Rilwan Bello

Everything on God!!!

[Rilwan Bello @Iamobran]

That blessing and upliftment I'm expecting shall not exceed me Inshallah.

[Gab @k0lade]

Speak it into existence.

[Enoch Δ @agyeitah]

Totally missed your response.

But this isn’t about pride, @garyalsmith. It’s about false narratives being given the time of day.

Underdogs lose leads to favourites. Everywhere. In every confederation.

When Japan lost a 2–0 lead to Belgium, people praised Belgium, gave Japan some slack and moved on. Nobody indicted Asian football.

Croatia scored first and lost yesterday.

It’s football.

But I find the way you build this supposed 30-year pattern strange.

Your most obvious pull was Nigeria in 1994. So I went back and checked the actual data.

All of it.

Since 1970, African teams have taken the lead in 79 World Cup matches.

They won 44, drew 21 and lost 14.

That means African teams avoided defeat 82.3% of the time after taking the lead.

Even in this tournament, the full picture is different from the story being told.

Yes, Côte d’Ivoire led and lost to Germany. DR Congo led and lost to England. Senegal led and lost to Belgium.

But Morocco led and drew with Brazil.

Egypt led and drew with Belgium and Iran.

Cape Verde led and drew with Uruguay.

Algeria led and drew with Austria.

South Africa led and beat South Korea.

Côte d’Ivoire led and won two games.

Egypt led and beat New Zealand.

Senegal led and beat Iraq.

Ghana led and beat Panama.

Algeria led and beat Jordan.

So African teams have led 15 times in this tournament: 7 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses.

That is not a continental pathology.

That is football.

And if this were an African problem, Africa should at least be uniquely bad at it.

We aren’t.

From 1970 to 2022, African teams lost 17.2% of World Cup matches after taking the lead.

AFC teams lost 20%.

CONCACAF teams lost 23.4%.

Even if we start from 1994, your 30-year window, it is CAF 16.4%, AFC 20% and CONCACAF 22.9%.

So where exactly is this unmistakable African pattern?

You have built a continental theory from a few painful games spread across decades.

To do that, you have to ignore Algeria holding against West Germany in ’82.

Cameroon repeatedly holding in ’90.

Nigeria seeing off Spain in ’98.

Ghana killing games in ’06.

And just four years ago, African teams led nine times at the 2022 World Cup and didn’t lose once.

Cameroon held against Brazil.

Tunisia held against France.

Morocco held against Belgium, Canada and Portugal.

That was four years ago. Not 30.

And before someone says these numbers are inflated by games against weaker opposition, let’s narrow the sample further.

Let’s look only at games where African teams took the lead against European and South American opposition.

Since 1970, it has happened 53 times.

African teams won 27.

Drew 14.

Lost 12.

That is a 77.4% non-loss rate after taking the lead against the two historically strongest footballing regions in the world.

So what you have identified is not a pattern.

It is a highlight reel of pain with the denominator deleted.

Yes, the collapses were real. Senegal’s was bad. DR Congo’s was bad. Côte d’Ivoire’s was bad.

But Japan’s against Belgium was bad too.

Croatia scored first and lost.

Spain’s collapse against Nigeria in 1998 was spectacular.

The difference is that those failures were attributed to the people who actually oversaw them: the players, the coach, the team.

Nobody said, “Croatia blew a lead, so Europeans lack concentration.”

Nobody built an Asian theory from Japan doing it more than once.

As for the coaches you cite, Thiaw was diagnosing Senegal’s game management.

That was his team in a game his team blew.

Senegal is a team.

Africa is a continent.

A coach owning his own failure is accountability. Stretching it into a verdict on 54 countries is your addition, not his.

And that is my pushback.

You may be coming from a place of good intentions. But Africa, and I must say this to you as an African, is diverse.

Sometimes coaches make bad decisions. Sometimes players panic. Sometimes underdogs sit too deep. Sometimes the better team comes back.

Sometimes a team just blows a lead.

