English
Indian
العربية
Español
Deutsch
Türkçe
Русский
Français (Afrique)
Official: Pitso Mosimane returns as Bafana Bafana head coach
As expected, Pitso Mosimane has been appointed as the new Bafana Bafana head coach following the departure of Belgium’s Hugo Broos.
Broos left his post after the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup, which was co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Belgian led South Africa to the knockout round of the global showpiece for the first time in their history.
Mosimane and some members of his technical team was unveiled during a press conference at the SAFA House in Nasrec on Tuesday.
The 62-year-old return to the Bafana hotseat for a second permanent stint in charge of the national team, having previously led the national team from 2010 to 2012. He was released by the SA Football Association (SAFA) after South Africa failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking during his unveiling, Mosimane thanked his predecessor Broos for the good foundation he laid with Bafana.
“Coach Hugo Broos has laid a very good foundation. I’ve been saying this for some time not only today, I have said it many times before. He has put a good foundation for me, and I appreciate the work he has done with Bafana,” said Mosimane when asked by a journalist to respond to Broos’s comment that Bafana will “go five years back in time” if SAFA appoint a local coach.
Mosimane’s immediate task will be to prepare Bafana for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Bafana Bafana are scheduled to face Guinea and Eritrea in back-to-back AFCON qualifiers next month as they begin their campaign for a place at the continental tournament.
Mosimane said he will not be making a whole changes to the squad that qualified for the FIFA World Cup.
“Of course we have players like (Samukele) Kabini who went to the World Cup, but were not given the chance to play,, so we want to give players like that a chance. But we’re playing the qualifiers next so [the bulk of the squad] will be made up of the players that went to the World Cup. Fortunately, there’s a friendly straight after the two qualifiers, so we’ll give other players a chance,” commented Mosimane. chickenroad-game.rodeo
Ben Stokes agrees to make BBL return
Stokes has agreed a deal with the Adelaide Strikers for the upcoming Big Bash League season, adding one of the game’s most influential all-rounders to the squad for the full campaign.
The 35-year-old has built an international career spanning more than 15 years, headlined by an unbeaten 84 in the 2019 World Cup final that helped force a Super Over and secure England’s maiden ODI title, and an unbeaten 135 at Headingley weeks later that levelled the Ashes with a one-wicket win over Australia.
At 47, Imran Tahir is still doing the business
Across formats, Stokes has scored more than 11,000 international runs, including a Test-best 258 and an ODI-best 182, with 19 centuries in total, and has taken 352 international wickets, including a best of 6-22. In the IPL, he has scored two T20 centuries.
Stokes said he had always enjoyed playing in Australia and was looking forward to featuring at Adelaide Oval, adding he was eager to contribute to a successful season for the Strikers.
Head coach Tim Paine welcomed the signing, describing Stokes as one of the greatest all-rounders the game has seen and a proven performer under pressure, adding that fans would now get to see him produce moments in Strikers colours after years of watching him from afar.
AFRICA PICKS: Cricket tips and predictions
Stoked.
The Adelaide Strikers are thrilled to announce the signing of one of cricket’s greatest all-rounders, Ben Stokes, ahead of BBL|16.
Details → https://t.co/a18wsyxP5y pic.twitter.com/SozHIsrdTw
— Adelaide Strikers (@StrikersBBL) September 1, 2026
Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
The post Ben Stokes agrees to make BBL return appeared first on SA Cricket Mag.
LEC vs. LCS: Who leads League of Legends’ oldest regional rivalry?
Europe vs. North America has been one of the game’s defining regional rivalries since the inaugural League of Legends World Championship in 2011. It has survived years of trash talk, Rift Rivals, international upsets, and one-sided stomps.
For much of the last 15 years, though, Europe had the stronger argument. The region produced deeper international runs, won major trophies, and generally looked like the clear third-best region behind Korea and China. However, that is becoming much harder to say now.
North America is leading the recent head-to-head, while Europe continues to perform significantly better against the regions actually competing for international titles. So who really has the upper hand in League’s oldest regional rivalry today?
