Nigeria Content Online

France take on Mexico in a potentially decisive 2010 FIFA World Cup Group A match in Polokwane later today.

For the French
team, they will be trying to avoid a repeat of the 2002 World Cup
fiasco, which saw them being knocked out in the first round without
scoring a goal. The French were roundly criticised for their lacklustre
display in the 0-0 draw with Uruguay on Friday, and they know that they
need to step up the quality of their attacking play if they are to
trouble an equally good attacking side like Mexico.

Raymond Domenech
received criticism for not changing his tactics early enough in the
match against Uruguay, and he will want a result against Mexico so as
not to be go into the final group game against South Africa needing a
win. With Laurent Blanc waiting in the wings to take over after the
World Cup, Domenech is under pressure to deliver.

Head-to-head France
have by far the superior head-to-head record in the six previous
meetings between the teams, with five victories and a draw. The two
teams have played each other at the World Cup thrice with France having
the edge with two victories and a draw. The last meeting between the
two sides dates back to 27 May 2006; a friendly match France won by
1-0. Also, France have been unbeaten against CONCAF teams in four
previous matches at the World Cup, having amassed three wins and a draw.

Meanwhile, France reserve goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso has been ruled
out of the World Cup with a thigh injury. Carrasso pulled a left thigh
muscle in training on Monday and will miss the remainder of the
tournament, but a request to replace him was turned down. Mexico
manager, Javier Aguirre, has vowed to continue his attacking mentality
when his side take on the 1998 world champions. The Mexicans set out
with a 4-3-3 formation against South Africa, and are expected to keep
going with their three-pronged attack of Guillermo Franco, Carlos Vela
and Giovani Dos Santos.

Still brimming with
confidence after their impressive showing against former European
champions Greece at the weekend, Group B leaders, South Korea, are
ready to upset two time World Cup Champions Argentina when both teams
clash later today at the Ellis Park stadium, Johannesburg.

Both teams got off
to a winning start with the Koreans more convincing in their 2-0 win
over Greece, while Argentina were lucky to win against Nigeria.

The winner of this tie will be guaranteed a place in the round of 16 following last Saturday’s results.

Argentina have emerged victorious from both of their previous meetings with Korea Republic.

However, Korea
Republic will be encouraged by the solid performance of their
neighbours North Korea, who held mighty Brazil to a goalless draw in
the first half of their match on Tuesday before succumbing to a 2-1
defeat.

Old foes meet

The two coaches are
no strangers to each other having featured in their teams’ meeting at
Mexico 1986, where La Albiceleste ran out 3-1 winners. South Korean
coach Hun Jung-Moo had the unenviable job of man-marking Diego Maradona
that day – a thankless task for anybody in a tournament where today’s
Argentina coach inspired his country to their second FIFA World Cup
triumph.

Twenty-four years
on, they cross swords again with Huh hoping for a different outcome as
he bids to become the first indigenous coach to lead Korea Republic
into the last 16.

Argentina are 41
places higher in the FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking but Korea Republic
have proved in the past they are more than capable of springing
surprises, a fact borne out when they beat Italy and Spain to storm
into the last four on home soil at the 2002 World Cup.

Their 2-0 victory
over Greece on Saturday should ensure confidence is high in the Korea
Republic camp although they do not have the same wealth of talent in
their fold like the Argentines who have the likes of Lionel Messi,
Diego Milito, Javier Mascherano and Juan Sebastian Veron amongst many
others.

Italy goalkeeper,
Gianluigi Buffon, could miss the rest of the World Cup with a back
problem after doctors said his recovery time was impossible to estimate
following further tests on Wednesday.

The 2006 World Cup
winner, still widely regarded as one of the best keepers in the world,
has a small herniated disc after suffering a sciatic nerve problem
before Monday’s 1-1 draw with Paraguay in Italy’s Group F opener. The
32-year-old is definitely out of Sunday’s game against New Zealand,
will almost certainly not play in the final group match with Slovakia
on June 24 and could miss much more.

“Certainly on Sunday he can’t be on the field,” Italy team doctor Enrico Castellacci told reporters.

“We have decided he
will stay with us and we will try everything for him to recover. When
talking about a herniated disc, even small, we can’t say how long it
will take.”