[Rilwan Bello @Iamobran]

@AskMichaelTaiwo You couldn’t have said it better egbon. I always prioritize my muscle growth by working them in isolation which is better achieved using free weights! 💪 weldone sir

[Rilwan Bello @Iamobran]

@OgaHans I have actually been doing this for 3 days

[C. N. Ebere @cn_ebere]

I don't think anyone should advise you as an immigrant in Western countries, especially in the UK to start thinking beyond ILR. I don't know about others, but I hardly get worried by all this talk about immigration policies. Maybe, because I've not seen myself staying here for long even if I become a British citizen by document.

Unfortunately, the UK politicians are mostly pushed by online opinions even from other countries and influencers like Elon Musk. What's happening in Belfast is a statement to every immigrant in the UK that the smiles you get, the hi, and you're alright greetings you get can change overnight when an immigrant whether legal or not acts crazy.

No matter how much you want to comfort yourself with integration, you'll always be black in the eyes of many.

So, work legally as you do, do all the right things you can do here, save that money, save it well, and more especially, support good governance in your home country. I get pissed seeing Nigerians in the UK, Canada, and more supporting this current government because of personal interest, religion, or tribe. We need to have outgrown this nonsense.

Also, add greater value to yourself so that your relevance will be across borders while we hope good governance and leadership will become a reality soon. Stop begging or appearing beggary to people you're better than in all aspects - education, exposure, skills, because you want a place to stay.

If they want to send everyone home, they should. It's their country but go back prepared than before. It starts now, save that money! If you're single, you're in luck now, with less responsibility. Use it right!

Whether you like it or not, nowhere is better than home! Think home!

[Bruno Fernandes @B_Fernandes8]

inspired by those who set the standard. ✨

[Premier League @premierleague]

An unforgettable season 🤩

[Football on TNT Sports @footballontnt]

Bruno Fernandes is the 2025/26 Premier League Player of the Season 👏

[Premier League @premierleague]

A season for the history books 📖

@manutd's Bruno Fernandes is @EASPORTSFC Player of the Season ❤️

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

No-one does it like him.

Bruno Fernandes is the Premier League Player of the Year 🤩❤️

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

It's Carrick, you know ❤️

🇾🇪 We are delighted to announce Michael Carrick will continue as our head coach, having signed a new contract.

[Rilwan Bello @Iamobran]

One of the best officiating I’ve seen in a while. Weldone Darren England!
#Chemci #FA

[Rilwan Bello @Iamobran]

Been a while I watched a game this tensed! Weldone
#Celticvshearts

[UtdXclusive @UtdXclusive]

🚨 JUST IN: Manchester United’s Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, has held talks with officials from Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, and one other undisclosed Premier League club over the past week as the club ramps up its summer transfer planning.

Wilcox is intensifying efforts to secure promising young talent. United have a firm interest in Leicester City’s talented teenage winger Jeremy Monga, who is expected to leave the club this summer, with Manchester City also in talks for the player.

United are additionally monitoring Leicester midfielder Louis Page (born 2008). Academy Director Stephen Torpey was present during the Leicester meeting. While United’s priority remains signing proven Premier League-ready players, they are also focusing on high-potential youth prospects to complement their boosted summer spending power from Champions League qualification.

[@UtdDistrict]

[Statman Dave @StatmanDave]

Bruno Fernandes is the first Manchester United player to win the FWA Footballer of the Year award since Wayne Rooney in 2010.

Well deserved. 👏

[Mirror Football @MirrorFootball]

🚨 BREAKING 🚨

Bruno Fernandes crowned FWA Football of the Year 👏

https://t.co/CVrb2I0dkv

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

😉👍

[ESPN UK @ESPNUK]

One assist away from tying the Premier League's single season record.

Captained Manchester United to Champions League qualification.

Has the second most goals and assists in the Premier League this season.

And now FWA Footballer of the Year.

Bruno Fernandes 👑

[BBC Sport @BBCSport]

Bruno Fernandes has been named as the Football Writers' Player of the Year for 2026.

Congrats, Bruno👏

[Sky Sports News @SkySportsNews]

BREAKING: Man United's Bruno Fernandes named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 🔴🏆🇵🇹

[PFA @PFA]

Congratulations to Bruno Fernandes who has been named the @theofficialfwa Footballer of the Year. 👏