Methodology: This analysis counts individual games played at Worlds, MSI, and First Stand through MSI 2026, including play-on matches. Teams are classified by the league or conference through which they qualified, with LTA North teams grouped with North America and LYON counted as an LCS representative in 2026. Rift Rivals and other competitions outside Riot’s three global tournaments are excluded. Global Power Rankings (GPR) scores are accurate as of Sep. 1, 2026.
Recent head-to-heads favor North America
Since First Stand 2025, LCS and LTA North teams have a 12–3 record against LEC teams at Riot’s international events.
| Tournament | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| First Stand 2025 | Team Liquid vs. Karmine Corp | TL won 2–1 |
| MSI 2025 | FlyQuest vs. G2 Esports | FLY won 3–0 |
| Worlds 2025 | FlyQuest vs. G2 Esports | G2 won 2–1 |
| MSI 2026 | Team Liquid vs. Karmine Corp | TL won 3–0 |
| MSI 2026 | LYON vs. G2 Esports | LYON won 3–0 |
That’s four series wins for North America and one for Europe. The sample remains relatively small, but the direction of travel is difficult to ignore.
MSI 2026 was especially ugly for the LEC. Team Liquid swept Karmine Corp before LYON did the same to G2 Esports, leaving Europe with a 0–6 record against the LCS in a single tournament.
If your definition of third-best is simply, ‘When LEC and LCS play each other, who wins?’, the answer right now is North America.
But beating Europe isn’t the same as beating Korea and China
This is where the argument completely flips.
Across First Stand, MSI, and Worlds in 2025, as well as First Stand and MSI in 2026, the LEC, LCS, and LCP produced the following game records against LCK and LPL teams:
| Region | Record vs. LCK/LPL | Win rate | Bo3/Bo5 series wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC | 21–37 | 36.2% | 5 |
| LCP | 10–28 | 26.3% | 2 |
| LCS/LTA North | 8–33 | 19.5% | 0 |
Those numbers come from every matchup at the last five international tournaments. The final column is particularly brutal for North America.
Since the beginning of 2025, no LCS or LTA North team has won a single best-of-three or best-of-five series against an LCK or LPL team at an international event.
Now, that’s not to say there haven’t been any good performances — there definitely have.
For example, FlyQuest took Bilibili Gaming to five games at MSI 2025, while 100 Thieves even upset the Chinese titan in a best-of-one at Worlds. However, there have been no series wins, while the LEC has five and the LCP has two.
G2 carries Europe’s record against the East
Europe’s advantage against Korea and China comes with one major caveat: most of it belongs to G2 Esports.
MSI 2026 might be the perfect example of how strange the wider regional debate has become. G2’s main-stage results were:
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| Top Esports | G2 won 3–2 |
| Hanwha Life Esports | HLE won 3–0 |
| T1 | G2 won 3–1 |
| LYON | LYON won 3–0 |
This means G2 went 6–6 against Korea and China before being swept by LYON. By contrast, the LCS champions’ results against Eastern teams were:
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| Bilibili Gaming | BLG won 3–0 |
| Hanwha Life Esports | HLE won 3–2 |
Team Liquid also lost 0–3 to T1 twice during the play-in stage. Put everything together, and MSI 2026 looked like this:
| Region | Against the other Western region | Against LCK/LPL |
|---|---|---|
| LEC | 0–6 vs. LCS | 6–9 |
| LCS | 6–0 vs. LEC | 2–12 |
North America destroyed Europe in the head-to-head, while the LEC was vastly more competitive against the tournament’s Korean and Chinese teams.
However, G2 accounted for 16 of the LEC’s 21 game wins against LCK and LPL opposition across the five tournaments analyzed. It also produced four of Europe’s five series victories. Without G2, the rest of the LEC went 5–15 against Korea and China and won only a single series.
This does not necessarily erase Europe’s advantage. Still, it suggests the region has only one team capable of consistently challenging the East rather than significantly greater depth across the entire league.
Riot’s rankings still place Europe third
Riot’s GPR offers another way to compare the regions. As of Sep. 1, the regional scores are:
| Region | Regional strength |
|---|---|
| LCK | 1389 |
| LPL | 1362 |
| LEC | 1265 |
| LCS | 1242 |
| LCP | 1107 |
| CBLOL | 835 |
The GPR isn’t a traditional opinion-based power ranking. Riot’s Elo-based system combines individual team Elo and regional Elo using an 80/20 weighting.
