Sport

Wednesday, 20 June 2018 04:26

Russia parties after Egypt win puts them near World Cup knockouts

Russian fans erupted in celebration on Tuesday as the World Cup hosts cruised past Egypt 3-1 in their second game in Group A, virtually booking a place in the knockout stages of the tournament. Russia is the lowest FIFA ranked side at the event, but two games in they are top of their group with six points and are poised to qualify for the next stage. State television broadcast footage of fans chanting "Russia" ecstatically, waving flags at locations around the country and celebrating the victory in St Petersburg. "The game was just crazy, (Egypt talisman Mohamed) Salah couldn't do…

Wednesday, 20 June 2018 04:24

World Cup: No Russian? No Problem. There's an app for that

Randall Garcia and his wife were on a bus in the Russian city of Samara when a local resident stared at the couple and pointed his phone at them. The screen read: "Good luck Costa Rica!" Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Neymar may be the stars of the World Cup. But Google Translate has been the Most Valuable Player for many fans to leap over the language barrier in Russia. They have used the mobile app version to order food, change money and meet new people, especially in cities like Samara, where most people only speak Russian. "Google Translate has…

Tuesday, 19 June 2018 05:16

World Cup 2018: Stranded Nigeria fans trickle out of Kaliningrad

About 100 Nigerian football fans stranded in Kaliningrad following their team's loss to Croatia in their World Cup opener were finally on the move on Monday after what was described as a visa gaffe. Most of the supporters had planned to take the train from Kaliningrad back to Moscow following the Super Eagles 2-0 loss on Saturday but did not have the necessary visas to pass through countries like Lithuania and Latvia. Russian officials stepped in to help the marooned fans by arranging flights but they were not free. Supporters said they were told flights would be found at the…

Monday, 18 June 2018 04:36

World Cup 2018: Brilliant Mexico stun champions Germany

Defending champions Germany made a disastrous start to their bid to win back-to-back World Cups with a shock defeat by Mexico. Hirving Lozano's first-half goal was the difference between the two sides in an enthralling encounter in Moscow, but the surprising result was not the only concern for Germany coach Joachim Low. His disjointed side looked extraordinarily vulnerable on the break even before Javier Hernandez punished them with the pass that set up Lozano to cut inside and fire home. Toni Kroos almost replied instantly with a free-kick but Guillermo Ochoa tipped it on to the bar and that was…

Sunday, 17 June 2018 05:01

Croatia need own goal and penalty to overcome Nigeria

Croatia beat Nigeria 2-0 on Saturday with an own goal from Oghenekaro Etebo and a penalty from Luka Modric to go top of World Cup Group D, one of the toughest and most unpredictable in the tournament. Modric's coolly taken 71st minute spot kick gave the scoreline a clear-cut feel, but the fact that Croatia failed to score on their own from open play was testament to some wayward shooting. While dominating for long periods, they struggled to penetrate the Nigerian defence and failed repeatedly to find the target with speculative shots from well outside the penalty area. The result…

Sunday, 17 June 2018 05:00

Croatia fans cycle all the way to Russia for World Cup

Some soccer fans will follow their teams anywhere to see them play in the World Cup. For five friends from Croatia that meant cycling 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) all the way from Zagreb to Kaliningrad in Russia. The epic trek took them 15 days, cycling for 10 hours a day as they pedaled through Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. On the way they encountered a number of challenges including a broken bridge. As they reached their final destination, the group collapsed into a bar and celebrated with a well-earned drink. They're now looking forward to Saturday's game…

Saturday, 16 June 2018 04:38

Magic Ronaldo lights up World Cup with hat-trick to deny Spain

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo lit up the World Cup in his own inimitable style on Friday, curling in a late free kick to complete a remarkable hat-trick and earn his team a 3-3 draw in an enthralling clash with neighbours Spain. In by far the best game of the tournament so far, Ronaldo twice put Portugal in front, Diego Costa replied each time, Nacho gave Spain the lead with a stunning volley and Ronaldo then had the last word with a superb free kick he won himself. Ronaldo has a relatively poor free-kick record for Portugal and when he and…

