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This is my official page. My travels around the World? Get the stories here. Latest news? All here...

Who could be the next England manager? 

29/6/2016

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The first challenge on day one of any new regime is to avoid making the kind of mistake which subsequently hovers like a grey cloud, waiting to burst into a downpour, at the first sign of turbulence.
 
Martin Glenn, the Football Association’s chief executive, had plenty of pitfalls in his path as he attempted to outline the strategy for identifying and appointing Roy Hodgson’s successor as England manager, but he avoided stepping into the biggest of them by insisting that the field would not be restricted to Englishmen.
 
The former Walkers Crisps executive strayed into dangerous territory by insisting not once, but twice, that he was ‘not a football expert,’ but the soundbites tend to evaporate once the big ticket material is delivered and by pledging to recruit ‘the best man for the job, not the best Englishman,’ Glenn ensured that the FA would not make the mistake of adopting the ‘Little Englander’ mentality which had threatened to drag the national team even further down a dark cul-de-sac.
 
English football has opened its doors to the world by making the Premier League the most cosmopolitan and exciting league on the planet, and while the influx of foreign players and coaches has stunted the development of their English counterparts, the reality is that the best of the best are currently anything but English.
 
Alan Pardew, Eddie Howe, Sam Allardyce and Steve Bruce all have valid claims to be considered as Hodgson’s successor as a result of their club achievements, but none of them has any international experience or a major honour on their CVs as a manager.
 
Gareth Southgate, who is set to take charge of England on an interim basis until a permanent appointment is made, treaded water at Middlesbrough and suffered relegation before rehabilitating his reputation working with England’s Under-21s.
 
But do any of the above genuinely possess the credentials to manage England at a major tournament and outsmart the likes of Joachim Low, Didier Deschamps or Vicente del Bosque?
 
Some may argue that Chris Coleman, having managed without great success at Fulham and Coventry City, has taken Wales to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals with a track record no better than the Englishmen currently vying for the top job in this country.
 
But Coleman represented his country many times as a player and also broadened his coaching mind with spells in Spain and Greece.
 
English coaches only work in England and, increasingly so, too far down the ladder to even merit consideration for the England job. No Englishman has ever managed a team to the Premier League title – Howard Wilkinson at Leeds United in 1992 was the last English manager to win the league championship – and the influx of foreign coaches could not be cited as an excuse for their lack of opportunities while Sir Alex Ferguson was collecting the first of his 13 Premier League crowns in the mid-1990s.
 
English managers and coaches have become second-class citizens in the field in which they operate, so the FA simply has to look elsewhere. Arsene Wenger would be the FA’s ideal appointment – they would not baulk at Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti or Pep Guardiola, but the club game is where it’s at for that trio – while Jurgen Klinsmann’s work with Germany and the United States could prompt interest in his services.
 
English or otherwise, there is no obvious contender to replace Hodgson, which is why the FA is right to undergo a period of due diligence, assess a global field of candidates, and take its time before finding the best man for the job.
 
The alternative? If Southgate does well as interim manager, would he be anything more than football’s version of Stuart Lancaster – a man who ticks the boxes of FA mandarins, but lacks the ‘been there, done it’ track record of a seasoned, winning coach?
 
In both cricket and rugby union, the departure of an English coach after a disastrous major tournament in the past year has preceded the appointment of a gnarled, worldly-wise coach from overseas who has overseen an immediate upturn in fortunes.
 
The FA simply needs to find its own version of Trevor Bayliss or Eddie Jones and, sadly, they will not find him by restricting their search to those born within the shores of the British Isles.

Culled from www.independent.co.uk


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Twenty two players in Nigeria's camp for Rugby World Cup qualifiers

28/6/2016

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The players invited by the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation for a 2 week intensive camping exercise ahead of the pre-qualifiers for the 2019 Rugby World cup on Monday reported to camp under the supervision of South African born coach, Fabian Juries.
 
Apart from the 2 foreign based duo of Christian Ogar and Okafor ThankGod, the other 21 players reported at the mainbowl of the National stadium, Surulere, Lagos, where they had their first training session which started by 4pm under a light rain.
 
