By Sunny Ikhioya  Stories coming out of the seat of power these days are disillusioning; it is as if we are playing games of pirates and vikings, superintending over the commonwealth. Stories of audacity, recklessness, greed and ride over the common man. It is challenging the people on what they can do. Is President Tinubu aware […]

.England 3–2 Mexico: courage, character, the cruel beauty of football By Paul Lucky Okoku Football rewards courage, but it does not always reward the team that deserves sympathy. Sometimes both teams leave with honor—only one advances. There are moments in football when noise defines the occasion. Then there are moments when silence tells an even […]

By Paul Lucky Okoku Ghana did not lose because they lacked courage. They lost because knockout football rewards precision more than bravery. There are matches where the scoreline tells you what happened. Then there are matches where the scoreline hides the deeper lesson. Colombia 1, Ghana 0 belongs to the second category. On paper, it […]

Belgium’s timely rise, America’s costly mistakes, cruel truth of knockout football By Paul Lucky Okoku The United States did not lose because they lacked courage. They lost because knockout football punishes hesitation, nervousness, and defensive lapses without mercy. Belgium did not arrive in Seattle looking unbeatable. But on the night that mattered most, they peaked […]

That is why every defeat today hurts so many people—not only Brazilians, but millions of admirers who grew up believing that Brazil represented the highest expression of the beautiful game.