Daily Archives

July 14, 2018

Belgium beat England 2-0 to finish third

by Brila July 14, 2018

written by Brila

Belgium has beaten the three lions of England to finish third in the ongoing Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Belgium earned their best-ever performance By beating The three lions 2-0 with an early Thomas Meunier goal and a breakaway finished by Eden Hazard in Saturday’s playoff between the losing semi-finalists.

Meunier finished off a devastating move when he turned in Nacer Chadli’s low cross at the far post in the fourth minute after Romelu Lukaku’s pass sliced open the English defence.

All stage is now set for Sunday’s grande Finale between Les Bleus of France and their European counterparts, Croatia.

July 14, 2018 0 comments

WORLD FOOTBALL

Belgium vs England: World Cup third place preview, Line ups & Prediction

by Brila July 14, 2018

written by Brila

Sixty-two World Cup games down and two games to go in Russia, now we have the third-place match between the semifinal losers England and Belgium in Saint Petersburg.

The two sides met in the final Group G game last month, both having qualified, both naming weakened sides, with former Manchester United man Adnan Januzaj scoring the winner past Jordan Pickford.

Predicted line ups

Belgium XI (3-4-3): Mignolet, Vermaelen, Boyata, Kompany, Dendoncker, Dembele, Dellaini, Chadli, Januzaj, Batshuayi, Mertens

England XI (3-5-3): Butland, Jones, Cahill, Maguire, Alexander-Arnold, Loftus-Cheek, Dier, Delph, Rose, Vardy, Rashford

Belgium’s the better side, and England’s going to have a difficult time recovering from an emotionally and physically draining 120-minute loss on Wednesday.

Maybe England finds a way to score on yet another set piece, but Belgium’s midfield and attack is going carve up England’s midfield and defense.

Prediction:

Belgium 2-0 England

July 14, 2018 0 comments

Uncategorized

France vs Croatia final confirms Europe’s World Cup dominance

by Brila July 14, 2018

written by Brila

A European nation is set to win the World Cup for the fourth time in a row this Sunday and in doing so confirm an unprecedented dominance for the Old World over their once mighty rivals in South America.

Whether France or Croatia lift the trophy in Moscow, it will guarantee a minimum 20-year drought for South American sides.

Until this streak, European teams had never won more than two World Cups in a row and that was back in 1934 and 1938. Confirming the hegemony, only one of the last eight finalists (Argentina in 2014) have come from Latin America.

There are many possible reasons behind the Europeans’ superiority and some even recommend caution.

Although Argentina and Peru were disappointing, Brazil outplayed Belgium for much of their quarter-final defeat, both Uruguay and Colombia did well until being knocked out without their most influential player, and Colombia were even eliminated in a penalty shootout that could easily have gone their way.

“It’s seven matches in one month, a short event – you can make too much out of it,” Andy Roxburgh, a member of FIFA’s technical study group, told reporters in Moscow. “You have to look at the bigger picture over time to see if there is a trend.”

REUTERS

July 14, 2018 0 comments

Featured NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

OFFICIAL: Maurizio Sarri appointed as New Chelsea Manager

by Brila July 14, 2018

written by Brila

Chelsea have finally decided to put everyone out of their misery and announce the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as the club’s new Manager.

Sarri’s appointment followed the dismissal of former Manager Antonio Conte.

“We are delighted to welcome Maurizio and are looking forward to him bringing his football philosophy to Chelsea.

“Maurizio’s Napoli side played some of the most exciting football in Europe, impressing with their attacking approach and dynamism, and his coaching methods significantly improved the players at his disposal.

“He has plenty of experience in Serie A and the Champions League and we know he is relishing the chance to work in the Premier League.”

-Marina Granovskaia; source: Chelsea FC

July 14, 2018 0 comments

Featured NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Good or bad for Football?

by Brila July 14, 2018

written by Brila

Just four years ago in Brazil where the last World cup held, the goal line technology was deployed to the game of football. At its introductory stage, there were arguments for and against it.

Though it wasn’t unexpected, but four years down the line, the technology has been welcomed with both hands. So in March 2018, the FIFA came up with the decision to introduce the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system at the Russia 2018 world cup.

The Video Assistant Referee system, known as VAR, is football’s first use of video technology to reach more correct decisions. Prior to it being used at Russia 2018 world cup, the system had its trials in the FA and Carabao cups last season, as well as the German and Italian leagues.