Head coach of the side, Fabian Juries speaking the team’s 1st training on Monday said some of the players are not fit, but before the end of the 2 weeks camping exercise, he should have knocked them into shape.
 
“Some of them are fit while some of them are not fit. We should be ready for the competition, which will be played in 2 and half weeks from now.”
 
He said the friendly game scheduled for Saturday against a selected side will help the technical team evaluate the team as they intensify preparation for the pre-qualifier for the 2018 World Cup.
 
On whether he will recommend the inclusion of more players for the technical department of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation in the course of the camping, Fabian responded that the time is so short for such luxury as he will focus on getting the best out of the players already in camp.
 
The team expected to depart for Morocco on the 11th of July will take on Mauritius on the 13th before the all-important clash with the host country, Morocco on the 16th with all games to be played at the COC stadium.

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Euro 2016:...And Catenaccio Finally Buried Tiki-Taka

28/6/2016

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The Spaniards introduced a new brand into World football in the early to mid-2000’s: Tiki-taka, fluid – beautiful, joyful-to-watch soccer that held fans in a trance as long as a game lasts.
 
Beautiful football that left opponents of the Spaniards chasing shadows on the pitch. On the back of Tiki-taka, Spain absolutely ruled the world. Between 2007 and 2013, the Spaniards lost just eight matches, of those just three were official, the other matches were ‘mere’ friendlies.
 
But between 2014 and 2017, the world caught up to Tiki-taka, and Spain lost nine matches, five of these were in official competitions (including the 2-0 set-back against Italy that just ended their Euro 2016)
 
The brand of short passing, possession football favoured by the Spaniards ‘died’ at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The 5-1 dismantling by Holland in the opening game, followed by the 2-0 loss to Chile that ended their World Cup, also signalled the end of that brand of football.
 
Euro 2016 was supposed the tournament that will see Spain re-take their place in World football. The loss to Croatia was an ‘anomaly’, a slug-fest of delightful football that could have seen the result go in any direction. The real test was to be in the Round of 16 tie against Italy and Catenaccio: fluid soccer against organized football. Spain had won five and lost only one of previous last 10 meetings, on this day the Catenaccio proved superior.
 
The Italians were more incisive and direct in their play, leaving the ‘passing’ Spaniards exposed. While Spain had more possession, the Italians had more shots on targets. The many passes of the Spaniards gave the deep-sitting Italians time to figure out Spanish game plan, while Italians confused the Spanish defence with their combination of wide play and swift midfield thrusts.
 
The size of Graziano Pelle meant he was able to keep Sergio Ramos and Gerrard Pique busy, at the other end, young gun, Alvarao Morata got little change from the experienced troika of Chiellini, Barzagli and Bonucci.
 
But credit must be given to David De Gea: without the Man United shot stopper, the contest would have been over in the first half.
Now, the Spaniards must go back home and try fashion out a new way forward. Tiki-taka is dead and buried! 
 
Picture Courtesy bbc.com
 
Article culled from www.booday10.com


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Lionel Messi: The god and the dud...

28/6/2016

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Barcelona and Argentina midfielder, Lionel Messi on Monday, announced his retirement from international football following the loss of La Albiceleste to Chile in the 2016 Copa America Final.
 
It was the 4th loss for Argentina, with Messi playing, in a major event. Now, the debates will start about his place in history and his legacy with Argentina.
 
First stop, Jekyll and Hyde. For the younger readers who may not understand what this means, Jekyll and Hyde refers to anyone with dual personalities one good and one bad, and this more or less covers the life of the Argentine superstar both on and off the pitch. Messi has “two personalities” and these two personas will feature prominently when his life and his career are being dissected in the next few months.
 