The current ranking has LYON fifth in the world with a Power Score of 1458, just ahead of G2 in sixth at 1444. Karmine Corp sits eighth at 1409, Team Liquid is 13th at 1346, and FlyQuest is 15th at 1340.
Take the top three teams from each region, and it gets almost comical:
- LYON, TL, and FlyQuest combine for 4144 points.
- G2, Karmine Corp, and Movistar KOI combine for 4143 points.
I wouldn’t treat a one-point difference as definitive statistical evidence, especially since every team’s Power Score already includes a regional component. It does, however, show just how closely matched the top of the two leagues currently is.
Europe has history, but North America is catching up
If we zoom out from the last two seasons, Europe’s historical advantage becomes much easier to see. The two regions have been competing since the first World Championship in 2011, but their international résumés are very different.
Officially, there is no debate over Fnatic’s 2011 title. Riot recognizes the team as the Season 1 World Champions, and the players even have their own World Championship skins. However, plenty of fans still place an asterisk next to that victory for an understandable reason.
Season 1 Worlds looked nothing like today’s tournament. Korea and China were not represented, and the competition was held as part of DreamHack rather than as the enormous standalone event that Worlds later became.
Europe’s trophies and deepest Worlds runs
Regardless of how much weight fans give that tournament, Europe has won major international trophies. Fnatic won Season 1 Worlds, while G2 won MSI 2019 after sweeping Team Liquid 3–0 in the final.
Europe has also produced far more deep runs at Worlds. Moscow Five and CLG Europe reached the semifinals in 2012, with Fnatic following in 2013. Fnatic and Origen both reached the final four in 2015 before H2K did the same in 2016.
The region’s strongest period in the modern era occurred between 2018 and 2020. Fnatic reached the Worlds final in 2018, G2 reached the final in 2019 after winning MSI earlier that year, and G2 reached another Worlds semifinal in 2020.
North America’s international highlights are fewer, but still significant
CLG reached the MSI 2016 final, Cloud9 became the first North American team since Season 1 to reach a Worlds semifinal in 2018, and Team Liquid produced one of the biggest upsets in League history when they beat reigning World Champions Invictus Gaming at MSI 2019.
Unfortunately for North America, that run ended with G2 sweeping Team Liquid in the final.
Historically, Europe clearly has the stronger trophy cabinet and a much longer record of deep international runs. The direct EU vs. NA record, however, is much closer.
If we count individual games at Riot’s three international competitions — Worlds, MSI, and First Stand — from Season 1 through MSI 2026, Europe leads all-time head-to-head: EU 66–59 NA.
North America has controlled the rivalry since 2021
That is only a seven-game difference across 125 games, and most of Europe’s advantage was established years ago.
It’s worth noting that Rift Rivals is not included in that total. Although it was an official Riot competition built specifically around regional rivalries, it was not a global tournament like Worlds, MSI, or First Stand.
Through the end of 2020, Europe led the matchup 45–30. Since 2021, North America has led 29–21. Since the beginning of 2023, that advantage has grown to 20–9, including North America’s current 12–3 run against Europe since First Stand 2025.
That tells the story of the rivalry better than almost anything else.
So, who leads the LEC vs. LCS rivalry?
Historically, Europe had both arguments: it performed better against the rest of the world and usually had the upper hand against North America. Today, only the first part is still clearly true.
If this is strictly about the LEC vs. LCS rivalry, North America has the upper hand. It has won four of the last five international series between the regions and leads the matchup 20–9 since 2023.
But if the question is which region remains stronger internationally, Europe still has the better case. It owns the superior historical résumé and continues to produce much better results against Korea and China, although most of that recent resistance has come from G2.
Europe remains the more accomplished region, but North America is currently winning the rivalry itself. For the first time in years, those are no longer the same argument.
The post LEC vs. LCS: Who leads League of Legends’ oldest regional rivalry? appeared first on Esports Insider.
ALG : Peut-on parler déjà de la patte Hemdani ?