Filling the shoes

Injury-prone
Buffon, who has suffered a similar problem in the past, was substituted
at halftime on Monday having first indicated his discomfort in the
pre-match warm-up. Inexperienced keeper, Federico Marchetti, who
replaced Buffon on Monday, is now poised to start on Sunday in
Nelspruit for only his seventh cap. Marchetti was playing in Italy’s
second division just two years ago. Castellacci said Italy had already
asked FIFA for permission to give Buffon special medication to treat
the problem which although small can cause intense pain. Italy centre
back Giorgio Chiellini bemoaned the loss of Juventus team mate Buffon,
but was confident Marchetti was ready.

“It’s obvious how
much he’s worth to the team, and playing with him all season I know how
important the World Cup is to him,” he told reporters. “Marchetti did a
good job when he came on. He’s got a lot of quality and he won’t have
any problem replacing Gigi. Goalkeepers live in their own world, so I
think the best person to help him out is Gigi. The only thing I can
provide is tranquillity. He doesn’t need my advice.”

Midfielder, Andrea Pirlo, who missed the opener with a calf problem,
and will skip the New Zealand game as well, is on course to possibly be
available for the Slovakia clash. The rest of the squad trained
normally in warmer conditions after Tuesday’s biting cold.

Coach of fast
rising female basketball side, First Deepwater, Lateef Erinfolami, has
stated that his wards will give the defending champions a good run for
the title as the final phase of the Nigeria Basketball Federation
(NBBF) organized Zenith Bank Women Premier League gets underway in
Lagos today.

First Bank, First Deepwater and Sunshine Angels are tied on points and all three teams have equal chances of winning the league.

Discussing his
team’s chances of winning their first league crown, Erinfolami said his
girls are focused for the final phase and ready to go all the way to
achieve this feat.

“It’s not over
until it is over; we still have a fair chance of wrestling the title
away from them. All I can say for now is that it’s going to be fight to
finish” Erinfolami said.

Ten teams will be competing in the Lagos finals, the final phase of the Women Basket ball League, which begins today.

According to the
time-table released by the secretariat of the Nigeria Basketball body;
Nigeria Customs Service basketball team who missed in the second phase
held in Asaba, Delta State, last month will open against fellow
services side Nigeria Immigration basketball club.

The other four
games billed for the opening day will see AHIP Queens of Kano battling
it out against title hopeful First Deepwater basketball club of Lagos;
Sunshine Angels basketball club of Akure, which came third after the
second phase campaign, will take on Dolphins basketball club of Lagos;
defending champions and table leader, First Bank basketball club of
Lagos will take to the court against Plateau Rocks basketball club of
Jos; while Delta Force basketball club of Asaba will round up Day-1
action against FCT Angels basketball club of Abuja.

The two top teams
at the end of this campaign would get a ticket to represent Nigeria at
the FIBA Africa Zone-3 elimination slated for Monrovia, Liberia, later
in the year.

Fixtures

17/06/10

NGR Customs Vs NGR

Immigration

AHIP Vs First Deepwater

Sunshine Angels Vs Dolphins

First Bank Vs Plateau Rocks

Delta Force Vs FCT Angels

18/06/10

AHIP Vs Sunshine Angels

Delta Force Vs First Deepwater

FCT Angels Vs Dolphins

NGR Immigration Vs First Bank

Plateau Rocks Vs NGR Customs

19/06/10

NGR Immigration Vs Sunshine Angel

NGR Customs Vs First Bank

Plateau Rocks Vs First Deepwater

FCT Angels Vs AHIP

Dolphins Vs Delta Force

20/06/10

Delta Force Vs AHIP

Plateau Rocks Vs FCT Angels

NGR Customs Vs Dolphins

First Deepwater Vs NGR Customs

Sunshine Angels Vs First Bank

21/06/10

First Deepwater Vs NGR

Immigration

FCT Angels Vs Sunshine Angels

Plateau Rocks Vs AHIP

NGR Customs Vs Dolphins

Delta Force Vs First Bank

23/06/10

First Bank Vs AHIP

Sunshine Angels Vs Plateau Rocks

NGR Immigration Vs Delta Force

NGR Customs Vs FCT Angels

Dolphins Vs First Deepwater

24/06/10

NGR Immigration Vs Plateau Rocks

Dolphins Vs AHIP

First Bank Vs FCT Angels

NGR Customs Vs Delta Force

Sunshine Angels Vs First

Deepwater

25/06/10

Plateau Rocks Vs Delta Force

First Deepwater Vs FCT Angels

Sunshine Angels Vs NGR Customs

NGR Immigration Vs AHIP

Dolphins Vs First Bank

26/06/10

FCT Angels Vs NGR customs

AHIP Vs NGR Immigration

Plateau Rocks Vs Dolphins

Delta Force Vs Sunshine Angels

First Deepwater Vs First Bank

The Super Eagles
head into today’s game against Greece, aware that defeat in
Bloemfontein will almost certainly spell the end of their World Cup
dreams after their damaging opening defeat at the hands of Argentina.