First, his performance for club and country would seem to point at two different players; one wildly successful while the other flirted with success. Messi won 4 UEFA Champions League, 8 La Liga, 4 Copa Del Rey, 3 UEFA Super Cup World Club Cup titles and 6 Spanish Super Cup trophies with Barcelona. At the Youth level, he led Argentina to victory at the 2005 World Youth Championship and the 2008 Olympics, but with the national team, he has come up short when it mattered most: Four finals, four losses. At the Copa America, Argentines suffered heartbreak at the 2007, 2015 and 2016 and were also second best to Germany at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
 
While Messi is revered on the football pitch because of his football prowess, troubles off the pitch with tax authorities have him as defaulter. It is still not clear whether the Barcelona superstar will end up with jail time, a hefty fine or an acquittal in his case with Spanish tax authorities, but whichever way the case goes, the revelations about the shenanigans of his father – which Messi himself has denied knowledge of – will mean some will always see him as a tax criminal.
 
Who is Messi in the dressing room? Unconfirmed rumors have the little Argentine as a tyrant who runs the Barcelona dressing room with an iron fist: you either play by his rules or get frozen out. He denied influencing the hiring of Gerardo Tata Martino for Barcelona, but many didn’t believe.
 
So, how will Lionel Messi be remembered? Is he to be revered, a god in the same league as Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer? Or is he to be considered a dud, a club hero who couldn’t find enough charisma to lift a major title for his nation?
 
Culled from www.booday10.com


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Nigerian Rugby team opens camp ahead of World Cup Qualifier

28/6/2016

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The Nigeria Rugby Football Federation has announced a 23 man list for a 2 weeks intensive camping exercise ahead of the pre-qualifiers for the 2019 Rugby World cup.
 
The two weeks exercise under the supervision of South African born coach, Fabian Juries kicked off on Monday, 27th of June at the Mainbowl of the National stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
 
According to the list made available by the technical department of the federation, only 2 foreign based players in the persons of Christian Ogar and Okafor ThankGod both plying their trades in South Africa were invited to join their home based colleagues for the camping exercise.
 
Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Technical Director of the federation, Fasimoye Olatunji said, "Because of the standard of our league, we have been able to build our players to a standard where we believe that if we nurture them well, they can compete favorably anywhere in the world."
 
"We expect that all the players that we have called to camp will resume to the national stadium by 4pm today."
 
He thanked CMB Building, Investment and Maintenance Company for making the camping exercise possible and also for their unflinching support for the Sir Edward Fom Pam led NRFF as he called on other corporate bodies to partner with the federation in sponsoring the National teams for their international engagements.
 
The team which is expected to depart for Morocco on the 11th of July will take on Mauritius on the 13th before the all important clash with the host country, Morocco on the 16th with all games to be played at the COC stadium.
 
"I think it's a great deal for us because we are going to be playing a phase in the 2019 world cup qualifiers in Morocco.
 
Morocco being the host nation, it won't be an easy task and that is why we are trying to prepare our boys in our own little way.
 
For Morocco, most of their players play in France and they are well funded, hence the need for the Black Stallions to have a 2 week camp."
 
Meanwhile, the Team Doctor, Bukola Bojuwoye is monitoring the conditions of team captain, Azeez Ladipo ahead of the tournament following injury he suffered at the finals of the South West league.
 
He finally affirmed that, "Despite all the challenges being faced by the federation, we believe that everything is going to be fine."
 
Full List of invited players:
 
Peter Okere Ambrose                               Scrum half                  North
Omoragieva       Monday Henry                Scrum/ Fly half           North
Ladipo Azeez Olaitan                               Fly half/ Full back       Lagos
Oche Alfred Sunday                                 Fly half/ Full back       North
Oladele John Siminuoluwa                        Center                        Lagos
Okafor Sopuruchi  ThankGod                   Wing/ Center               South Africa.
Ogar Christian Innocent                            Wing/ Center               South Africa
Jatto Onoru-Oyiza Jude                             Wing/ Center               Lagos
Afam Ifeanyi Moses                                  Wing                          Lagos
Iheme Felix Chidera                                 Full Back                     North
Olawale Oladipo                                      Scrum half                   Lagos
Ekpo Ekubi Samuel                                  Flank/Wing                 Lagos
Samaila Agwan                                        Flank/Wing                 North
Aleto Obinna Festus                                 Prop                           Lagos
George Anedi                                          Prop                           Lagos
Akeju Francis Sunday                              Prop/Hooker                North
Oduola Sodiq Kofoworola                        Hooker                        Lagos
Isa Hasan                                                Hooker                        North
Sani Isaac Cato                                        Lock                           Lagos
Kura John Terseer                                    Lock                           Lagos
Wilson Obi Izuchukwu                             Lock                           North
Yannick Ufoma Mukoro                           Eight                           Lagos
Ayinla Hafis Ademola                              Flank/Eight                   Lagos


