Author: Brila

It was a frustrating night for the five-time champions Brazil as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland in their opening Group E match. Philippe Coutinho gave Brazil a perfect start by scoring a stunning goal in the 20th minute as they head to the half-time break with a 1-0 lead. But Steven Zuber’s header early in the second half (50th minute) was enough for the Swiss to snatch a point from one of the tournament favourites. Roberto Firmino and Breel Embolo were both introduced for the final 10 minutes of action, and the former fired one over…

Super Eagles and Stoke City Midfielder Oghenekaro Peter Etebo has reacted to Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Croatia in the ongoing Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup. Etebo spoke to one of our Sources in Russia earlier on Sunday that the game was a very disappointing one even though the team will work to correct their mistake against Iceland. “I don’t know what to say” “It’s a game of football” “We worked on set pieces since the most goals scored against us during friendlies came from set pieces” “Against Iceland, Nigerians should expect the best the way…

Hirving Lozano’s first-half goal and sturdy second-half defense gave Mexico a 1-0 victory over Germany on Sunday, providing the first major surprise of the 2018 World Cup. The game was a back-and-forth barnburner from the start, with El Tri taking advantage of Germany’s slow midfield. Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos didn’t look like they could deal with the pace of the game, and Germany manager Jogi Löw never fixed the problem. Germany had 25 shots by the end of the game, but no goals. El Tri goalkeeper Memo Ochoa was superb, while Mexico always had a way to relieve pressure…

Super Eagles and Bursaspor defender, William Troost-Ekong has admitted that the Super Eagles were just unlucky to have lost the Group D opener on Saturday. The Super Eagles lost 2-0 to an uninspiring Croatian side led y Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic who was involved in both goals. “We were disappointed, its a game we wanted to win” “But we will be fine against Iceland” “We saw the Iceland vs Argentina game before coming here, I think everything we work in our favour” The Bursaspor defender shrugged off questions on how he feels…

Super Eagles Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr has defended his team’s overall performance against Croatia in Kaliningrad on Saturday night. Nigeria suffered a 2-0 defeat to Croatia in their first match at the 2018 World Cup and now face an uphill task to progress from Group D. Both of Croatia’s goals came from corner kicks, and Rohr has insisted that Nigeria’s problems stemmed from set pieces rather than their tactical approach, which has been heavily criticised following the match. “I think the organization was okay. We didn’t concede from normal play, we conceded from set-pieces,” Rohr told reporters after the match. “Our system was okay.…

Odion Ighalo is Nigeria’s most experienced striker – but the 29-year-old is still a relative novice on the international stage, and certainly didn’t offer much to suggest he should be kept faith with for the second group game. Along with the ineffective Alex Iwobi, perhaps, played out of position by Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr. I felt Iwobi is the only close-to creative player in the Super Eagles squad, he should be deployed behind the Strikers. Meanwhile,  Victor Moses on his own part failed to make an impact, he was rising and falling on the Night, and offered very little threat or…

Former Super Eagles forward Julius Efosa Aghahowa has slammed Gernot Rohr for his poor tactical approach in Nigeria’s 2-0 defeat to Croatia in their opening game at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Speaking on Brila FM’s World Cup studio, the former Wigan striker said the Coach’s approach to the game was very poor. “It is sad because I know we can do better than this. Of course, there is still hope but we have to do it the hard way now. “These (Croatians) are world class players who know how to win by exploiting little details.” Aghahowa also slammed Rohr…

Croatia opened their 2018 World Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Super Eagles at the Kaliningrad Stadium this evening to send Zlatko Dalic’s men to the top of Group D. An own goal from Stoke City midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo gave Croatia a half-time lead on the Night before Luka Modric secured all three points with a second-half penalty to cap off an efficient performance against a lackluster Super Eagles. Nigeria were slightly improved in the second period and it took some clever defending from Perisic to thwart a header from Leon Balogun, who had arrived late at the front post to meet a Victor Moses corner. Croatia showed…

Cristiano Ronaldo has emphatically won the first round of his World Cup duel with eternal rival Lionel Messi — reveling in the adulation after his dramatic hat-trick while the Argentine flopped against Iceland. Messi knew he had to find something special to match the Portuguese on Saturday but ended up squandering a golden chance to write his own headlines as he failed to convert from the penalty spot. Then, with just seconds remaining in Moscow, the Barcelona man stood over a direct free-kick, mirroring the opportunity Ronaldo had the previous evening against Spain. Ronaldo puffed out his cheeks, hitched up…

Iceland earned a famous point from their debut game in the 2018 World Cup in Russia as they held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in Group D at the Otkritie Arena in Moscow this afternoon. Lionel Messi missed a second-half penalty as Argentina were held by Iceland in their World Cup Group D opener in a memorable fashion. Scoring their First World Cup goal, earning first World Cup point against the Jorge Sampaoli-led Argentina side. Lionel Messi saw his spot-kick saved by Hannes Thor Halldorsson as a battling Iceland side held on for the draw. Sergio Aguero gave Argentina the lead with his first ever World Cup in…