AFCON: ONE INCREDIBLE STAT PROVES AMAD DIALLO OUTSHONE BRYAN MBEUMO IN THE AFCON DRAW
Manchester United's Amad Diallo scores a screamer in Ivory Coast's 1-1 draw with Cameroon. Get the full AFCON 2025 Group F report.
Manchester United's Amad Diallo is having a great Africa Cup of Nations. He just scored his second goal of the tourney in Ivory Coast's 1-1 tie with Cameroon on Sunday.
Six minutes into the second half, Amad put his country ahead in their Group F game in Marrakesh with a classic goal.
The 23-year-old got a long pass, charged toward the box, cut inside, and curled a sweet shot into the far corner from just outside the area.
Cameroon, who have Amad's United teammate Bryan Mbeumo, responded five minutes later when Ghislain Konan scored an own goal.
Amad wrapped up the game with a solid 95% pass accuracy and won every tackle he made.
Neither team could grab a win, and the match ended in a draw. Both teams are likely to make it to the last 16, which is a worry for United and Ruben Amorim, who are hoping their stars get back soon.
Amad also scored the winning goal in Ivory Coast's first game against Mozambique on December 24. He pounced on a flick-down from Kessie in the box and slotted it home with a nice hit on his right foot.
Both Amad and Mbeumo are off to good starts to the season with United. Mbeumo, who joined from Brentford for £65 million this summer,
has seven goals and one assist, while Amad, playing as a defensive wing-back, has two goals and three assists.
United lost their first game without these two guys, falling 2-1 to Aston Villa on December 21. Still, they bounced back with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Ivory Coast finishes its Group F games against Gabon, and Cameroon plays Mozambique. Both matches are on December 31.
Also, Zinedine Zidane watched as Riyad Mahrez helped Algeria get to the last 16 with a 1-0 win over Burkina Faso.
Mahrez, 34, now has three goals in two games after scoring a penalty in the 23rd minute.
Despite the loss, Burkina Faso is still second in Group E with three points, ahead of Sudan because of a better goal difference. However, Sudan improved their chances of moving on with a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in Casablanca.
Burkina Faso and Sudan face off in their last group game next week. Sudan needs to win to get to the next stage. Even so, a draw might be enough to make it one of the best third-placed teams.
IS THE GOAT DEBATE OVER: SEE HOW CRISTIANO RONALDO’S 956 GOALS COMPARE TO MESSI
Cristiano Ronaldo reaches 956 career goals after a brace for Al Nassr. See how he compares to Messi’s 923 goals in late 2025.
Cristiano Ronaldo's constant hunger to score just got him his 40th goal in a calendar year, which is awesome because he’s done it 14 times in his career.
For ages, fans everywhere have debated who’s better, Messi or Ronaldo. There's no real answer, as it depends on what you value and think is best.
If goals decide things for those stuck in the Messi/Ronaldo debate, then stats say Ronaldo comes out on top.
As the top scorer in international soccer, Ronaldo aims to reach 1,000 career goals. After scoring twice for Al Nassr in a 3–0 victory against Al Akhdoud, he’s now at 956, while Messi lags a bit behind, with 923 goals.
Ronaldo’s been playing in the Saudi Pro League for a bit, finishing his time in Europe about six months before Messi went to Inter Miami in MLS. Ronaldo has scored 112 goals in 125 games. Messi scored 77 goals in 88 appearances for Miami. But Messi did lead his team to win the 2025 MLS Cup. Ronaldo hasn't managed that in the Middle East.
Ronaldo has proven he’s still a top scorer, even at nearly 41.
Some criticise Ronaldo, saying he’s only scoring so much because he’s in a weaker league. They say he’s not as good as he was with Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.
But his scores for Portugal in big tournaments and qualifiers show he’s still great. Since the start of 2023, he has 25 goals in 30 games, which shows he’s still killing it on the international scene.
He’s also said many times that the Saudi Pro League is tougher than people think.
“We [the Saudi Pro League] are still getting better, but I think we’re already in the top five leagues in the world,” Ronaldo said in June after staying with Al Nassr. “I still think we will keep getting better, and we've shown that the league is getting better all the time.”
Plus reaching 1,000 goals, Ronaldo really wants to win a title with Al Nassr and the World Cup with Portugal, something he hasn’t done even after playing in it five times.
NICO SCHLOTTERBECK BREAKS SILENCE ON DORTMUND FUTURE AS LIVERPOOL INTEREST HEATS UP
Nico Schlotterbeck addresses Liverpool rumors and his Dortmund future. Plus, the latest on Marc Guehi’s winter transfer status.
Nico Schlotterbeck recently said he's not feeling pressured to decide anything about his future with Borussia Dortmund right now. After he seemed to hint at wanting a move to Liverpool recently, Liverpool fans got excited.
Schlotterbeck, who is 26, was celebrating Florian Wirtz's first goal for Liverpool during their 2-1 win over Wolves at Anfield last Saturday. He commented on Wirtz's Instagram post, and that got fans talking since the transfer window is about to open.
Arne Slot doesn't have many options at centre back right now. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the only healthy players at that position, since Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni are injured.
Schlotterbeck started playing professionally with SC Freiburg and joined Dortmund in 2022. He's played in over 200 games in the Bundesliga and Champions League, and he's also played 23 times for Germany.
He has a year and a half left on his Dortmund contract, so the club will soon have to decide if they want to keep him or sell him. But Schlotterbeck isn't giving anything away about his plans.
After Dortmund lost to Bayern Munich in October 2025, Schlotterbeck said, I have a Dortmund contract for over a year and a half.
My agent and I will talk about what's next, but there's no rush. I like being at Dortmund, and Niko [Kovac] has a plan that seems fun and interesting.
My next deal is a big deal for my career, so I want to make the right choice.
He also said that any talks will be kept private: my agent won't be talking about it publicly. We'll see what happens.
Meanwhile, Liverpool is still being mentioned as a possible destination for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi in the winter. Liverpool tried to sign him for £35m back in September, but Palace backed out at the last minute.
Guehi's contract at Selhurst Park ends next summer, making him a free agent. Clubs outside of England can start talking to him on January 1, 2026, but Liverpool would have to wait until the summer.
The only way to avoid that is for Liverpool to agree on a fee with Palace before the transfer window closes on February 2, 2026.