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Sadio Mane set to sign for Liverpool for £30m 

26/6/2016

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Southampton’s Sadio Mane is on the brink of becoming Liverpool’s standout summer signing after he was given permission to travel to Merseyside for a medical.
 
Liverpool agreed a £30million fee with Southampton over the weekend for the Senegal forward and he will now undergo a physical assessment before his representatives negotiate personal terms with chief executive Ian Ayre.
 
Jurgen Klopp has been determined to add Mane, 24, to his squad and Liverpool have been in discussions with Southampton for much of the past four weeks in order to strike a deal.
 
Klopp believes Mane has the pace, energy and aggression to give Liverpool’s attack a different dimension and at some point in the coming days, he will be confirmed as the third biggest signing in the club’s history.
 
It had been Klopp’s desire to have Mane on board for the start of pre-season - Liverpool’s non European Championship players report for work on July 2 - and he could even make his debut in the first pre-season game at Tranmere on July 8.
 
Mane caught the eye of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp when the striker scored against the Reds last term
 
Mario Gotze, the Bayern Munich forward, had been the prime target on Klopp’s summer wish-list but when he indicated he was reluctant to move to the Premier League, Liverpool quickly turned their attentions to Mane.
 
Once the deal is completed, Southampton will have received £91.5million in transfer fees from Liverpool over the last three summers with Mane following Adam Lallana (£25m), Dejan Lovren (£20m), Nathaniel Clyne (£12.5m) and Rickie Lambert (£4m) from the south coast.
 
Mane, whom Southampton signed for £11.8million two years ago, made a lasting impression on Klopp when he scored twice and inspired a dramatic 3-2 win over Liverpool at St Mary’s on March 20.
 
Klopp admires Mane because of his pace and aggression and will expect a lot of him at Liverpool
 
The 24-year-old scored 11 goals in the Premier League last season as Ronald Koeman's Saints finished 6th
 
The 24-year-old will become Liverpool’s fourth signing over the summer after Joel Matip (free from Schalke), Marko Grujic, whose £5m switch from Red Star Belgrade was agreed in January, and goalkeeper Loris Karius from Mainz.
 
Further additions are expected before the end of the window, with Liverpool having submitted bids for the Udinese midfielder Piotr Zelinski and Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell, while they continue to track Borussia Monchengladbach’s Mahmoud Dahoud.
 
Culled from www.dailymail.co.uk
 
 


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EUR0 2016: What We’ve Learnt So Far…

26/6/2016

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The first day of the Second Round of the 2016 European Championships was disappointing, as the matches were low scoring bore fests: Switzerland vs Poland, Croatia Portugal, and Wales vs Northern Ireland yielded only four goals. Then the second day turned out a goal fest: 10 goals in three matches raised the average of goals per game to over two per game. But some truths were established in those two days of football.
 
The Belgians are ticking; Belgium destroyed Hungary with breath-taking football over two halves on Sunday to qualify for the quarter finals of the 2016 European Championships, and effectively sent out a note of caution to every other team left in tournament.
Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel, Naingolian, all played a huge part in an amazing Red devils side that ticked almost all the boxes, and played like they have legitimate claims to the European Crown. For 70 minutes the Belgians, sorry, De Bruyne and Hazard ran the Hungarian defence ragged but could not find the final pass. Then, when it looked like the tide will turn in favour of the Magyars with Belgium visibly tiring, the tide turned. Belgium scored two quick goals, and added a fourth late on. If the Belgians keep playing like this, they will take some stopping!
 
