Author: Brila

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…

Head Coach of the Icelandic National Team, Heimir Hallgrimsson has declared total defense against Nigeria following their 1-1 draw with Argentina at the Spartak Moscow on Saturday. Iceland will take on Nigeria in their second World Cup game on Friday, manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has hinted that he will park the bus against the three-time African champions as it’s not a must-win game for his team. ”It is a must-win game for Nigeria, that makes it a little bit technical, they have to win, at least we know that,” Hallgrimsson told reporters. ”A draw will be okay for us, at least we…

Iceland forward Jón Daði Böðvarsson made a heartwarming gesture in homage to his former teammate Carl Ikeme, who missed out on the World Cup with Nigeria this summer due to his ongoing battle with acute leukemia. Böðvarsson tweeted a picture of himself with his national teammates holding up an Iceland shirt with Ikeme’s name on the back, saying “all of us are with you”. Ikeme played with Böðvarsson at Wolves during the 2016/17 season and the pair is still great friends. Iceland and Nigeria will face up against each other on Friday 22nd June, although neither side are tipped to get…

Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup campaign began with a 0-2 loss to Croatia on Saturday but Coach Gernot Rohr believes his wards still have the chance to reach the knockout stage with two matches still to play in Group D. Andrej Kramaric’s slight touch from a corner kick was inadvertently diverted into the Super Eagles’ net by hard –working Oghenekaro Etebo in the 32nd minute, and Captain Luka Modric swept past goalkeeper Francis Uzoho in the 72nd minute to confirm the Croatian win in Kaliningrad. The Eagles stood up to their opponents from eastern Europe for the most part of the game but were undone…

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is still keen on signing Chelsea player Willian. The winger may be at the World Cup – but his future is far from sorted after falling out with Antonio Conte last term. The move has been reported for some time now but tonight the Daily Mail says that United are preparing a bid of £60 million to try and make the deal happen.

Nigeria can still progress to the World Cup knockout stage, despite their 2-0 defeat to Croatia on Saturday, according to Skipper John Obi Mikel. Mikel insists Nigeria must ‘go back to the drawing board’ following their 2-0 World Cup defeat to Croatia, but still believes the Super Eagles can progress from Group D. An own-goal from Oghenekaro Etebo and a penalty from Luka Modric secured the points for Croatia from a turgid contest in Kaliningrad on Saturday, without Nigeria ever looking likely of mounting a comeback. And former Chelsea midfielder Mikel, who captains Gernot Rohr’s side, acknowledged Nigeria must improve ahead of…