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Kylian Mbappé sinks Spain to clinch Nations League for France

Kylian Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé sinks Spain to clinch Nations League for France

The final four brought three wild nights in Milan and champions who twice had to come from behind to lift a still unfamiliar trophy, not least because when it came to the moment that decided its destination, there in the madness was Kylian Mbappé, blood running cold. There too was Hugo Lloris, the man raising it to the sky.

A game of control and quality but few chances had gone crazy, exploding into life and suddenly wide open and that was where France found a way to win it. Having beaten Belgium 3-2 after trailing 2-0 in the semi-final, now they beat Spain having trailed 1-0. First Karim Benzema bent in an outrageous shot to equalise a minute after Mikel Oyarzabal had given Spain the lead and then Mbappé, clean through, coolly slid the ball under Unai Simón for the winner.

Spain were not happy about it: Mbappé had been clearly offside when he was released by Theo Hernández and Eric García admitted he had trouble accepting Anthony Taylor’s explanation that the tiniest of touches from his studs as he stretched had played the Frenchman back onside again. It was a cruel, almost bureaucratic way to lose a final.

Not that it was over just yet. Those three goals had come in 15 minutes and although there would be none in the remaining 15 there was so much happening it was hard to keep up. Mbappé scored in the 80th minute. Just as important was Lloris’s dramatic save from Oyarzabal in the 95th. Between those moments there had been two more superb stops, one at each end, as the final, frantic minutes played out and Spain kept flooding forward desperate to recover a lead they felt they had deserved and were determined not to relinquish without a fight.

To the point that Simón went up for a corner and stayed up too, getting a touch in the scramble that ended with Lloris making an exceptional stop, team mates collapsing on the floor in disbelief. In the end, then, Mbappé’s goal had done it and so had Didier Deschamps. Whether by design might be another question, but there can be no doubting the quality of players he has. There may be less doubt about the Spanish players now than a week ago too: a team is emerging under Luis Enrique that came close to claiming a first trophy in nine years and whose identity is clear.

Deschamps had said it was impossible to take the ball off Spain, a statement of fact that also felt like a declaration of intent, and for much of this game so it proved. Sergi Busquets was the axis on which their play was built. Gavi again belied his seventeen years, turning quickly and often, French players left behind. And Ferrán Torres was the outlet, repeatedly receiving on the right and quick to go at opponents, inside or out.

But while Torres released Pablo Sarabia for a scuffed early shot, there was little in the way of real opportunity in the opening forty-five minutes – Spain’s achilles heel. A brief VAR check for a potential Jules Koundé handball was as close as they had come and France may not have been unhappy with what had happened, which was not much, both coaches departing at the break believing this was under control, each in their own different way.

Soon though control had gone and the game was better for it. The second half began with Sarabia almost finding Oyarzabal and Marcos Alonso having to intercept Mbappé, a glimpse of the coming storm. The crossbar was still vibrating from a Theo Hernández shot at one end when Spain took the lead at the other, Busquets clipping a lovely pass for Oyarzabal to hold off Dayot Upemecano – who had replaced the injured Raphaël Varane – and score. Just seconds had passed between those two shots and just seconds would pass before the next, Benzema curling in a sensational shot to make it 1-1.

A goal each and they were back where they had been, no time to take it in. The game, though, was no longer where it had been but in a better, more unpredictable place. Mbappé was denied by Simón, the noise rising, legs tiring, then Yeremi Pino controlled a 70-yard ball, turned and almost got Spain in again. This was wild, and perhaps that suited France, who soon had the winner, Mbappé sent running away. One on one with Simón, he paused, ran his foot over the ball, looked one way and shot the other to place one hand on the trophy. Lloris would apply the other.

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EFCC seals Kaduna hotel for breaching money laundering act

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has sealed up Hampton Hilton Hotel and Apartments, Kaduna, for non-compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations of the Financial Action Task Force, FATF for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, DNFBPs.

The entity was found to have committed multiple infractions in the course of the first evaluation carried out on it, on June 4, 2024, leading to the issuance of administrative sanctions to it by SCUML.

It was also found to have committed further infractions following the compliance evaluation of June 13, 2025, for which it was slammed N2,300,000.00 (Two Million Three Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, payable within seven days and with instruction to ensure full compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations or face further consequences.

While it refused to pay the fine, it, as well, dishonoured SCUML’s invite to show up for compliance evaluation, resulting in the sealing of the premises.

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, ensures DNFBPs’ compliance with Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations.

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Buhari could have long been dead if he had chosen to be treated in Nigeria -Fmr aide Adesina

Former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has defended the decision of late President Buhari to always seek medical attention abroad before and after he left office.

In a chat with Channels TV this morning, Adesina who served as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Buhari said;

‘’Buhari always had his medical in London, even when he was not in office. So, it’s not about the time he was president alone. He had always had it in London and then, you have to be alive first to get certain things corrected in your country. If he had said, ‘I will do my medical in Nigeria just as a show-off or something,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country but he needed to be alive to lead the country to a point where we will have that expertise”

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Buhari’s body arrives in Daura from Katsina for final burial

The remains of Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has arrived in his hometown of Daura from Katsina ahead of his burial later today.

The body, which was flown into the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina from the United Kingdom earlier in the day, was received with full state protocol by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, and members of the late president’s family.

From the airport, the late leader’s remains were transported by a specially prepared ambulance under tight security to Daura, a journey marked by solemnity and respect, with hundreds of residents lining parts of the route to pay their final respects.

Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s Head of State from 1983 to 1985 and returned as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, died in London on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 82 after a brief illness.

According to Islamic tradition, he will be buried later today at his private residence in Daura.

Dignitaries, traditional rulers, political leaders, and sympathizers from across Nigeria have already gathered in Daura for the Janazah prayers and final interment, with security operatives deployed across the ancient town to ensure a peaceful ceremony

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