The Germans are coming: The Mannschaft made short work of Slovakia without seeming to exert themselves. Draxler and Ozil were outstanding, while the other members of the team seemed to be going through the motions, doing just enough to ensure qualification. The Germans look to have enough left in the tank to ramp it up should they need to. The Germans are coming!
 
The Jury is still out on Les Bleus: The French keep marching on, but the home side are less convincing with every passing game. Didier Deschamps is still looking for the right mix in attack; Payet, Giroud and Griezmann are working because Payet displayed individual brilliance in earlier games, and Griezmann has been outstanding in latter ones. The French struggled against ten-man Republic of Ireland, even if they win the quarter finals, how will they fare against Germany/Italy/Spain, their likely opponents in the Semi Finals?
 
The British adventure is almost over: The British flexed their soccer muscles as all the home nations at the Championship, and the Republic, qualified for the Round of 16. The draws ensured that one of Wales and Northern Ireland saw each other off, the French completed the Irish rout, and the English will be walking a tight rope against a very organized Iceland. Wales are up against Belgium next, while England will line up against hosts France should they get past Iceland. Surely that will mean the end of the British challenge.
The European Championships just picked up steam as expected, look out for more thrilling matches as the field gets narrower!


​Culled from www.booday10.com 


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Oscar Pistorius: Reeva wouldn't want me to waste my life behind bars

23/6/2016

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PictureReeva Steenkamp
Former Paralympian tells ITV he ‘saw the pain’ he had caused by shooting Reeva Steenkamp but denies it was premeditated
 
Oscar Pistorius has admitted he deserves a long jail sentence for killing Reeva Steenkamp but vehemently denied he murdered her, insisting that the 2013 shooting was not premeditated.
 
In his first TV interview since his girlfriend’s death, Pistorius said he “couldn’t disagree” with those who felt he should be punished. “At times I don’t feel like I should have the right to live for taking someone else’s life. What’s difficult is dealing with the charge of murder,” he said.
 
But Pistorius said he did not want to “waste my life” behind bars. “If I was afforded the opportunity of redemption I would like to help the less fortunate like I had in my past,” he said. “I would like to believe that if Reeva could look down upon me that she would want me to live that life.”
 
Pistorius made the comments during an interview with ITV, to be broadcast at 9pm on Friday. The interview – at times frank, at other points self-exculpatory, and with moments of prolonged sobbing and even howling – comes days before a South African judge will sentence Pistorius for murder.

He was convicted in 2014 of manslaughter, but last year the conviction was upgraded to murder following an appeal by state prosecutors. The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years. However, legal experts say judge Thokozile Masipa has considerable powers of discretion.
 
In the interview, Pistorius – who made his name as an Olympic and Paralympic athlete, reaching the 400m semi-finals of London 2012 – stuck to the same account he has given of the shooting of Steenkamp on 14 February 2013, Valentine’s Day, inside his gated home in Pretoria.
 
He said Steenkamp’s death was a tragic accident caused by his sincere belief that an intruder was breaking into the apartment.
 
Pistorius said he arrived home just after 6pm to find Reeva “smiling and giddy and just bubbly”. She had cooked a romantic meal and laid the table with a candle. After, they lay down on the bed and chatted, he said, adding that “when I came in the room I placed my firearm on the left hand side of the bed”.
 
Pistorius said he took his prosthetic legs off and fell asleep. It was “pitch dark”. At 3am he woke. “I heard this noise coming from the bathroom,” he said. “It was a sliding noise of the window frame hitting the frame.”
 
He claimed he “immediately got panicked” and believed that “someone was actually in the process of breaking in”, possibly with a ladder.
 
The athlete said he scooped up his firearm and, believing Steenkamp was still in the room, whispered to her to get down and ring the police. He said he was terrified as he walked toward the bathroom on his stumps, gun in hand.
 
“All of a sudden I heard a noise, at the toilet,” he said. “I presumed it was the toilet door opening and before I know it I’d fired four shots.”
 
