Author: Brila

World Cup first-timers, Iceland reserve goalkeeper at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Rúnar Alex Runarsson have signed for French Ligue 1 side Dijon on a four-year deal. Runarsson was on the bench in Iceland’s 2018 World Cup Group D opener against Argentina which ended 1-1 on Saturday. He is expected to be on the bench when Iceland take on Nigeria in their second Group D game on Friday. More Follows…

Super Eagles powerful midfielder John Ogu has urged Nigerians to show true patriotism by supporting the team when they take on Iceland in their second group game on Friday. The Hapoel Be’er Sheva player was an unused substitute in the Super Eagles 2-0 opening day loss to Croatia last Saturday when the Eagles bow 2-0 to Croatia. “None of us walks on to the pitch with the intention to lose,” Ogu wrote on his Instagram page. “Patriotism doesn’t like only when we do well. It means standing with the team through thick and thin.” “We have a very…

South African Olympic champion Caster Semenya will go to court to challenge controversial new rules governing female athletes’ testosterone levels, her lawyers have confirmed. The new International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) policy will target women who naturally produce unusually-high levels of testosterone. Athletes classified as “hyper-androgynous”, like Semenya, will have to chemically lower their testosterone levels to 5 nanomoles per liter of blood to be eligible to run any international race of 400m up to the mile. Two-time Olympic gold medallist Semanya was being expected to bring her case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne…

Super Eagles defender Elderson Echiejile has pleaded with Nigerians for more support while confirming that the team will correct all the mistakes in their opening group game against Croatia before taking on Iceland on Friday. In a chat with www.brila.net, the AS Monaco left-back expressed disappointment at the outcome of the much awaited Group D opener. However, the experienced defender is optimistic of the teams’ chances of progressing from the Group tagged ‘difficult’. “It was not the outcome we wanted” “We worked really hard, but some mistakes led to us conceding goals from set pieces” “We’ll move on and correct…

Belgium Captain Eden Hazard has told Real Madrid to make a bid for him, as speculation around his future at Chelsea intensifies. The Belgium ace was quizzed on his future by French outlet L’Equie, and stated that his interest in playing for the Champions League winners was no secret. Hazard said: “I do not want to talk about transfer right now. I have been asked so many times about that. I am focused on the World Cup. “But as I said before, I won everything in London except the Champions League. If I’m here in my career, it’s thanks to Chelsea. “It would be…

Skipper Harry Kane scored a brace on Monday Night as England recorded a 2-1 win over Tunisia in their Group G opener at the 2018 World Cup. Kane had sent England into an 11th-minute lead, but Ferjani Sassi leveled the scores from the penalty spot 10 minutes before the break, and it appeared that the points would be shared in Volgograd. Kane was on hand to convert from close range and England could have been 2-0 up with Stones mis-kicking from six yards and Jesse Lingard being denied after his shot deflected wide. Tunisia though grabbed a leveler when Kyle Walker caught Ben Youssef with his arm with…

English Premier League side Chelsea hopes to resolve their coaching position by the end of this week after reaching an agreement with Antonio Conte. Maurizio Sarri and Gianfranco Zola are expected to form the new-look management team once Chelsea reaches an agreement to terminate Antonio Conte’s contract and agree over £9.5million compensation with the 48-year-old and his staff. Zola, a Stamford Bridge fan favourite, is cutting short his work as a pundit for South African TV to fly back to London on Wednesday. Sarri is still tied to Napoli who want around £3.5m in compensation.

Manchester United’s forward Romelu Lukaku scored a brace to help Belgium to a 3-0 win over Panama in their opening World Cup Group G game in Sochi this afternoon. World Cup first-timers, Panama deservedly made it to half-time unscathed, but Belgium’s world-class talent showed with a flurry of high-quality goals in the second period. An eye-catching volley from Dries Mertens ended Panama’s resistance two minutes after the restart, and former Chelsea striker Lukaku followed with two tidy finishes to make the scoreline more convincing. Roberto Martinez’s side were quick out of the blocks and forced two early saves out of veteran Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, who kept out Yannick…

Striker Nikola Kalinic has reportedly been thrown out of Croatia’s World Cup squad after refusing to play in the side’s 2-0 Group D win over Nigeria on Saturday. Kalinic reportedly refused to be brought on as a substitute The Croatian media outlet 24sata said on Monday morning that national coach Zlatko Dalic has taken the decision after Kalinic, who was named among the substitutes in Kaliningrad, declined to come on in the closing stages of the clash. Speaking post-match, Dalic had told reporters that the team had finished the game without injuries, but “with a problem”. Croatia’s FA has not confirmed the AC Milan player’s expulsion from…

A VAR-awarded penalty gave Sweden a narrow but deserved victory in their opening Group F match against a poor South Korea side in Nizhny Novgorod on Monday. Veteran Swedish skipper Andreas Granqvist scored the only goal of the game from the spot after Viktor Claesson was upended by South Korean substitute Kim Min-woo Kim in the 62nd minute. Despite furious appeals, El Salvadorean referee Joel Aguilar, who had ironically been whistle-happy up until that point, initially waved away Swedish penalty claims. But after consulting the video, he pointed to the spot. It was the third VAR penalty awarded at these…