Brazil continued their winning romp through the Copa America on Wednesday, eking out a controversial 2-1 victory against Colombia after struggling most of the match to answer a magnificent bicycle-kick goal by Luis Diaz. The 11th-hour win gave the “Selecao” a perfect nine points from three matches in the South American championships, and extended their current winning streak to 11 matches. However, the victory was steeped in controversy: Brazil’s second-half equalizer, a Roberto Firmino header, was preceded by a Neymar pass that glanced off Argentine referee Nestor Pitana. Colombia heatedly argued afterward that play should have been stopped, but Pitana ruled neither side was hindered and allowed the match to continue. Disgruntled Colombia fans on social media turned the referee’s name int...
Ecuador’s hopes of reaching the Copa America 2021 knock-outs are on the line as they meet Peru at the Estadio Olimpico Pedro Ludovico. CONMEBOL’s second-lowest FIFA ranked nation dropped the lead twice against Venezuela to enter this round winless in their opening two Copa America matches. Meanwhile, the Peruvians are very much in contention for a knock-out finish after putting together a spectacular display against Colombia last time out. Ecuador Preview Ecuador’s Copa America 2021 campaign has started with a whimper rather than a bang. After failing to win their opening two Group B fixtures (D1, L1), the Ecuadorians stare at the prospect of exiting the tournament in the group stage for the second time in a row. La Tri will have to improve their recent Copa America record if they want to ...
Group B in Copa America continued last night, with two more exciting games. Venezuela and Ecuador faced each other, with both sides looking for their first win of the tournament. Meanwhile, Peru came up against Colombia, hoping to recover after their 4-0 defeat against Brazil in their opener. Here is how it all went. Venezuela 2-2 Ecuador Ronald Hernandez celebrates his late equaliser Both sides remained winless after the game following an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Estadio Olimpico Nilton Santos. Ecuador went into half time ahead, having taken the lead through Ayrton Preciado’s scrappy opener. But they were pegged back early in the second half when Edson Castillo headed in an equaliser. Ecuador retook the lead with 20 minutes remaining after Gonzalo Plata tapped in following a fine solo...
Colombia’s Copa America 2021 campaign gets underway on Monday as they go head-to-head with Ecuador at the Arena Pantanal. Before thumping Colombia 6-1 in their most recent meeting, Ecuador succumbed to back-to-back H2H losses, drawing a blank on each occasion. The clean sheet theme has highlighted the recent encounter between these two teams as nine of the last 11 have seen one or both sides fail to get on the scoresheet. Colombia Preview Heading into the tournament, Colombia have enjoyed a slight upturn in form, going from back-to-back defeats to two consecutive matches without losing (W1, D1). Despite Colombia’s form wobble, Los Cafeteros have been an exciting team to watch of late, with each of their last six international games featuring over 2.5 total goals. Since lifting ...
Polish police on Friday announced the seizing of 160 kilograms (350 pounds) of cocaine hidden inside several shipments of bananas delivered to a branch of the French retail chain, Carrefour. Carrefour Polska said its employees had found “suspicious packages in a fresh delivery of bananas” on Thursday in central Warsaw. “They immediately notified the police, who quickly secured the consignment and launched an investigation, which is currently ongoing. Our chain is fully cooperating with investigators,” Carrefour Polska was quoted as saying by Poland’s PAP news agency. A police video published on Twitter showed green-coloured packages containing the cocaine hidden in cardboard boxes of bananas. Police, who valued the seizure at more than 6.7 million euros ($8.2 million), did not say where th...
Seven years after we quit our jobs to travel around the world, we revisit some of the riskiest things we’ve done on the road Peter and I have a long-running joke that I have fallen off my bike in the most beautiful places in the world – among them Bora Bora in French Polynesia and Isabela in the Galápagos. I only learnt to ride at the age of 28 and my lack of experience has led to numerous falls. What’s interesting is that no one ever calls me ‘brave’ or ‘daring’ for riding a bicycle or indeed a horse even though statistically (and in personal experience), these activities are some of the most dangerous I’ve done. Instead, it’s things like skydiving and bungy jumping that impress others most. Below, I share 10 seemingly dangerous things we’ve done – some of which posed a real risk, b...
You will find all Copa America 2021 squads below. Copa America 2021 kicks off on Sunday, June 13, 2021, with the final taking place on Saturday, July 10, 2021. Ten teams will be taking part in the tournament, with each team allowed 23 players by CONMEBOL for this year. Although the two AFC representatives Australia and Qatar were due to play as the guest nations, the calendar schedule forced the countries to withdraw from the competition. Suggested Article: Copa America 2021: Schedule, Odds & Live Streaming Copa America 2021 Groups & Teams Group A (South Zone): Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay. Group B (North Zone): Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela. Here are all the latest Copa America 2021 squads, as announced by each national team: Argentina C...
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Ambassador Rabiu Dagari as Director-General of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA). The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, in a letter dated April 8, 2021, addressed to Dagari, said the appointment was for an initial period of four years with effect from March 16, 2021. Letter read: “The terms and condition of your appointment is as provided in the appointment of Chief Executives of Government Parastatals and Agencies in the Federal Public Services. “It Is hoped that your performance at the Interview/screening exercise as well as your experiences as a seasoned Diplomat/Administrator will be brought to bear in the discharge of your duties as the Director-General of the Directorate,” Aduda...