Prosecutors have dismissed Pistorius’s account as lies. They say the athlete murdered Steenkamp after a row prompted by his jealousy over an ex-boyfriend. They say she fled to the bathroom and barricaded herself in the toilet, pursued by Pistorius who first tried to smash the door down with a cricket bat and then returned with his 9mm weapon, firing into the door from point-blank range.
 
Pistorius said he felt a moment of horror when he realised Steenkamp was not in the bed but then experienced a short-lived “sense of calm”, thinking that she was hiding on the floor. He got down on the floor, however, and realised he still couldn’t feel her.
 
“So I start pulling everything apart and I start saying like, Reeva, Reeva Reeva, and I’m like pulling my hand and I’m on my stumps now still, I was like pulling my hand across the curtain … thinking like ‘lord please tell me she’s hiding behind the curtains’. And I get to the end of the curtains and my heart just sinks.”
 
Pistorius said he looped back to the bathroom, and broke down the door to to the toilet with a cricket bat, ripping out one plank. Inside, he found Steenkamp slumped on the toilet. She was dead. There was blood everywhere, he said.
 
He said he put her on the bathroom floor, placing a towel under her head. “I just see blood and it’s just blood everywhere ... So much blood! I try and pick her up. I’m trying to pick her up but there’s so much blood I can’t stand up.
 
“And I thought Reeva had started breathing, so I had my fingers in her mouth and I was trying to give her mouth to mouth, but there was so much blood.”
 
South Africa’s supreme court was unimpressed by Pistorius’s testimony, describing him as vacillating, untruthful and a “very poor witness”. Masipa, who heard his original trial, has further described him as “evasive” and “clearly not candid”.
 
The athlete told ITV he had not always been convincing while giving evidence, but blamed his performance on his long court and police ordeal. His defence team say he is suffering from anxiety and depression. At last week’s sentencing hearing he walked across the courtroom floor on his stumps.
 
Oscar Pistorius demonstrates walking without his prosthetic legs in court
At the same hearing, Steenkamp’s father Barry said his daughter’s murder had devastated their family. News of the ITV interview clearly annoyed the state prosecutor Gerry Nel, who told the court it gave the lie to the claim that the athlete was unable to testify, adding that it was “disrespectful”.
 
Pistorius told ITV he “saw the pain” he had caused and said that most of his mutual friends with Steenkamp “don’t speak to me any more”. One woman had spotted him shopping in Pretoria and had screamed at the store for allowing him in. He put down his basket and left, he said.
 
Pistorius denied some of the allegations levelled against him, including that he had behaved violently to Steenkamp before he shot her, hitting her with a cricket bat, and that he had taken steroids. Asked whether he was violent towards women, he said: “No, not at all.”
 
The athlete said he owned nine to 11 firearms, and had ordered a semi-automatic assault rifle, but added that he kept only his 9mm gun at home. Asked why he needed such an arsenal, Pistorius said that like all South Africans he had direct and traumatic personal experience of violent crime.
 
He said when he was growing up his father had been hijacked and beaten, and his brother hijacked, while a cousin who lived nearby was robbed at home in the middle of the day. “I don’t know anybody in South Africa that hasn’t experienced some form of crime.” The dark consequence was “you get this fear … It’s just the reality we live in.”

Culled from www.theguardian.com


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How the UEFA EURO 2016 last 16 is shaping up

22/6/2016

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Six more teams reached the knockout rounds with the first two last-16 fixtures now known, Spain playing Italy in a 2012 final repeat and Switzerland taking on Poland.
 
The top two teams in each group and the four best third-placed finishers will enter the UEFA EURO 2016 knockout phase but what happens if nations are level on points – and what will sides need as they go into their final matches?
 
EURO2016.com explains.
 
Definitely through: France, Switzerland, Wales, England, Slovakia, Germany, Poland, Northern Ireland, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Hungary
 
Waiting: Turkey (3pts, 2-4 goals, Albania (3 pts, 1-3 goals)
 
Eliminated: Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic
 
The explanations and permutations below are for information only and the official calculations will be made by UEFA after the games finish according to Article 18 of the UEFA EURO 2016 official regulations.
 