Sans enlever le moindre mérite au sélectionneur national des U-21 après la médaille d’or décrochée dimanche lors des Jeux Méditerranéens de Tarente 2026, en Italie, mais peut-on parler déjà d’une patte ou d’un effet Brahim Hemdani ?
La réussite de la sélection nationale U-21 au tournoi de football des Jeux Méditerranéens de Tarente 2026, en Italie, est aujourd’hui à la une et fait même l’objet d’un débat entre ceux qui se sont vite enflammés pour crier à la grande performance et ceux plus pondérés qui appellent à une analyse plus objective de la participation de notre sélection nationale.
En effet, contrairement à l’édition passée en 2022 à Oran, le comité d’organisation du tournoi de football a décidé de changer de catégorie, passant des U-18 aux U-21 en 2026. Ce changement de catégorie ajouté à celui de la période du tournoi, passée de juin – juillet (fin de saison) à août – septembre (début de saison), ont fait que certaines nations comme la France, médaillée en or en 2022 dans la catégorie U-18, l’Espagne, le Portugal et la Croatie ont décidé d’y faire l’impasse.
Pour sa part, l’Italie, pays hôte, a opté pour sa sélection U-18, quant au Maroc il a choisi les U-20. L’Algérie, quant à elle, a préféré retirer sa sélection U-20 féminine et ne laisser que la sélection masculine U-21, dont l’ossature est composée de joueurs évoluant en seniors dans les clubs professionnels à l’image des Mohamed Faiz Belgourai (21 ans et 4 mois), Issam Abdelhamid Naim (20 ans et 8 mois), Ben Ahmed Kohili (21 ans et 1 mois), Abdelmalek Klaleche (21 ans et 1 mois), Lahlou Akhrib (21 ans et 4 mois), Salah eddine Bouziani (21 ans et 7 mois) et autre Mohamed Bouderbala (21 ans et 1 mois).
D’ailleurs, ces joueurs ne pourront pas faire partie de la sélection U-20 que dirigera Brahim Hemdani, appelée à disputer, fin septembre début octobre, le tournoi de l’Union nord-africaine de football (UNAF) qualificatif pour la Coupe d’Afrique des nations (CAN) – Ghana 2027, mais devraient être versés éventuellement dans la sélection U-23 conduite par Rafik Saïfi qui, elle, joue les éliminatoires de la CAN-2027 en Egypte avec en ligne de mire une place aux Jeux Olympiques de Los Angeles 2028.
Hemdani, un coach encore en apprentissage
Ceci étant rappelé pour contextualiser l’arrivée de Brahim Hemdani, dont les débuts sur un banc de touche remontent à 2017 en tant qu’adjoint en National 2 (D4) à Côte Bleue.
Il dirigera par la suite l’équipe de Courbevoie en 2020, dans la région parisienne tout en passant son diplôme UEFA A à Clairefontaine, au niveau de la direction technique nationale (DTN) de la Fédération française de football.
Le diplôme en poche, il passe entraîneur principal et permet dès sa première saison au club de Marignane, du côté de Marseille, d’accéder en National 1 (D3). Malheureusement, cette formation va dégringoler en perdant deux paliers, poussant Hemdani à quitter ses fonctions en 2025.
Puis, il est sorti du chapeau de la FAF en juillet dernier pour suppléer Razik Nedder, le sélectionneur des U-20 parti au Havre AC en tant qu’adjoint. Mais en attendant d’entamer son travail avec cette sélection, la DTN/FAF lui confie les U-21 pour les Jeux Méditerranéens de Tarente 2026.
Dix jours de stage au Centre technique national (CTN) et voilà la sélection partie performer en terre italienne avec les résultats que l’on sait : 5 victoires en autant de matchs, 10 buts marqués et 3 encaissés, pour une différence de +7), meilleur buteur et meilleur joueur Ben Ahmed Kohili (5 buts). Et surtout une médaille d’or, espérée depuis 51 ans !