The Super Eagles
went down 1-0 to the Argentines last Saturday in Johannesburg, the same
day the Greeks fell 2-0 to South Korea, which also leaves the Greeks in
a desperate need of points to keep their tournament hope alive.

Super Eagles’
striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, believes the solution to overcoming their
opponents lies in an offensive approach to the game.

“We have to attack with panache and at the same time, defend with resolution. There will be no mercy,” he said.

The Everton forward put in a hardworking display against the Argentines and speaking to Fifa.com, said:

“We didn’t play
many warm-up games before we got here, but we got better in each one
and our rhythm has gotten better and better. If we keep the same spirit
and mentality, we can go through to the next round at least.”

Possible changes

Coach Lars
Lagerback hinted at possible changes from the team that started against
Argentina at Ellis Park, but he kept all firmly to his chest as he
addressed the post-training press conference on Wednesday. But Osaze
Odemwingie may likely take the place of Chinedu Obasi, while Obafemi
Martins may take the place of Obinna Nsofor, after coming on as a
substitute against Argentina.

The Greeks, under
Otto Rehhagel, are a pragmatic side and have been known to play as many
as five defenders if necessary in a game. But the German-born coach may
likely start with a 4-3-3 formation today and is expected to recall
centre-back, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, to the starting line-up after he left
the Liverpool defender out of the game against the Koreans.

The opening
ceremony of the first World Cup to be held in Africa did not
disappoint: Soccer City in Johannesburg came alive with the vibrant
sounds of Africa. The richness of the continent’s culture was allowed
to shine through without subjecting us to the stereotypical African
fare.

Especially loved
the large pieces of African fabric held up to make a map of our
wonderfully diverse continent. With that as a prelude, one was rather
expecting some excitement afterwards. It’s early days yet but the
tournament so far seems to be lacking a certain ‘je ne sais quoi.’ It’s
bad enough that a large number of fan favourites are injured or
half-fit, add one too many drab draws from the ongoing first round and
the overall picture won’t convert football sceptics anytime soon. Hosts
South Africa managed to surrender a slender one-goal lead to Mexico,
breaking the hearts of vuvuzela-tooting fans nationwide.

Holland needed an
own goal from Denmark to jumpstart their campaign while Algeria and
Cameroon completed a hat trick of African teams to lose their opening
games, leaving Ghana to restore African pride. Even Germany beating
Australia by four goals failed to lift the spirits as it started to
feel a little like watching a minor friendly match. Italy in Group F
salvaged their pride to draw with Paraguay and underdogs New Zealand
scored a late goal to draw in their match against Slovakia. We almost
wish for a 3-yellow card fiasco, à la Graham Poll, to liven things up.
High expectations for big name players such as Didier Drogba, Cristiano
Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Wayne Rooney and Samuel Eto’o have so far come to
nothing. Between them they have scored a total of zero goals. These are
not encouraging statistics although Drogba may be excused as he only
came on as a substitute. As for Brazil, not only did they fail to score
in the first half of their first game against North Korea, their first
goal came from Maicon, a defender. These are indeed disturbing times. I
was asked if the problem might be the Jabulani – the official football
of the finals, but I hesitate to join the legion of cynics on this as I
have not had a chance to kick said ball in a competitive match.

Remembering Roger Milla

I have fond
memories of Roger Milla’s celebratory dance, debuted in Italia ‘90. The
same tournament that saw Cameroon emerge as the first African team to
reach the quarter finals of a World Cup and Salvatore Schillachi
showcase his scoring talent. USA ‘94 came next, where Nigeria made a
first appearance. Remember colourful (literally) characters like
Mexico’s goalkeeper, Jorge Campos, and Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov
leading the team to a fourth place finish. Then there was the Oleg
Salenko goal rain against Cameroon and Roberto Baggio’s missed penalty
in the final. Remember Sunday Oliseh’s goal in ‘98? How about Senegal
defeating France in 2002? We’re still watching the first round matches
and I am full of hope that things will pick up and we’ll get something
close to the atmosphere of previous mundials.

