Saturday 20 June 2015:
Germany vs Sweden 9pm
China PR vs Cameroon 12:30am (June 21)
Sunday 21 June 2015:
Brazil vs Australia 6pm
France vs Korea Republic 9pm
Canada vs Switzerland 12:30am (June 22)
Monday 22 June 2015:
Norway vs England 10pm
USA vs Columbia 1am (June 23)
Tuesday 23 June 2015:
Japan vs Netherlans 3am (June 24)
*Time = Nigerian.
Aston Villa have signed Manchester City right-back Micah Richards on a free transfer. The 26-year-old, who has 13 England caps, has agreed a four-year deal and will move to Villa Park on 1 July after his contract with City expires. Richards was a key member of City’s Premier League-winning side of 2011-12 but found his chances limited under manager Manuel Pellegrini. He spent last season on loan with Serie A side Fiorentina. Richards is Villa’s first signing of the summer, delighting manager Tim Sherwood, who said: “I’m sure he will prove to be an excellent signing for the football club.” He joined City as a 14-year-old from Oldham and made his Premier League debut in October 2005. A year later aged 18, he became the youngest defender ever to be called up to the England squad. Richards made almost 250 appearances for City. He won the FA Cup with the Blues in 2011 and a second Premier League title in 2013-14, although he only made two league appearances in that season.
A Spanish court has agreed to allow a fraud case against Barcelona’s Brazilian star Neymar, weeks after the club itself was ordered to stand trial. He was signed by Barcelona in 2013 for a reported €57m ($65m; £41m) and helped the club to success in this season’s Champions League and La Liga. But the courts believe the real price paid by Barcelona was far higher. A Brazilian investment firm which owned 40% of his transfer rights argues it was defrauded out of millions of euros. Barcelona’s president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, his predecessor, Sandro Rosell, as well as Neymar’s father and his former club Santos have been named in the complaint by the company, DIS. Investigators allege that Barcelona paid €83.3m for Neymar, but declared only €57.1m. A judge ruled last month that the initial case, which centres on allegations that the club tried to mislead tax authorities, should be heard by a court in Barcelona rather than in the National Court in Madrid. That case is already being challenged by the club, its president and former president. As part of the latest investigation, the court said several European clubs had been asked for details of bids they had made for Neymar between 2009 and 2013, while he was at Santos. The clubs named included Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The allegations surrounding Neymar’s move to Barcelona prompted Sandro Rosell to resign as president in January last year.
Saturday 20 June 2015:
Third Place Match:
Senegal vs Mali 2:30am
Final Match:
Brazil vs Serbia 6am
Wednesday 17 June 2015:
Mexico 0 – 5 France
England 2 – 1 Columbia
Korea Republic 2 – 1 Spain
Costa Rica 0 – 1 Brazil
Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere has been fined £40,000 by the Football Association and severely warned as to his future conduct after admitting to a charge of misconduct. Wilshere was found guilty of making and/or inciting certain comments during the club’s open bus trophy tour after their FA Cup Final victory, with his conduct deemed to be improper and bringing the game into disrepute.
Africa’s richest businessman, Aliko Dangote says he is planning a bid to buy Arsenal. The Nigerian billionaire believes the building of an oil refinery in his homeland will give him the finance to secure a takeover. The 58-year-old, who has an estimated wealth of £11.5bn, says he has supported the Gunners since the 1980s. “When we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough resources to pay what they are asking for,” he told BBC Hausa. “The club is doing well, but they need more direction than the current situation, where they just develop players and sell them.”
Former Spain youth international defender Derik Osede Prieto has revealed to BBC Sport why he wants to play for Nigeria. The 22-year-old centre-back, who is known simply as Derik, has played at all youth levels for Spain including two appearances for the Under-21 team. But Derik, a regular for European giants Real Madrid’s B side, is eligible to play for the Super Eagles because his father is Nigerian. And under Fifa rules he is free to switch because he has not yet played for a country’s senior national team. Despite possessing the talent to potentially make the step up to Spain’s senior side, Derik has issued what appears to be effectively a come-and-get-me plea to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). “I have lived in Spain all my life and I am not sure the people in Nigeria are aware that I have Nigerian blood,” Derik told BBC Sport.
Wednesday 17 June 2015:
Brazil 5-0 Senegal
Serbia 2 – 1 Mali aet
Brazil and Serbia have qualified for the final match. Senegal will play Mali in the third-place match.