Friday, 15 June 2018 04:36

Russia crush Saudi Arabia 5-0 in World Cup opener

Russia launched the World Cup party in spectacular style when they thrashed a feeble Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the tournament's opening match on Thursday to give the host nation the lift they desperately needed after a nine-month winless run. Substitute Denis Cheryshev scored two brilliant goals after Yury Gazinsky had headed the World Cup's first after 12 minutes. Artem Dzyuba was also on target a minute after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute and Aleksandr Golovin completed a memorable day by smashing in a free kick with the last action of the game. The result equalled the best in a…

Tuesday, 12 June 2018 04:05

Stoke sign Nigeria's World Cup-bound midfielder Etebo from Feirense

Stoke City have signed Nigeria international midfielder Oghenekaro Peter Etebo on a five-year contract from Portuguese club Feirense, the second-tier Championship club said on Monday. Etebo, who will represent his country in this month's World Cup in Russia, is Stoke's first signing of the close season with the Potters paying 7.2 million euros (6.4 million pounds) for the 22-year-old. "I'm particularly pleased that he took the time to look beyond our current league status and understand who we are as a club before choosing us ahead of current Premier League and Bundesliga clubs," Stoke's Chief Executive Tony Scholes said on…

Sunday, 10 June 2018 05:00

Rohr takes issue with 'lies' in pre-World Cup coverage

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has accused some reporters covering his team of unethical behaviour and coming up with lies in the build-up to their participation in the World Cup in Russia. Rohr's latest comments come as Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) attempted to quell a storm caused by an interview the coach granted the German newspaper Die Welt on Thursday. "I have the utmost respect for Nigerian journalists, with whom I have had a warm relationship over the past two years that I have been in charge of this wonderful team," Rohr told the federation's website (thenff.com). "Over the course of…

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Sunday, 10 June 2018 04:58

Wait worthwhile as Halep wins French Open

For a while Simona Halep's third French Open final looked like ending in familiar heartache but the Romanian eventually wore down Sloane Stephens for a 3-6 6-4 6-1 victory and claim her long-awaited first Grand Slam title on Saturday. U.S. Open champion Stephens out-fought Halep to take the opening set and was a break up in the second but the world number one wound her way back into contention before running away with the deciding set. When Halep served for the match at 5-1 with chants of "See-Mohh-Nahhh" reverberating around Court Philippe Chatrier, only a sudden attack of nerves could…

Friday, 08 June 2018 03:52

World Cup matches can be abandoned over crowd discrimination

FIFA has reiterated that referees will have the power to abandon matches at this month’s World Cup in cases of persistent discrimination in the crowd.Russia has pledged to crack down on racism as the country faces increased scrutiny before and during the tournament which it will host from June 14 to July 15 in 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi. But there is still concern over the situation and England defender Danny Rose said on Wednesday that he has told his family not to attend the World Cup because he feared they may be racially abused. FIFA secretary…

Thursday, 07 June 2018 05:02

Egypt, Nigeria continue to splutter in World Cup warm-ups

Egypt and Nigeria continued their recent poor form in World Cup warm-up games on Wednesday ahead of their bids to become the first African side to reach the semi-finals of the global showpiece event. Belgium eased past Egypt 3-0 in Brussels to extend the north African side's winless streak since qualifying for the tournament in Russia starting next week. Eden Hazard provided the sparkle as Belgium dominated. The Chelsea forward set up Romelu Lukalu for the first goal and netted the second himself before halftime. Marouane Fellaini added a third in stoppage-time to complete a strong performance by the hosts,…

Tuesday, 05 June 2018 04:26

Russia 2018: Emmanuel Amuneke gets major FIFA role for World Cup

Mr Emmanuel Amuneke, who represented Nigeria at 1994 FIFA World Cup, and scored two goals, has been named as part of Technical Study Group that “will analyse matches of FIFA’s flagship event and evaluate statistical data using latest technologies.” FIFA’s website said, “All TSG experts have valuable World Cup experience either as coaches or players, including Carlos Alberto Parreira and Bora Milutinovic, the only two managers to have coached five teams at the competition. “TSG is under the umbrella of FIFA’s Coaching & Player Development Department led by Mr Branimir Ujevic, which will support TSG throughout the tournament.” The group…

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