Could this be
linked to the Super Eagles’ loss to Argentina? On that day, we saw one
goalkeeper’s heroics and another’s humiliation. Vincent Enyeama was the
universal man of the match while England’s Rob Green was the opposite
of his Nigerian counterpart. There are calls for Enyeama to leave his
club in Israel for one in Europe but I feel he should stay put lest he
signs for a successful European club and becomes too big for his
football boots, leaving us without a disciplined shot stopper.

We face Greece later today and we are cheering on our boys to win the match. Go Super Eagles!

Switzerland pulled off the biggest
shock of the 2010 World Cup so far when they beat European champions
Spain 1-0 in Group H on Wednesday, their first ever victory over their
opponents in 19 games.

Gelson Fernandes’ goal after a mix up
in the Spanish defence gave the Swiss a shock 52nd minute lead and
Spain, for all their talent and guile, were unable to find a way
through the massed ranks of white Switzerland shirts.

The Swiss share the lead in Group H with Chile, who beat Honduras 1-0 earlier on Wednesday.

After a forgettable first half, the
Swiss looked like spending another 45 minutes defending for their lives
until goalkeeper Diego Benaglio’s long clearance was allowed to bounce
and Fernandes pounced when the ball emerged from a clutter of bodies.

The European champions, many pundits’
favourites to win the tournament, enjoyed a near monopoly of possession
for much of the game but were unable to convert the chances they
created.

Coach Vicente del Bosque, who had
started the match with David Villa as a lone striker, brought Fernando
Torres and Jesus Navas on after the goal to try and rescue the game but
they were unable to find a way through.

Xabi Alonso hit the underside of the
bar with a fine strike in the 70th minute, Navas shot lamely at Swiss
goalkeeper Benaglio when through on goal about a minute later, and
Gerard Pique squandered another chance on the next Spanish attack.

Eren Derdiyok, playing in place of his injured captain Alex Frei,
then jinked his way through the defence to almost double the Swiss lead
but, to the relief of the Spanish, his shot came bouncing back off the
post.

Neither the globe’s
most expensive soccer player, nor one of its most prolific marksmen
were able on Tuesday to remedy a worrying shortage of goals at Africa’s
first World Cup.

Both 80 million
pounds striker Cristiano Ronaldo, and goal machine Didier Drogba drew
blanks when Portugal and Ivory Coast played out a goalless Group G
encounter to add to the paucity of goals in South Africa so far. After
13 matches the net has bulged just 20 times, an average of 1.54 per
game, way below the 2.30 average for the whole of Germany 2006 and
higher figures in previous years. Portugal’s Ronaldo came closest when
he hit the post in Port Elizabeth with a thundering long range shot,
and Drogba came on as a second half substitute for the Ivory Coast
despite a fractured arm.

The day’s earlier
match produced only two goals when Slovakia and New Zealand drew 1-1 in
a Group F game. That clash of the outsiders in Rustenburg gave each
their first points in a World Cup as cold temperatures and pouring rain
hit the only winter edition of the tournament since 1978, even
extending to the tropical port of Durban.

Exceptional Germans

Only the German
side has shown real World Cup class so far with a 4-0 drubbing of
Australia on Sunday that will have surely struck fear into their big
name rivals. While South Africans continue to exude pride and
excitement at hosting the tournament, there was tragic news from
elsewhere on the continent. Residents of anarchic Somalia said Islamic
militants had killed two people and arrested 35 for breaking their
strict ban on watching the tournament on television.

Fairly Peaceful

While this
tournament has largely been problem free and filled with joy despite
the lack of goals, about 2,000 stadium stewards in Durban who clashed
with riot police in a protest over wages early on Monday were paid off
on Tuesday. Police said they were taking over security at Durban,
Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth stadiums because of the
dispute.

Dispute hasn’t been
restricted to labour issues, however, and controversy is growing among
players and coaches over the World Cup’s new ball, called the Jabulani.
Crosses, free-kicks and long-range shots have been skying over their
targets in the thin air. Another issue is the incessant whine of the
vuvuzelas with teams now experimenting with sign language, especially
when goalkeepers are trying to organise a defensive wall.

But the plastic trumpet clearly has some fans. An iPhone application
that copies the drone that has been compared to a swarm of giant bees
has been downloaded more than a million times. Even though the
application was designed in the Netherlands, this is unlikely to please
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk, the tournament’s chief curmudgeon and
most vociferous critic of the South African instrument.

Dogged as perennial
under achievers, Spain’s ambition to conquer the world will today
kick-off in Durban as the reigning European champions go head-on with
fellow Europeans, Switzerland.