PERMUTATIONS
 
Our animated guide to the path to the last 16
Group A
France are through as group winners and will play a third-placed team in Lyon on Sunday at 15:00CET.
Switzerland are into the last 16 as runners-up and will face Group C runners-up Poland in St-Etienne on Saturday at 15:00CET.
Albania finished the group stage with three points and must wait to see if they advance as one of the four best third-placed sides. They need Sweden and Ireland to fail to win, or Ireland to fail to win and Belgium to lose by four goals and Portugal to lose. They would play either Group B Wales winners in Paris on Saturday at 18:00CET, or Group C winners Germany on Sunday at 18:00CET in Lille.
Romania are out.
 
Group B
Wales have won the group and will take on a third-placed team from Group A, C or D in Paris on Saturday at 18:00CET.
England are through as runners-up and will play whoever comes second in Group F. That game will take place in Nice at 21:00CET on 27 June.
Slovakia ended the group with four points but are certain of finishing as one of the four best third-placed sides. They will face either Group D winners Croatia in Lens at 21:00CET on Saturday or Group C winners Germany in Lille at 18:00CET on Sunday.
Russia are out.
 
Group C
 
Germany win the group and will play a third-placed team from Group A, B or F in the round of 16 in Lille on Sunday at 18.00CET.
Poland finish second and will play Group A runner-ups Switzerland in Saint-Etienne at 15.00CET on Saturday – the first round of 16 tie.
Northern Ireland finish third with three points and will finish as one of the best four third-placed sides. They will play either Group B winners Wales or Group A winners France in the round of 16.
Ukraine are eliminated in fourth place.
 
Group D
 
Croatia have won the group and will play a third-placed side from Group B, E or F in the round of 16 in Lens at 21.00CET on Saturday.
Spain finished second after losing to Croatia and will play Group E winners Italy at Stade de France on Monday at 18.00CET
Turkey finished third with three points and a goal difference of -2 (F2 A4). They need Sweden and Ireland to fail to win, or Ireland to fail to win and Belgium to lose by four goals, or Portugal to lose.
Czech Republic are eliminated in fourth place.
 
Group E
 
Wednesday 21:00CET: Italy (6, qualified) v Republic of Ireland (1), Sweden (1) v Belgium (3)
Italy are through as Group E winners and will face Group D runners-up Spain at 18:00CET on 27 June at Stade de France.
Belgium will clinch second spot with a draw and would take on the Group F winners in Toulouse on Sunday. They can afford to lose by three goals, and will only be denied a top-three berth if they lose and Ireland beat Italy.
Sweden will secure at least third place, and reach the round of 16, with a win. If both Sweden and Ireland win, they will be split by goal difference, then goals scored, then disciplinary ranking and then coefficient (which favours Sweden). Sweden are out if they don't win.
Ireland must win to have any possibility of progress. They can only come second if Sweden also win and Ireland pip them on goal difference, goals scored or disciplinary ranking.
 
Group F
 
Wednesday 18.00CET: Iceland (2) v Austria (1), Hungary (4) v Portugal (2)
Hungary are also into the round of 16. They will top the group with a victory; if they draw they could only be deprived of first position if Iceland win and overtake them on overall goal difference, then goals scored, then disciplinary, then coefficient. The only situation in which they could finish third is if they lose and Iceland win.
Portugal are through with a draw. If they win, they could only miss out on first place if Iceland win and eclipse them on overall goal difference, then goals scored, then disciplinary (Portugal have a superior coefficient). A draw would only leave Portugal second if the other game is drawn and they are ahead of Iceland on goals scored, or then disciplinary, or then coefficient, where Portugal are superior. A point would leave Portugal in third place unless the Iceland-Austria game also ends in a draw; Portugal could then overtake Iceland on goals scored, disciplinary or coefficient depending on the respective scorelines.
Iceland would qualify with a draw or better. They could even top the group if the other match is drawn or Portugal win. In those two scenarios, they would be split with the other team on five points (Hungary or Portugal) on goal difference, then goals scored, then disciplinary; Hungary are ahead on coefficient. A draw would leave Iceland second if Hungary win or if the other game is drawn; in the second scenario, Portugal and Iceland would be separated on goals scored, disciplinary (Portugal have a superior coefficient); even then Iceland would progress as a best third-placed side.
Austria will be second with a win unless Portugal also prevail, in which case Austria would end up behind Hungary on head-to-head and would go through as one of the four best third-placed sides. A draw is not good enough for Austria.
 
