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• Boyz striker Antonio recounts passport mishap after missing decisive Nations League quarterfinal clash

  Jamaican striker Michail Antonio recently opened up about a bizarre and frustrating series of events that caused him to miss the Reggae Boyz's crucial Concacaf Nations League second-leg clash against the United States.

  Speaking candidly on a podcast, Antonio detailed how losing his British passport set off an unexpected chain reaction that kept him grounded in Ghana and ultimately sidelined him from the decisive game.

  The England-born player, who switched allegiance to Jamaica in 2021, explained that the trouble started when he misplaced his British passport just before traveling. Despite the setback, the West Ham striker decided to proceed with his plans, using his Jamaican passport to travel to Ghana to visit his academy, Samba Stars.

  “I lost my passport before I left, but I thought, 'I'm English, so it's not gonna be a problem getting back into the UK,'" Antonio said on the Rest is Football podcast.

  

  Antonio shows off his Jamaican passport during the podcast.

  Confident that his Jamaican passport would suffice, Antonio spent three days in Ghana conducting media work and meeting players at his academy.

  However, the real challenge came when the 34-year-old attempted to fly back to England, as immigration officials at the airport in Ghana dropped a bombshell—he required a visa to re-enter England using his Jamaican passport.

  “I get to the airport, and they're like, ‘Where’s your visa?’” Antonio shared.

  “I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ They said, ‘You need a visa to get back to the UK.’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t. I’m English. I’ve been living in the UK my whole life,’” he added.

  What Antonio hadn’t realized was that using his Jamaican passport—a foreign document in this case—meant he was subject to the same entry requirements as any other Jamaican citizen, including a visa to enter the United Kingdom.

  His disbelief quickly turned into frustration as Antonio realized he wouldn’t be allowed to board his flight back to England. Instead, he was forced to remain in Ghana for an additional three days while he arranged for an emergency British passport.

  “I’ve never needed a visa in my life, but because I was using my Jamaican passport for the first time to get back to England, I needed one,” he stated with a broad smile.

  

  That delay threw Antonio’s travel plans into disarray. While he eventually returned to England, he missed the opportunity to secure a visa to fly to the United States for Jamaica’s Nations League second leg in St Louis, Missouri.

  Antonio’s absence proved costly for the Reggae Boyz, who suffered a 4-2 loss to their rivals at Energizer Park, sealing a 5-2 aggregate defeat in the two-legged tie.

  Antonio, who has been pivotal in Jamaica's recent campaigns and has five goals in 21 appearances, could only watch from afar as the Reggae Boyz fell short of the Nations League semi-final and, by extension, the next edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

  They are now left to contest the preliminary round in March in order to book a spot in the prestigious tournament.

  For Antonio, the ordeal was a learning experience, as his story highlights the challenges faced by dual-national athletes navigating complex travel requirements.

  Still, the West Ham striker is back in England, ready to focus on club and country, but will likely double-check his passport before his next trip.

  "In the times we’re in with AI and everything, you’re telling me I can’t leave the UK, where I was born, and fly to Ghana using my Jamaican passport, and I can’t come back to England without a visa?” he joked.

• Kidd hails Mavs' character after road win over Nuggets

  Jason Kidd hailed the character of his Dallas Mavericks team after their gutsy win over the Denver Nuggets.

  The Mavericks overcame Luka Doncic's absence, and a triple-double from returning Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, to win 123-120 in Friday's NBA Cup game.

  It also marked the third consecutive game the Mavericks have had seven players hit double figures. 

  The Mavericks appeared to be running away with a dominant win after leading by as many as 24 points early in the third quarter, only for the Nuggets to swiftly respond. 

  They struck a fierce 28-9 run in an eight-minute span to bring the game within single digits going into the final quarter, but the Mavericks held on for a fourth straight win.

  "We were here 10 days ago, we learned from that situation, we kept our composure. This group stayed together," Kidd said.  

  "On the defensive end we made stops and on the offensive end we made some big plays.

  "We didn't finish the game 10 days ago. But the guys stepped up. Defensively, we did what we had to do. A lot of small things that we cleaned up from the last time we were here.

  "This is a character game for us. Again without Luka, on the road, we were just in this situation in Oklahoma City. The games are too close for us to make mistakes late.

  "This team has a lot of character, a lot of trust and we're becoming a team - it's still early in the season, we've had some injuries, but it's about the next man up and those guys are stepping up."

  Dallas (9-7) improved to 2-1 in West Group C to keep their hopes of being one of eight teams to advance to the knockout round. The Mavericks trail the Golden State Warriors, who improved to 3-0 in Group Play after Friday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

  It was also a night to remember for Naji Marshall, who scored a career-high 26 points off the bench. 

  After scoring 15 points in the second half of Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans, Marshall scored 16 points in the first half on Friday.

  Marshall had only two 15-point halves in his career prior to accomplishing the feat in consecutive halves, with Kidd showering praise for his recent displays. 

  "Just the trust. Marshall was playing extremely well for us. With the game on the line, he makes a floater with one second left on the shot clock," Kidd said. 

  "The confidence the guys have in him on the offensive end and defensive end [helps]."

• 76ers confirm Embiid sidelined with knee injury

  The Philadelphia 76ers revealed Joel Embiid missed their victory over the Brooklyn Nets with a knee injury, while the star centre will also be absent from this Sunday's clash with the Los Angeles Clippers.

  Philadelphia ended a five-game losing streak with a 113-98 win at Wells Fargo Center, but did so without the services of Embiid.

  The centre was not initially listed on the franchise's injury report ahead of the game, but was later added for left knee injury management, having been ruled out 30 minutes before tip-off.

  "He was dealing with some swelling in his knee today, got to the arena and was ruled out," 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. "They're going to treat it all weekend, so he'll be out for Sunday as well.

  "He had some swelling from the last game. It's something we knew we were going to be dealing with going into the season. They do what they can do to remove that swelling, but it just didn't feel good enough to go.

  "We were pretty well aware of that not too much longer after [my pre-match] press conference that he wasn't going to be able to go tonight.

  "Then, they obviously looked at it again during the game and half-time, and decided that they needed to treat it this weekend, and go from there.

  "Hopefully, on Monday, we'll give you an update on where we're at and, hopefully, he'll be in good shape."

  In Embiid's absence, rookie guard Jared McCain stepped up to produce another impressive performance with 30 points, passing the 20-mark for a seventh successive game.

  The 20-year-old was heard saying "I'm rookie of the year!" after shooting one of his six three-pointers during the final quarter.

  "I did say that," he said after the game. "It was pretty clear. It's one of my goals for the season, obviously, but it was just that competitiveness coming out of me.

  "I respect every other rookie in this league, but obviously, I'm a believer in myself."