Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa became ‘Lionel Musa’ on social media in Argentina on Friday after his two goals against Iceland which not only put the Africans back on course for a last 16 place, but also restored the World Cup hopes of the South Americans. However, the Nigerian has warned his new-found hero status in Argentina […]
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Soccer-Musa marks return with winning double as Nigeria beat Iceland
Ahmed Musa returned to the line-up with devastating effect as he scored both goals for Nigeria to help them resuscitate their World Cup hopes in a 2-0 win over Iceland at the Volgograd Arena on Friday. Left out of his country’s opening Group D game at the tournament in Russia, Musa showed his worth with […]
Soccer-Nigeria bring in fresh strikers for Iceland clash
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr made three changes to his team for Friday’s Group D World Cup match against Iceland on Friday, bringing in Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa up front and Kenneth Omeruo in defence. Nigeria, under pressure to beat Iceland after losing their World Cup opener 2-0 to Croatia, dropped strikers Odion Ighalo and […]
Why Mexico is the World Cup’s biggest loser despite sterling start in Russia
It doesn’t feel like it after such a spectacular start to the tournament, but Mexico is the biggest loser at the World Cup. Wait; check that, it is the biggest loser in history. That’s right. No team has lost more games, more frequently, across the entire 88-year journey of soccer’s finest competition, as the team […]
Three things Nigeria must do to beat Iceland
Saturday’s loss to Croatia has left Gernot Rohr and his wards needing to beat Iceland to keep their hopes of progressing to the World Cup round of 16 alive. In his post-match press conference and again in the build-up to Friday’s game in Volgograd, Rohr pointed out two things which were ultimately responsible for his […]
Asylum seekers use World Cup fan papers to try to enter Europe from Russia
Asylum seekers from Morocco, Nigeria, China and elsewhere have tried to enter Europe illegally from Russia using World Cup fan identity documents, police told Reuters on Wednesday. They entered Russia using World Cup tickets and fan identity cards, which Moscow accepts instead of visas during the tournament. Then they headed for the border with Finland […]
Soccer-Stranded Nigeria fans trickle out of Kaliningrad
About 100 Nigerian soccer 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 […]
Soccer-After taming Messi, Iceland targeting Nigeria – Gunnarsson
Iceland’s dream World Cup debut may have gotten them a point against two-time champions Argentina, but Aron Gunnarsson and his team mates are already putting that result behind them as they move on to the challenge of Nigeria. The resilient islanders showed their iron will once again, coming back from a goal down to draw […]
‘Mystic micro pig foresees Nigeria in semi-finals’
A pig with “special powers” has chosen the four nations that will reach the World Cup semi-finals. Mystic Marcus, a micro pig from Derbyshire in the UK, chose Belgium, Argentina, Nigeria and Uruguay. He did it by eating apples marked with the flags of all the other teams. He correctly predicted the outcome of the […]
Soccer-Own goal and penalty ensure Croatia celebrations
An own goal and a penalty gave Croatia a comfortable start to their World Cup campaign as they beat a limp Nigeria 2-0 in their Group D clash at the Kaliningrad Stadium on Saturday. A diving header from Mario Mandzukic was deflected into his own net by Nigeria midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo after 32 minutes to […]