This is the first world cup using video replays, although goal-line technology was successfully deployed in Brazil four years ago.

Many of the opposition or arguments against VAR stems from the disruption to the flow of the game.VAR only intervenes in the course of a match when the officials have made ‘a clear and obvious error’ in one of four key areas.

Goals

A close offside decision is the most common reason for VAR being consulted after a goal has been scored, but shirt pulling and other infringements can cause goals to be chalked off.

Penalties

The most subjective and arguably problematic area. Penalties can be awarded or rescinded using VAR if there has been a ‘clear and obvious error’ in the original decision.

Straight red cards

Violent conduct and dangerous tackles can be penalized using VAR . Second yellow cards cannot

Mistaken Identity

If the referee sends off the wrong player, that injustice can be repaired.

The system is restricted to these areas in order to minimize disruption to the flow of the game. There have been several controversies and teething problems during VAR’s trial stages, and the system has many opponents.

The FIFA World Cup 2018 has had its own fair share of controversies too. Let’s remind ourselves the five times VAR has made the difference in this world cup;

France 2 – 1 Australia (June 16^th, 2018) – It was the first time VAR was used to award a penalty at the world cup.
Brazil 2 – 0 Costa Rica
Iran 1 – 1 Portugal
Spain 2 – 2 Morocco
Sweden 1 – 0 Switzerland

If you are a fan of any of these countries you would probably be a friend or foe of VAR depending on how the decisions of VAR has affected your beloved country.

However, one thing we all should bear in mind is that, VAR’s introduction is to help reduce controversial circumstance in the game to the barest minimum.

Many off-the-ball infringements and mistaken identities have been nearly eliminated all thanks to VAR.

The World Cup in Russia has also witnessed improved Player behaviour, all thanks to VAR.

If you were to list the merits and demerits of VAR at this world cup, which side would you be? A friend or foe?

July 14, 2018 0 comments

Featured NIGERIAN FOOTBALL OPINION

POSITIVES FOR THE SUPER EAGLES AFTER THE WORLD CUP

by Brila July 14, 2018

written by Brila

The journey of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Russia began on a hopeful note of possibly surpassing the round of sixteen which hitherto has been our biggest achievement at this stage came to an abrupt end.

Having lost her opening match against, Croatia, and defeating Iceland in the second game, Nigeria was primed for qualification with just a point from its third game.

However, that was not to be as we lost to our perennial world cup foes, Argentina. Opinions were divided on why and how Nigeria lost the game.

As is always the culture when a team fails, the blame game comes up. Many football fans and analyst have apportioned blame to the technical crew, while some others have outlined some players as culprits in the game.

However, in my opinion, I think what we had a lot of positives to build on between now and the next world cup in Qatar 2022.

For the Super Eagles coach, Gernat Rohr, his team was on an experience-gathering mission at the World Cup in Russia.

He had impressed it on every heart that his team would be ready by 2022. Based on this, what then can we take away from our participation at Russia 2018?

A young Team: Based on statistics, Nigeria had the youngest squad at this world cup. In the Nigerian team, we have a young group of players who showed they have the heart to go to battle. It is hoped that they would step up their game to the level in which they would be competing at the highest level in the competitive leagues they find themselves. From all indications, the world cup is the believed to be for the matured.

Organization: This world cup went down in history as one competition Nigeria participated in and there wasn’t any disagreement about money, bonuses and other sundry issues. Though everything could not be an aid to be perfect, it was a marked improvement over the years. We expect that the improved organization seen at the world cup from the administrative side could be translated to the team and everything that surrounds it.

Preparations: Our preparation for this world cup might not have been perfect but it was an improvement over the previous editions we have been to. Since we now have the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers coming up in September, Nigerians would expect that in going forward our preparations for the qualifiers would witness improved preparations.

The pool of Talented Players: Apart from the players who made it to Russia, there is an avalanche of players who could come into the team to make it better and stronger. The Super Eagles team that played against Athletico Madrid in a friendly before the world cup is a testament to this.

The immediate task before the football federation and the Super Eagles team would be put to good use the experience garnered from the world cup in ensuring they qualify for the AFCON, and then possibly go on to win it. By then Nigerian’s would start believing again that the team is focused on doing well at Qatar 2022.

July 14, 2018 0 comments