Tuesday 16 June 2015:
Switzerland 1 – 2 Cameroon
Ecuador 0 – 1 Japan
Nigeria 0 – 1 USA
Australia 1 – 1 Sweden
Super Falcons of Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire women are out of the Women’s World Cup. Cameroon is Africa’s sole representative in the Round-16 stage.
Rafael van der Vaart has joined La Liga newcomers Real Betis. The 32-year-old, who has won 109 caps for the Netherlands, has signed a three-year deal and moves on a free transfer from Hamburg. “Betis is a great club and I am happy to come to the best league in the world,” he said. “I have had two poor years at Hamburg but I still believe I am a good player. I was talking to the coach (Pepe Mel) and we want to win the league.”
Fellaini twins, Maroune (Man United midfielder) and Mansour are currently holidaying in Miami. Can you tell which of them is the United player?
Bayern Munich have added Sven Ulreich to their stockpile of keepers. The 26-year-old, who has signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, had played for Stuttgart for his whole career. Manuel Neuer is Bayern Munich’s first choice, while ex-Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina was his back-up last season. Tom Starke, 34, is also at the Allianz Arena. “I was looking for a new challenge after many years with Stuttgart. FC Bayern is exactly the right place for me to be,” said Ulreich.
Lotto Cycling Cup organisers have apologised after the winners of a women’s race in Belgium were flanked by models wearing bikinis. A picture of the podium was posted on Twitter after Wiggle-Honda’s Jolien d’Hoore won the Antwerp to Nijlen stage of the Flanders Diamond Tour. Dutch racing cyclist and journalist Marijn de Vries described the scene as “an utter disgrace”. Lotto Cycling Cup organisers added they were not responsible. In a series of tweets, they said plans had been made by local organisers and they found the podium “inappropriate”.
AC Milan have sacked coach Filippo Inzaghi after just a year in charge. Inzaghi, 41, replaced former Milan team-mate Clarence Seedorf – who only lasted five months – as manager last June. Milan finished in 10th place in Serie A in 2014-15.
Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor is unsure about his international future after he was stripped of the captaincy for their match against Liberia. He was only told on the day of the 2017 African Cup of Nations tie that he would not wear the armband for Sunday’s 2-1 win. The 31-year-old scored the winner but says he is unsure if he will play against Djibouti in September. “For now, I don’t know – I’ll be here and I’ll talk with the coach,” he said. “I need to know whether he really needs me in the team or not. “I have been the captain for seven or eight years and then one morning I’m told I won’t be the captain – that means that we can go to Djibouti and he will put me in the stands.
Wednesday 17 June 2015:
Brazil vs Senegal 5am
Serbia vs Mali 8:30am
Good luck to Senegal and Mali as they fly the African flag.
Monday 15 June 2015:
Thailand 0 – 4 Germany
Cote d’Ivoire 1 – 3 Norway
China 2 – 2 New Zealand
Netherlands 1 – 1 Canada
Russia’s football bosses are considering whether to fire coach Fabio Capello after defeat to Austria seriously dented the team’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2016. After Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat to Austria left Russia third in its Euro 2016 qualifying group, Russian Football Union acting president Nikita Simonyan announced there will be “discussions” about whether to remove Capello who has coached Russia since 2012 and was handed a four-year contract extension last year.
Malawi have placed coach Young Chimodzi on leave with immediate effect until his contract expires on 31 July. The Football Association of Malawi said in a statement on Sunday that Chimodzi’s deal would not be renewed. The decision to remove Chimodzi from his position comes after the 2-1 loss to Zimbabwe in Saturday’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. Ernest Mtawali has been installed as a caretaker coach until a permanent appointment is made. “FAM has advised the head coach and his assistant (Jack Chamangwana) to immediately proceed on leave pending the expiry of their contracts on 31 July. “FAM would like to express its disappointment with the result against Zimbabwe in a match which it feels the Flames were in a better position to win and accordingly apologise to the nation for the painful loss,” read the football governing body’s statement. “Upon consultation with the Malawi Government, FAM will advertise for the position of the Malawi national football team head coach as soon as possible. “It is expected that the new coach will be appointed by 1 August. FAM will cast its net wider both locally and internationally in search for a new coach.” Chimodzi and Chamangwana were appointed in January 2014 – despite having only recently been sacked from the Flames’ technical panel. Fifteen months later, FAM said: “We have lost confidence in the coaches due to poor performance of the Malawi national football team generally during their term of engagement culminating into the recent loss to the Zimbabwe national football team. “The coaches have been in charge of 23 matches of which they won six, drew five and lost 12 representing a 23% wining rate.”
Naija Sports Crib 