Tony Charisma Blog

Rohr blames Nigeria's defensive naivety for Croatia loss Gernot Rohr said defensive naivety from set-pieces was to blame as Nigeria's World Cup opener ended in a 2-0 loss to Croatia. Oghenekaro Etebo's own goal from a Luka Modric corner gave Croatia a first-half lead, with the Real Madrid midfielder making sure his side top Group D by converting a spot-kick after the interval. William Troost-Ekong needlessly brought down Mario Mandzukic while defending another corner to hand Croatia a penalty that wrapped up the game. Nigeria's lack of creativity was evident, but Croatia did not record a shot on target from open play until second-half stoppage-time, leaving Rohr in no doubt what went wrong for Nigeria in Kaliningrad. "We are disappointed because we don't like to lose but we must recognise Croatia had the better team," the Nigeria coach told a post-match media conference. "My young team made some mistakes from corners, we worked from them so ...

Real Madrid haunt Spain again as Ronaldo steals the show Real Madrid derailed Spain's World Cup preparations when they poached Julen Lopetegui just two days before the tournament, leading to the coach's sacking, so it was with a certain inevitability that their biggest star put the buffers on what would have been a morale-boosting win against Portugal. Spain's World Cup hopes had threatened to unravel even before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal of a sensational hat-trick in the fourth minute in Sochi, with Madrid behind the Royal Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF) decision to ruthlessly dismiss Bernabeu-bound head coach Lopetegui. There were reports of a dressing-room revolt as Spain's stars pleaded with RFEF boss Luis Rubiales to allow Lopetegui a stay of execution. Determined not to be a doormat for the European kings, Rubiales took the bold decision to pull the trigger having been left angered by the lack of communication regarding the deal. Ico...

Cristiano Ronaldo is getting better with age - Silva lauds hat-trick hero Bernardo Silva was not surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick performance against Spain as he lauded the evergreen Portugal superstar following Friday's World Cup thriller in Sochi. Ronaldo was the star of the show in Portugal's memorable 3-3 Group B draw against neighbours Spain at Fisht Stadium, where the five-time Ballon d'Or winner salvaged a point with a stunning last-gasp free-kick. The 33-year-old became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in World Cup history, having converted a fourth-minute penalty before restoring his team's lead thanks to David de Gea's howler before the interval. Asked about Ronaldo's exploits, Portugal team-mate and Manchester City midfielder Silva told reporters: "I think he is used to it, this kind of night. Once again he was fantastic. He helped us get this point. "He is used to these kinds of nights with Portugal, Real Madrid...

Ronaldo has a specific football intelligence - Mourinho Jose Mourinho hailed Cristiano Ronaldo after his compatriot netted a hat-trick in Portugal's 3-3 draw with Spain in Group B of the World Cup. Ronaldo, 33, became the fourth player to score in four World Cups and completed his treble with a brilliant free-kick late on. The superstar's equaliser was his 84th international goal and Mourinho, his former manager at Real Madrid, had nothing but praise for the forward. "He's got what I used to call the feeling of the game, the specific intelligence of playing football," he told RT. "He knows the team is in trouble, he knows the team is not creating, he's frustrated on the pitch, nobody could see Portugal scoring and he knows one possibility of scoring is set plays." On Ronaldo's free-kick strike rate in major international tournaments – the goal was his first in 45 attempts – Mourinho added that Ronaldo is well practiced from the dead...

This World Cup could be harder for Colombia - Sanchez Carlos Sanchez acknowledges Colombia face a tough challenge living up to expectations at the 2018 World Cup after flying under the radar four years ago. After a 16-year absence from the tournament, Colombia reached the last eight for the first time in their history in Brazil. They topped Group C before seeing off Uruguay at the start of the knockout stages and, while the hosts ended their run in the quarter-finals, Jose Pekerman's squad received plenty of plaudits for their performances. Fast forward to this year's event in Russia and Colombia are no longer an unknown quantity, increasing the pressure on the players, according to Espanyol midfielder Sanchez. "I think this World Cup won't be the same as the last one," he told the media. "We got to the last World Cup without having been in one for 16 years and people really didn't know us that much. Now, however, that has changed. "This W...

