balls but needed only another 13 deliveries to raise his half-century as New Zealand struggled with their fifth bowler.
Express bowler Lockie Ferguson (2-40) had struck twice when he was introduced in the last over of the power play and removed both openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27) and Ibrahim Zadran (10).
World champion Breezy Johnson won the women’s downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Sunday in a race overshadowed by U.S. teammate Lindsey Vonn’s heavy crash that halted the event and sent her to the hospital.
Vonn lost control over the opening traverse after cutting the line too tight and was spun around in the air.
She was heard screaming out after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel before she was strapped to a gurney and flown away by a helicopter, possibly ending the skier’s storied career.
Her condition was not immediately known, with the U.S. Ski Team saying simply she would be evaluated.
Johnson, Vonn’s teammate, with her win, became only the second American woman to clinch the Olympic downhill title after Vonn did it 16 years ago. The 30-year-old Johnson held off Emma Aicher of Germany and Italy’s Sofia Goggia on a bittersweet day for Team USA.
Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared down at the ground while his daughter was being treated after just 13 seconds on the course.
Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course she knows so well and holds a record 12 World Cup wins.
Vonn’s crash was “tragic, but it’s ski racing,” said Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
“I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport,” he said, “because this race has been the talk of the games and it’s put our sport in the best possible light.”
All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She had returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years, a remarkable decision given her age, but she also had a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee, too. Many wondered how she would fare as she sought a gold medal to join the one she won in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The four-time overall World Cup champion stunned everyone by being a contender almost immediately. She came to the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup downhill standings and was a gold-medal favorite before her crash in Switzerland nine days ago, when she suffered her latest knee injury. In addition to a ruptured ACL, she also had a bone bruise and meniscus damage.
Still, no one counted her out even then. In truth, she has skied through injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, ahead of the Turin Olympics, Vonn took a bad fall during downhill training and went to the hospital. She competed less than 48 hours later, racing in all four events she’d planned, with a top result of seventh in the super-G.
“It’s definitely weird,” she said then, “going from the hospital bed to the start gate.”
Cortina has always had many treasured memories for Vonn beyond the record wins. She is called the queen of Cortina, and the Olympia delle Tofana is a course that had always suited Vonn.
She tested out the knee twice in downhill training runs over the past three days before the awful crash on Sunday in clear, sunny conditions.
“This would be the best comeback I’ve done so far,” Vonn said before the race. “Definitely the most dramatic.”
After the crash, the celebration for the medalists was held and fellow skiers thought about Vonn’s legacy.
“She has been my idol since I started watching ski racing,” said Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway. “We still have a World Cup to do after Olympics … I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly shows up on the start gate, but the crash didn’t look good.”
Juventus moved to secure one of their brightest young talents by extending Turkish midfielder Kenan Yıldız’s contract through June 2030, the club announced Saturday.
“Kenan embodies leadership, sacrifice and the constant pursuit of improvement. He is the personification of Juventus’ values, and he carries them onto the pitch in every game he plays,” the club said in a statement announcing the extension.
The 20-year-old, since joining the Old Lady from Bayern Munich’s youth system in 2022, has rapidly risen from the club’s under-19 team to become a first-team regular and a symbol of the club’s next generation.
He scored on his senior debut against Frosinone in December 2023, later inherited Juventus’ iconic No. 10 jersey and last year became the youngest player to captain the team.
The German-born winger has delivered consistently since breaking into the senior squad. Across two and a half seasons, Yıldız has scored 25 goals and provided 19 assists in 115 appearances in all competitions.
This season, he has eight goals and five assists in Serie A, underlining his growing influence in the attack.
Juventus emphasized the symbolic importance of the deal in a separate announcement, saying: “Kenan Yıldız’s story with Juventus is continuing – the No. 10 has renewed his contract to keep him in bianconero until June 30, 2030.”
Media reports in Italy suggested the new agreement makes Yıldız one of the highest-paid players in the squad, reflecting both his performances and the club’s determination to fend off interest from abroad.
Several European clubs had been monitoring his progress as Juventus worked to finalize the extension.
Yıldız, who represents Türkiye at the international level, expressed his attachment to the club after signing the new deal.
“I’m very happy to renew here, as this club is a family to me,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll do great things together. I love Juventus. I’m sure that I will always have the fans and my family behind me.”
Last season, Yıldız scored nine goals in 31 matches across competitions and played a role in Juventus’ 2023-24 Italian Cup triumph, further cementing his status as a key contributor despite his age.
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