LaNUBlog™

Alexandre Lacazette is set to be named in France's FIFA World Cup squad, according to Lyon head coach Remi Garde. The 22-year-old has been one of the stand-out performers for Lyon this season, notching 14 goals in 30 Ligue 1 appearances.

Abuja - Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Friday ended their Group F campaign with a 5-0 whipping of Iraq to advancing to the second round of the ongoing 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Nigerian side won in style to finish top of their group ahead of rivals Mexico in their match at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai, in the competition holding at UAE. Four goals in the first half set the tempo for the match to send the Iraqis home after three straight losses. Mexico and Sweden also go through to the Round of 16 from the group in second and third places respectively. Chidiebere Nwakali hit the woodwork after only two minutes, and it was a hint of things to come as the Nigerian side roared into incredible form. Some seconds later, they took the lead when Musa Yahaya was fouled in the area and Musa Muhammed converted from the penalty spot. The scorer turned provider a minute later, with his cross picking out Nwakali who had enough time and space to put the ball away from close range.Nigeria were 3...

Abuja - Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Friday ended their Group F campaign with a 5-0 whipping of Iraq to advancing to the second round of the ongoing 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Nigerian side won in style to finish top of their group ahead of rivals Mexico in their match at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai, in the competition holding at UAE. Four goals in the first half set the tempo for the match to send the Iraqis home after three straight losses. Mexico and Sweden also go through to the Round of 16 from the group in second and third places respectively. Chidiebere Nwakali hit the woodwork after only two minutes, and it was a hint of things to come as the Nigerian side roared into incredible form. Some seconds later, they took the lead when Musa Yahaya was fouled in the area and Musa Muhammed converted from the penalty spot. The scorer turned provider a minute later, with his cross picking out Nwakali who had enough time and space to put the ball away from close range.Nigeria were 3...

England manager Roy Hodgson has apologised for any offence caused by a joke he told at half-time in England's 2-0 win over Poland. The joke - about an astronaut and a monkey launched into space - was reportedly intended to encourage players to pass to Andros Townsend, but allegedly shocked at least one player, who believed the story carried racist connotations. Hodgson, who has been surprised by the reaction to the incident, was unreservedly apologetic if any offence had been caused. "I would like to apologise if any offence has been caused by what I said at half-time," he said in a statement. "There was absolutely no intention on my part to say anything inappropriate. "I made this clear straight away to Andros in the dressing room. "I also spoke to Andros again on Wednesday. He has assured me and the FA he did not take any offence, and understood the point I was ­making in the manner I intended." The joke in question is believed to be popular w...

Hosts Brazil, world champions Spain and Switzerland have been named among the seeds for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The trio will definitely enter pot one of the draw for the tournament, which takes place on December 6, after the latest world rankings were released on Thursday. Germany, Argentina, Colombia and Belgium will also be seeded, along with either the Netherlands or Uruguay, who face an intercontinental play-off with Jordan to qualify. Oscar Tabarez's men will enter as seeds should they overcome Jordan in November, but a surprise defeat would see Louis van Gaal's side placed in pot one. Switzerland's place among the seeds comes after they surged into the top 10 of the rankings following victories over Albania and Slovenia in their final two qualifiers. Ottmar Hitzfeld's men have moved from 14th to seventh, and they are joined in the top 10 by England, who are up seven places from number 17. Germany have leapfrogged Argentina into second behind Spain, with Co...

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, will not pray to avoid any of the big teams that have qualified for the play-offs in the 2014 World Cup qualifying series, insisting that his team are ready to take on the best. Keshi featured his best players in the game against Malawi on Saturday in Calabar, starting Ahmed Musa, Nnamdi Oduamadi and Victor Moses, all attacking midfielders, in a bid to overrun the Malawians. Ghana, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia, Egypt, Algeria and Burkina Faso have qualified for the play-offs. "I'm confident in this team. The team that played today can face any side. I don't care about which team we'll be playing in the next round," Keshi said. "The reason we featured Oduamadi was because he is quick on his feet, can win penalties and he is a hard worker. He was supposed to complement Mikel Obi in the front but the Malawians decided to sit back in the game. "This doesn't mean we can't introduce new players later. If I see any go...