TIE BREAKERS
Splitting teams equal on points in group
If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points upon completion of the final tournament group matches, the following criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
a. higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question (i.e. head-to-head record);
b. superior goal difference resulting from the matches played among the teams in question;
c. higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
d. if, after having applied criteria a) to c), teams still have an equal ranking, criteria a) to c) are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings.
If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria e) to h) apply;
e. superior goal difference in all group matches;
f. higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
g. disciplinary record in the final tournament (fewest points in the disciplinary points ranking); 
h. position in the UEFA national team coefficient rankings.
Should more than two teams have the same number of points, the criteria listed above apply.
Best third-placed teams
The four best third-placed teams are determined according to the following criteria applied, in the order given, to the final tournament group matches:
a. higher number of points obtained;
b. superior goal difference;
c. higher number of goals scored;
d. disciplinary record in the final tournament (fewest points in the disciplinary points ranking);
e. position in the UEFA national team coefficient rankings.


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Basketball: Hoopers, Pillars make Playoffs semi finals

22/6/2016

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Rivers Hoopers booked a semifinal spot in the 2015/2016 DSTV Basketball League Final 8 Play0ffs after a routine 65-48 points victory over Oluyole Warriors, thereby eliminating the Ibadan side from the competition.
 
Oba Orinari and Belema Alamina replicated their displays in Monday’s win over Gombe Bulls by racking home 14 and 13 points respectively. Orinari added 3 rebounds while Alamina contributed 6 rebounds and 1 assist.
 
Also among the frontrunners for the Hoopers on Tuesday was Ronald Alalibo who completed the cast of double digit scorers, contributing 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in the game decided at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere.
 
As compared to the domineering  performance on Monday, the former champions had a less convincing game against Warriors starting slowly from the first quarter and also in the second but were able to maintain a slim lead in the first half of game (15-13, 25-24). 
 
At different occasions in the opening two quarters, the game was tied on point five times. (3:60* 7-7, 1:52* 13-13, 8:31*15-15, 4:23* 19-19).
 
This was however halted as Hoopers came back blazing after half time starting with Alamina’s dunk in 9:25 of the third coupled with triple 3 point shot from Ronald Alalibo , Victor James and Victor Atisele leading to their biggest scoring run 8-0 (30-39) with less than 2 minutes in the third. Atisele’s 3 pointer extended Hoopers lead with less than 5 seconds before the buzzer (46-33).
 
The job was however wrapped up in the fourth as Hoopers maintained their lead by adding 16 additional points leaving Warriors with no chance  but to bow out of Group B with no wins out of their two games played in the Final 8 play offs in Lagos.
 
Rivers Hoopers coach, Ogoh Odaudu gave his opinion on the Final 8 Play Offs.
 
“Kano Pillars are a fantastic team, Customs have come out strong while Kwara Falcons are Conference leaders and there is no team that is easy now. The competition will get tougher from now on. Oluyole Warriors who we beat convincingly during the conference play off some weeks back gave us a tough fight and we had to struggle to play against them.“ said Odaudu.
 
Hoopers will next play Kano Pillars on Wednesday at 6pm to determine to tops Group B.
 
Other results
 
Niger Potters 73-69 Plateau Peaks
Kano Pillars 75-55 Gombe Bulls
Customs 57 -52 Kwara Falcons
 
Day 3 Fixtures
 
Nigeria Customs v Niger Potters      12pm
Gombe Bulls v Oluyole Warriors     2pm
Plateau Peaks v Kwara Falcons       4pm
Rivers Hoopers v Kano Pillars         6pm


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