Si lors des matchs de la phase de groupe, l’équipe algérienne a souvent tâtonné, même si elle a fait preuve de beaucoup de réalisme et à une meilleure qualité individuelle, en finale par contre face à la Tunisie (son égale en âge surtout), les Verts ont montré un tout autre visage sur le plan tactique, de la maitrise technique et même par rapport au volet physique où les changements opérés par le staff technique et la gestion d’un match toutes les 48 heures se sont avérés payants.
Le tournoi UNAF U-20, l’autre véritable test
Pour autant, il est encore trop tôt de se prononcer sur les capacités de Hemdani à passer un nouveau gap en si peu de temps. Le prochain tournoi UNAF sera d’ailleurs un véritable test car il s’agira de conduire une sélection U-20 face aux quatre autres équipes de la zone du même âge, avec l’apport des éléments professionnels, et dans des conditions d’adversité différentes.
En effet, le tournoi aura lieu en Egypte, avec un début contre une Tunisie, avide de revanche, puis la Libye, souvent accrocheuse, avant d’enchainer avec le Maroc, l’un des favoris du tournoi, pour terminer avec un pays hôte très ambitieux sur ses terres, et ce pour deux places qualificatives seulement.
Hemdani devra également composer sans ses sept meilleurs joueurs U-21 des JM 2026 et travailler avec un autre groupe, incluant des éléments évoluant à l’étranger, en un laps de temps (le tournoi est du 24 septembre au 6 octobre prochains).
De plus, il lui sera difficile pour ne pas dire impossible, d’être dans le staff technique provisoire de la sélection A, comme l’ont annoncé certains ces derniers jours. Du coup, coach Hemdani devra se concentrer sur sa mission essentielle, celle de décrocher une qualification pour la CAN-2027 au Ghana, considérée comme étant une étape importante pour cette catégorie des U-20 dans le cadre de son cursus de formation et de progression.
Résultats de la sélection U-21 aux JM de Tarente 2026 :
- Phase de groupe :
- Algérie – Kosovo U-21 (2 – 1, buts Kohili et Tarzout).
- Algérie – Italie U-18 (3 – 1, buts Akhrib, Kohili et Bouderbala).
- Algérie – Albanie U-21 (2 – 0, buts Akhrib et Abdelaziz).
- Demi-finale :
- Algérie – Maroc U-20 (1 – 1, 4 à 3, but Kohili).
- Finale :
- Algérie – Tunisie U-21 (2 – 0, buts Kohili doublé).
L’article ALG : Peut-on parler déjà de la patte Hemdani ? est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.
Pitso Mosimane set for Bafana Bafana return after SAFA approves appointment
Pitso Mosimane is set to return to the Bafana Bafana dugout more than a decade after his previous stint in charge of South Africa’s senior men’s national football team.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) National Executive Committee has approved Mosimane’s appointment following the departure of Hugo Broos, with his formal unveiling expected this week.
Mosimane previously coached Bafana Bafana in a caretaker capacity in 2007 before taking permanent charge of the national team from 2010 to 2012.
Mosimane set for second permanent Bafana stint
The appointment marks Mosimane’s second permanent spell in charge of Bafana Bafana.
SAFA approved his return earlier in August, although administrative and contractual matters delayed the formal announcement.
Mosimane has since been expected to take over the national team ahead of its next round of competitive fixtures.
His return puts one of South Africa’s most prominent coaches back in charge of the national side after more than a decade away from the role.
Little time before AFCON qualifiers
Mosimane will have limited time to settle into the job, with Bafana Bafana preparing for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
South Africa is due to face Guinea and Eritrea in its opening qualifying fixtures.
Mosimane has already been doing scouting work alongside trusted members of his technical team, Kabelo Rangoaga and Musi Matlaba, during the period leading up to his expected announcement.
A preliminary Bafana Bafana squad is also expected once his appointment is formally unveiled.
A return to the Bafana dugout
Mosimane’s return follows the departure of Broos and brings him back to a national team he last permanently coached in 2012.
While SAFA has approved the appointment, attention now turns to the formal announcement and the squad Mosimane will select as preparations begin for the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign.
With fixtures against Guinea and Eritrea approaching, there will be little time for the returning coach and his technical team to settle into their new roles before competitive action begins.
The post Pitso Mosimane set for Bafana Bafana return after SAFA approves appointment appeared first on InBound South Africa.