In eighteen
attempts, the Swiss have never beaten Spain, managing only three draws.
The two teams first played in Berne in 1925 with the tie ending 3-0 in
favour of Spain. Both teams have also confronted each other twice in
the of the World Cup- during the first round in 1966 and the round of
16 in 1994 with Spain winning both ties 2-1 and 3-0.

Interestingly
Switzerland currently have an impressive defensive record that has seen
it not concede a goal at the FIFA World Cup for 394 minutes. The team
was eliminated from Germany 2006 without having let in a single goal,
the last time their defence let in a goal was when Spain’s Txiki
Beguiristain converted a penalty in the 86th minute of the Round of 16
matches in 1994 which Spain won 3-0.

Today’s match is
Spain’s 50th match at the FIFA World Cup, making them the seventh team
to reach this milestone after Brazil, Germany, Italy Argentina, England
and France. Having barely put a foot wrong in the last two years with a
long unbeaten run, which was only halted by the Americans at the
Confederation Cup held last year in South Africa, Spain will take the
stage at South Africa 2010 amid high expectation. Last week’s 6-0
demolition of Poland was a perfect way to round up preparations for a
side that has been boosted by the recent return to fitness of its key
players-Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas, both of whom have shaken off
worrying late-season injuries.

The Swiss
unfortunately have plenty of injury problems of their own to ponder.
Alexander Frei and Valon Behrami are definitely out, forcing coach
Ottmar Hitzfeld to reshuffle his pack. Switzerland’s recent form is
also a cause for concern, defeats by Costa Rica, Norway and Uruguay
having raised doubts about their ability to match their run to the last
16 at Germany 2006 – one they are hoping to repeat, at the very least,
this time around.

Second ticket

With Spain tipped
to top Group H, Chile and Honduras know they have little room for error
when both teams get their campaigns under way in Nelspruit later today.
On paper at least, the attacking prowess of Bielsa’s Chile may give
them the edge, given they were 32-goal top scorers in the South
American Zone. One concern, however, is the fitness of Real Zaragoza’s
Humberto Suazo, their ten-goal leading marksmen in qualifiers, who is
battling to recover from a muscle strain.

No host nation of
the World Cup has crashed out in the group stages of the competition.
That is the record South Africa will be having in mind as they play
their second match of the World Cup against South American opponent,
Uruguay, later today.

The match billed for Tshwane/Pretoria stadium is a must win for both sides to stand any chance of progressing from Group A.

Pretoria fortress

Coincidentally,
South Africa is unbeaten in the last five matches played in the City of
Pretoria before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with three victories and two
draws from their games.

However, the Bafana
Bafana have not beaten Uruguay in the two previous meetings between the
senior national teams. In 1997, the South Americans edged a 4-3 victory
in the FIFA Confederation Cup with a 90th minute goal by Christian
Callejas.

Subsequently, the
two-sides ground out a goal-less draw in a friendly match played out at
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, last year.

For the records
also, South American sides are yet to beat a host nation during the
first round of the FIFA World Cup. In 1966, Uruguay were held to a 0-0
draw by host and eventual champions England, while 1994 host, USA, were
2-1 winners over Colombia, and last edition’s host, Germany also
pounded Ecuador 3-0 in the group stages.

Crunch battle

Carlos Alberto
Parreira’s South Africa will definitely face a tough task against
Uruguay. In their opening game against France, the Uruguayans showed
that they possess the ability to contain teams and launch dangerous
counter-attacks.

Tabarez has hinted that against South Africa, they will be more adventurous compared to that safety-first approach.

Uruguay have been
preparing in Kimberley, a town famous for the surrounding gold mines,
but it is goals that Uruguay want after their stalemate with France,
hence, Tabarez’s decision to go with an extra striker in Edinson Cavani.

The South Africans
too want to improve on their finishing after the 1-1 draw with Mexico,
where striker Katlego Mphela missed a glorious chance in the dying
moments, watching in agony as his shot shaved the upright.

Fans to cheer

South Africa gave
their millions of home supporters cause for optimism with their opening
display against Mexico. When pressed against the ropes in the first 20
minutes, they were able to absorb the pressure and, having overcome the
stage fright that gripped them early on, found a head of steam in the
second half. It was a performance that served notice that the hosts
should not be taken lightly and the fact that they were less than 10
minutes from victory against an organised and polished Mexican side,
earned them rave reviews.

Thousands of vuvuzela-tooting supporters will be on hand at Loftus
Versfeld, the same pitch where Ghana beat Serbia 1-0 on Sunday, hoping
to make a little piece of history as the first African side to win a
World Cup finals match in Africa.