Top scout convinced Adams was destined for Europe

Former Ajax Cape Town Head of Youth Scouting Thembela ‘Tera’ Maliwa believes the late Jayden Adams was destined for a successful career in Europe, saying the midfielder had all the qualities needed to thrive at the highest level.

Adams’ career had been on a remarkable upward trajectory after helping Mamelodi Sundowns lift the CAF Champions League title last season before representing Bafana Bafana at the FIFA World Cup.

Before his untimely death on June 11, the gifted midfielder featured in all three of South Africa’s group-stage matches and played a key role in helping Bafana Bafana reach the knockout stages for the first time. saltysenoritaaz.org

“When I spoke to him and I said to him that I would like to get a jersey of a team that he’s going to in Europe,” Maliwa said on Radio 2000.

“He asked me why I said that and I told him he’s not going to come back from the World Cup because there will be one or two teams that will take him. I’m not at Sundowns but I can tell you that there should be one or two teams that would have been interested in Jayden.

“He is a player that would have made it outside of South Africa and in Europe. If you look at how he plays, he’s so clever, technically good, tactically superior and he was disciplined. He was a player you needed next to you in your team.”

Although Adams established himself as one of the country’s best midfielders during his time at Stellenbosch FC before earning a move to Sundowns, Maliwa revealed that he first discovered him as a promising right-back.

“We had a programme called first touch at Ajax. It specialised in identifying 9,10 and 11-year-olds. That’s how Jayden came to join the first touch programme,” Maliwa recalled.

“From Stellenbosch, it was him and Luke Le Roux that we had identified. They joined the team of Tashreeq Matthews who is now at Sundowns. What people don’t know is that Jayden was not a midfielder, he was the best right back we’ve ever seen.

“When we had him, we knew he would replace Abbubaker Mobara who was already in the first team at the time. He started playing as a midfielder when he was 17 or 19 if I’m not mistaken but he started as a right back.”

Meanwhile, Sundowns have arrived in Austria for their pre-season training camp after their departure was delayed following Adams’ death. The Brazilians are scheduled to face Hertha Berlin on Tuesday before taking on Al Hilal on July 24.

Kylian Mbappé a terminé une saison 2025-2026 sur le plan personnel très prolifique en buts. En revanche, l’attaquant tricolore a vécu une saison blanche en termes de titres.

Le joueur de 27 ans a terminé meilleur buteur en Liga, en Ligue des Champions, mais aussi sur le plan mondial avec la Coupe du monde. Sur le plan national, il a trouvé à 25 reprises le chemin des filets en 31 matchs disputés dans le championnat espagnol. Il devance Vedat Muriqi de Majorque avec 23 réalisations.

En Ligue des Champions, il a scoré à 15 reprises en 11 matchs et a fini premier devant l’attaquant du Bayern Munich, Harry Kane, auteur de 14 buts en 13 matchs. Enfin, malgré l’élimination de l’équipe de France en demi-finale contre l’Espagne de la Coupe du monde, L’ancien attaquant du PSG s’est détaché lors du match de la 3e place contre l’Angleterre avec deux buts à la clé dans un match fou perdu 6-4. Mbappé devance ses poursuivants et devient Soulier d’Or de la compétition avec 10 buts inscrits en 8 matchs en prenant le meilleur sur Messi, auteur de 8 buts, mais aussi de Bellingham et Haaland avec 7 réalisations.

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Réuni au mois de juillet par EA Sports avec David Beckham et Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Zinédine Zidane a livré son ressenti sur la Coupe du monde 2026 qui s’est terminée dimanche avec le sacre de l’Espagne face à l’Argentine près de New York.

Durant leur discussion, la légende tricolore et futur probable sélectionneur de l’équipe de France s’est exprimé sur les performances de Lamine Yamal et de Michael Olise. Le jeune crack du FC Barcelone a soulevé dimanche son premier Mondial à 19 ans tandis que l’ailier tricolore du Bayern Munich a terminé meilleur passeur du tournoi avec 7 offrandes. Il a dévancé cinq joueurs, auteur de quatre passes : Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Bruno Guimaraes, Martin Ödegaard et Brahim Diaz.

« Il y a tellement de jeunes. Ce sont des joueurs qui ont 20-21 ans et qui jouent comme quand on jouait au quartier. C’est ce qu’on veut voir sur le terrain finalement. C’était beau de les voir jouer. On peut parler de Yamal, de Olise, de Mbappé. Tout ce qu’ils nous montrent sur le terrain… Ils nous font tous rêver quand on regarde les matchs. C’est ça qu’on veut voir. Moi j’ai pris beaucoup de plaisir. », a salué Zidane.

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Sacré champion du monde 2026 dimanche face à l’Argentine, Luis de la Fuente confirme qu’il est bien plus qu’un simple sélectionneur de transition. Depuis son arrivée à la tête de la Roja en 2022, le technicien espagnol construit un projet solide et s’inscrit déjà parmi les entraîneurs marquants de l’histoire du football espagnol.

