Day: June 6, 2026

Sierra Leone edge Liberia in first leg friendly in Bo
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Sierra Leone edge Liberia in first-leg friendly in Bo

On Saturday, Sierra Leone defeated Liberia 1-0 in an International Friendly played at the Southern Arena in Bo City.

Liberia’s Lone Star began a new chapter under head coach Mohammed Erradi, but his debut ended in disappointment with a loss in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone.

Before the game, fans at the stadium welcomed the new Leone Stars head coach, Didier Gomes Da Rosa. His first main job is to lead Sierra Leone in the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

The game between the two West African teams from the Mano River sub-region lived up to expectations as Leone Stars defeated their arch-rivals, Liberia.

The goal came in the 66th minute from Sierra Leone defender Abdul Jarju Kabia, who opened the score sheet on a pass from the left wing. Liberia searched in the second half, as they looked for an equaliser, but to no avail, as Sierra Leone’s defence stood tall for the win.

Fans at home gave Sierra Leone fans the reason to celebrate, and Abdul Jarju Kabia’s goal showed class and depth in the Leone Stars Squad. The win could not come at a better time for Sierra Leone heading into the return leg in Monrovia Liberia on June 9th.

Sierra Leone edge Liberia in first leg friendly in Bo
Sierra Leone edge Liberia in first leg friendly in Bo
Belgium thrash Tunisia pre-World Cup warm up match
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Belgium thrash Tunisia in pre-World Cup warm-up match

The Tunisia national team concluded their final warm-up match on Saturday with a 0-5 defeat to Belgium in Brussels. Tunisia were outclassed by Belgium’s quality.

Leandro Trossard scored the opener during the first half. In the second half, goals from Charles de Ketelaare, Kevin de Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin rounded off the score.

Tunisia started the match relatively well with a few changes from their previous match against Austria. They managed to keep strong for the opening twenty minutes, but it didn’t take long for Belgium to settle into the game and gain confidence.

Belgium went ahead after 28 minutes when Jérémy Doku made a nice run down the wing before crossing the ball into the box for Trossard to slot home easily.

De Ketelaare doubled the Belgium lead after 53 minutes when he met Youri Tielemans cross with a good header. Tunisia had spells of coming forward after De Ketelaare’s goal. Mohamed Belhadj’s strike from distance forced Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into a decent save and Elias Achouri later struck the post.

That proved to be the closest Tunisia came until the end of the game as Belgium dominated from thereon out. Tunisia were reduced to ten men when Ismaël Gharbi picked up a second yellow card shortly after the hour mark.

The depleted Tunisia defence couldn’t cope with Belgium’s pressure. De Bruyne scored soon after Gharbi was shown a straight red card before Belgium scored another two goals through Lukebakio and Raskin in the closing ten minutes.

The Tunisian side will now jet off to Mexico where they will play their first two World Cup matches. They take on Sweden on June 14 and Japan on June 20 in Monterrey. They will then return to the US to face the Netherlands on June 25 in Kansas City to round off Group F.

The Pharaohs of Egypt set for pre-World Cup friendly against Brazil
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

The Pharaohs of Egypt set for pre-World Cup friendly against Brazil

Egypt will take on Brazil at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio this Saturday. It’s Egypt’ toughest game to date before the World Cup kicks off next month as they look to gear up for Brazil’s five World Cup titles.

Saturday’s friendly is both nations’ final tune-up before they head to North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mohamed Salah and co delighted home fans with their 1-0 win over Russia in Cairo on Tuesday night and arrived confident after thrashing Saudi Arabia 4-0 while drawing with Spain earlier in March during the international break.

Egypt have kept four clean sheets in a row so far in their preparations for the World Cup and will need to keep that going if they want a chance of progressing from a tough-looking Group G.

Egypt will go into battle against Belgium, New Zealand and Iran knowing their defence will need to keep tight while hoping Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush and Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan can find the back of the net consistently if they are to succeed in the United States and Canada.

Egypt last featured at a World Cup back in 2018 and has previously been there for the 1934 and 1990 tournaments. Should they beat expectations, they would be making their fourth appearance at the football’ showpiece tournament.

Egypt qualified for the World Cup with ease, winning eight and drawing two of their last ten matches, scoring 20 goals and conceding just two. Head coach Hossam Hassan, appointed on February 20, 2024, has achieved 21 wins, six draws, and three losses. Right-back Mohamed Hany noted that Egypt is focused on their upcoming game against Brazil.

Brazil, ranked sixth globally and the most successful World Cup nation, has struggled to advance past the quarter-finals in four of the last five tournaments.

Despite a recent 6-2 win over Panama, they faced defeats to Japan and France. Neymar will miss the match against Egypt due to injury, though defenders Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhães are available to play.

Brazil holds a 6-0 advantage in their overall record against Egypt. Tickets for Saturday’s game in Ohio are still available, with over 40,000 fans expected. Both Mohamed Salah and Vinicius Junior will start, as Egypt faces Belgium and Brazil takes on Morocco on June 15th.