Much focus on Egypt as they end their 28-year World Cup drought Hardened World Cup stalwarts Uruguay await in Ekaterinburg THE LATEST:  #EGYURU LIVE BLOG updating now This is the first Russia 2018 outing for both teams and just the second match in the tournament, being the opening action on Day 2. Both sides will be desperate to begin Group A in positive style, following the Opening Match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The match is highly anticipated in Egypt where the country will come to a virtual stand-still for the  Pharaohs’ first FIFA World Cup™ match for nearly three decades . It has been something of a melodramatic build-up for Egypt after the shoulder injury suffered by superstar forward  Mohamed Salah . Much focus will centre on the part played by the Liverpool man during the match, if any. Two-time World Cup winners  Uruguay present a formidable opening hurdle for an Egypt  side shouldering the burden making a splash on their World Cup ...

SPORTS: Hosts Russia 🇷🇺 kick off World Cup in style  21st FIFA World Cup™ kicks off Hosts Russia in raptures RUS 5-0 KSA ​ Hosts Russia made the perfect start to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, soundly beating Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the second-highest win ever recorded in an Opening Match.  Iury Gazinsky  gave the  Sbornaya  reason to celebrate early in the game, with  Denis Cheryshev  doubling their advantage before half-time. The Russians embarked on a goalscoring frenzy during a second half in which Budweiser Man of the Match Cheryshev staked an early claim for goal of the tournament. Before the match, pop star Robbie Williams performed ‘Let Me Entertain You’ in an Opening Ceremony that involved 800 people and ramped up the atmosphere inside Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. The highlight was the presentation of the ‘galactic’ match ball kicked around by astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) be...

THE MOVE OF A DESPERATE PRESIDENT                                 By                 Umar Ardo, Ph.D The desperation of President Buhari to retain power at all costs has again manifested itself in his illegal act of both changing the National Democracy Day and the investiture of National Honours of GCFR posthumously to late MKO Abiola and GCON to Amb. Babagana Kingibe. Having realized that he has lost public support across the country as a result of his dismal performance in office, and poor handling of issues affecting his Political Party, the NASS, the Judiciary and key stakeholders of the country, particularly the Senate President, the Speaker, Presidents Obasanjo and Babangida, the president ill-advisedly came up with the so-called idea of making June 12 as Nigeria's 🇳🇬 Democracy Day and giving National Honours to Abiola and Kingibe. There'r...

New law stops VP who completes President’s tenure from contesting twice 34 minutes ago President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday signed a constitutional amendment that stops a Vice President who completes the term of a President from contesting for the office of the President more than one more time. The same is applicable to a deputy governor who completes the term of a state governor. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday. The term of a President or a governor can be aborted by virtue of death, resignation or removal, thereby paving the way for the Vice President or deputy governor to take over. According to Enang, the effect of the new law, Act 16, is that having taken the oath of President or governor once, the affected person can only contest one more time and no more. If the law had been in place, former President Goodluck...

Man sells company’s property to travel abroad A 28-year-old man, Lucky Ibrahim, has been arrested by the police in Lagos for allegedly diverting proceeds from sales of his company’s property for the purpose of travelling out of the country. PUNCH Metro   gathered that the Edo State indigene started working with SoundTrax Allied Digital in Benin, Edo State, from January 2015, till March 2017, when he was transferred to Lagos. Upon his transfer, he resumed as the manager of the company’s Lagos office in the Ifako Ijaiye area. In an attempt to seek greener pasture, he allegedly sold property of the company to raise the required funds to travel to Europe. The property reportedly included generators, refrigerators, plasma televisions, Nissan cars, printers, UPS batteries and computers. He, however, met his Waterloo when his secretary called the head office and reported his long absence from work, as well as the  items that had gone missing in the office. Our co...

NEWS REPORTS OPINION #NIGERIADECIDES POLITICS BUSINESS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT LIFESTYLE EDUCATION VIDEOS PHOTOS DOCUMENTS REPORTER’S DIARY: With N46,000 Bribe, I Drove A ‘Stolen’ Car From Abuja To Lagos, And Back! Over two days in April, investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO drove the equivalent of a stolen vehicle from Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, to Lagos, the country’s commercial hub. Not only did he arrive Lagos safely with the car, he returned to Abuja scot-free with it — and this is despite passing through a whopping 86 checkpoints in a journey of over 1,600km that lasted a cumulative 28hours 17minutes. He recounts his experience in this article for TheCable BY 'FISAYO SOYOMBO JUN 01, 2018       As I drive out of First Avenue, Gwarimpa, Abuja, at 7:03am on Monday April 23 to exit the estate and commence what I knew would be my most ...