Welcome to the Thunder Football Newsletter. #23
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Table of Contents

• All the latest Cup Action 🏆

• The Headlines ⚽

• Transfer Talk

• Memes 😂

All the latest Cup Action 🏆

The African Cup of Nations

Groups A & B have been finalised

• Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 bulldozed over the hosts Ivory Coast 🇨🇮 4-0 to top Group A. Nigeria 🇳🇬 claimed 2nd spot with Ivory Coast hoping to still progress to the next round as one of the best 3rd-placed teams.

• The 2021 finalist, Egypt 🇪🇬, hasn’t lost a single game yet. They have however lost their star player (Salah) to injury. But they also haven’t won a single game yet. They still somehow managed to finish the group in 2nd place behind Cape Verde 🇨🇻.

Groups C, D, E & F will be finalised by tomorrow.

• Group E is still open and unpredictable after Bafana Bafana 🇿🇦 recorded a convincing 4-0 victory over Namibia 🇳🇦. Bafana Bafana will have everything to play for when they take on Tunisia 🇹🇳 tomorrow at 19:00. A victory over the Northern African side will secure their sport in the next round.

The AFC Asian Cup

The last round of group-stage matches in the Asian Cup are being played this week. By Thursday all the group-stage matches will have been played with the Round of 16 starting on Sunday.

Group A has already been finalised with 🇶🇦 Qatar (1st) and 🇹🇯 Tajikistan (2nd) both qualifying.

The FA Cup 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The English FA Cup 4th Round matches will be played this week from Thursday onwards.

The biggest matchup will be when Spurs host Manchester City on Friday night. Kick-off 22:00 (SA Time).

He might not be ready by Friday but City fans can be relieved to know that Haaland is back in training after quite a few weeks out injured.

Carabao (EFL) Cup 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

England’s other cup, the Carabao Cup, is back this week for the 2nd legs of the semi-final matches.

Chelsea are playing Middlesbrough tonight at 22:00 (SA Time) at the Bridge. Middlesbrough won the first leg 1-0 meaning Chelsea has got some catching up to do.

The other semi-final will be played tomorrow at 22:00 (SA Time) and features Fulham who will host Liverpool. Liverpool won the first leg 2-1 at home.

Coupe de France 🇫🇷

The French Cup (Coupe de France) Round of 32 matches was played this past weekend. The current Top 5 teams (PSG, Nice, Brest, Monaco, Lille) according to the league standings are all still in the running. The Round of 16 matches will be played on the 6th, 7th and 8th of February.

The Headlines

Atletico get their revenge

10 January 2024. Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup Semi-final. 3-3 after normal time. Real Madrid scored twice in extra time to win the match 5-3 and go through to the final.

18 January 2024. Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Copa del Rey Cup Round of 16 match. 2-2 after normal time. Atletico Madrid scored twice in extra time to win the match 4-2 and go through to the next round.

Bayer Leverkusen are still undefeated 🇩🇪

Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen are still the only unbeaten team in the Top 5 leagues.

• 🇩🇪 15 wins, 3 draws and 0 defeats in Bundesliga.

• 🇪🇺 24 wins, 3 draws and 0 defeats in all competitions.

• ⚽️ 85 total goals scored. 20 total goals conceded.

After Bayern’s defeat to Bremen, Leverkusen now sits 7 points clear on top of the Bundesliga.

Transfer Talk

Hendo’s Arabian journey comes to an end

Jordan Henderson has completed a move to Ajax on a two-and-half-year deal, just six months after signing for Al Etiffaq.

Memes 😂

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