Une impressionnante collection de titres

Luis de la Fuente est en train d’écrire une page majeure avec les sélections espagnoles. Son palmarès parle pour lui : champion d’Europe U19 en 2015, champion d’Europe U21 en 2019, vainqueur de la Ligue des Nations en 2023 avec l’équipe A, puis champion d’Europe en 2024 et champion du monde en 2026.

Cinq trophées majeurs remportés avec différentes générations de joueurs, mais toujours avec une même philosophie basée sur la maîtrise collective et la qualité technique.

Une régularité exceptionnelle

Depuis sa nomination à la tête de la sélection espagnole en 2022, Luis de la Fuente affiche un bilan impressionnant avec seulement deux défaites. Une régularité remarquable alors que la Roja a disputé et remporté les plus grandes compétitions internationales ces dernières années.

Lors de la Coupe du monde 2026, l’Espagne n’a jamais été menée au score, illustrant la maîtrise tactique et la solidité mentale insufflées par son sélectionneur.

Un entraîneur déjà entré dans l’histoire

Avec ce sacre mondial, Luis de la Fuente réalise un exploit rare : réussir à triompher avec les équipes de jeunes puis avec la sélection A. Son doublé Euro-Coupe du monde le place désormais aux côtés des entraîneurs ayant marqué leur époque.

À 63 ans, il n’a pas seulement accumulé les trophées. Il a également installé une nouvelle dynamique au sein de la Roja et posé les bases d’une génération appelée à durer.

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Dricus Du Plessis walked away from UFC Oklahoma City with more than just a statement victory over Kamaru Usman.

Following his unanimous decision win on 18 July 2026, the South African earned a $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus after an action-packed five-round main event.

While the UFC has not officially confirmed the full purse details, Du Plessis’ total earnings are believed to be significantly higher than the performance bonus alone.

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Fight of the Night bonus boosts payday

Du Plessis received a guaranteed $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus, worth roughly R1.8 million.

Based on previous non-title UFC main event payouts for fighters of his calibre, his base purse is estimated to have been between $350,000 and $500,000. Additional earnings are also believed to come from promotional compliance payments and other contractual bonuses.

Because UFC Oklahoma City was a Fight Night event rather than a numbered pay-per-view card, Du Plessis was not eligible for pay-per-view points, making his overall payout lower than his previous championship fights.

Even so, his total pre-tax earnings for the victory over Usman are estimated to be between $600,000 and $950,000.

After losing the UFC middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev in late 2025, Du Plessis is no longer believed to be competing under a champion’s contract, which reportedly paid him around $1 million per fight.

Du Plessis dominates the statistics

Du Plessis returned to winning ways with a unanimous decision victory over Usman, with the judges scoring the contest 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46.

The official fight statistics highlighted his dominance across the five rounds.

He landed 136 of 273 significant strikes for an accuracy of 49.8%, while Usman landed 92 of 234 significant strikes at 39.3%.

Overall, Du Plessis out-struck the former welterweight champion 139-99.

Usman attempted seven takedowns but failed to secure any, with Du Plessis successfully defending every attempt. Du Plessis attempted two takedowns but was also unsuccessful.

Du Plessis also hurt Usman early with a heavy punch that affected his opponent’s vision in his left eye before repeatedly rocking him with powerful right hands, head kicks and step-in knees throughout the 25-minute contest.

Dana White responds to title talk

Speaking after the event, UFC CEO Dana White praised the performances of both fighters but stopped short of confirming who would receive the next middleweight title opportunity.

Although Du Plessis strengthened his position as the No. 2-ranked contender and owns two previous victories over current champion Sean Strickland, White said he was not ready to discuss the next title fight immediately after the event.

Some analysts have suggested Du Plessis could first meet Nassourdine Imavov in a number-one contender bout.

Du Plessis believes his latest performance strengthened his case for another title shot.

“When it comes to the title shot, I said a win wouldn’t give me a title shot. But damn, a performance like that would give me a title shot.”

White also dismissed suggestions that Usman should retire, saying the former champion still has plenty left to offer after competing against a naturally bigger opponent. He suggested Usman take time to recover before deciding whether to continue fighting at middleweight or return to the welterweight division.

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Middleweight rankings

Du Plessis remains the UFC’s No. 2-ranked middleweight following his victory over Usman.

The current middleweight rankings are:

• Champion: Sean Strickland
• No. 1: Khamzat Chimaev
• No. 2: Dricus Du Plessis
• No. 3: Nassourdine Imavov

Du Plessis also remains among the sport’s elite on the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, where he is currently ranked No. 13 in the world.

The victory keeps the South African firmly in the title picture as he looks to earn another opportunity to challenge for the UFC middleweight championship.

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