France Overpower Croatia to Lift 2018 World Cup

By Duro Ikhazuagbe in Moscow    

France defeated Croatia 4-2 yesterday to lift the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. It was Les Bleus second title after winning the first as host in 1998. 

The clash was an entertaining final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow in what was a fitting end to an outstanding tournament in Russia.

France’s first goal came from Antoine Griezmann’s free kick from the right flank and was nodded into Croatia net for an own goal by Mario Mandzukic. 

After the interval, France increased their lead through Paul Pogba, whose performances in the tournament deserved a goal in its final. 

Quick fire strikes by Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe midway through the second half put France on course for the title but Mandzukic was gifted a goal by French keeper, Hugo Lloris, to set up a nervous last 20 minutes.

France, however, withstood a spirited Croatia assault to lift the trophy for the second time, following their success on home soil 20 years ago, and ensure there was no repeat of two years ago when they were beaten in the European Championship final by Portugal in Paris.

The victory means that Didier Deschamps, captain of the 1998 side, becomes the third man to win the World Cup as player and coach after Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.

It was the highest-scoring final since England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra-time in 1966 and the highest in normal time since Brazil beat Sweden 5-2, 60 years ago. The landmarks came thick and fast in the first half too.

Croatia had started full of energy but fell behind when Mandzukic, who scored the extra-time winner against England in the semi-final, became the first man to score an own goal in a World Cup final when a Griezmann’s free kick skidded in off his head in the 18th minute. It was the 12th own goal of the tournament.

That meant it was the fourth successive knockout game that Croatia had conceded first but Perisic, who got the equaliser against England, was on hand again to level the scores 10 minutes later, smashing in a low shot after Sime Vrsaljko had headed Luka Modric’s free kick across the box.

But it was then Perisic’s turn to go from hero to villain when he flapped an arm at a corner and, after a VAR review, Argentine referee, Nestor Pitana, awarded the 28th penalty of the tournament, another record, which Griezmann stroked home in the 38th minute for his fourth goal of Russia 2018.

That made it the highest-scoring first half since 1974, when West Germany led the Netherlands 2-1, also the final score then.

It was harsh on Croatia, who had made most of the running, and they were on top again after the break, continually winning their one-on-one duels in the air and in every tackle and forging forward in the French box with plenty of variety.

Expectedly, Griezmann was voted Budweiser Man of the Match.

Confusion Persists over Nigeria’s Daily Petrol Consumption Figures

Chineme Okafor in Abuja    

Confusion has continued to trail the claim by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that Nigeria consumes 50 million litres of petrol, according to THISDAY checks.

THISDAY gathered that the NNPC, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) have stuck to conflicting figures of 50 million litres, 45 million litres and 30 million litres, respectively.

This development is coming as the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has expressed its readiness to invest additional $3 billion in its existing stakes in offshore oil and gas operations in the country.

THISDAY had reported yesterday that the NNPC and the DPR were in disagreement over the country’s petrol consumption figures, with the corporation reportedly accusing the DPR of making a presentation that was contrary to its claims to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).

In a letter from the NNPC to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to state its position in the recent controversy surrounding remittance to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), the DPR reportedly told the NGF that NNPC’s claims were suspicious.

But the NNPC said the regulatory agency intentionally did that to embarrass the government.

A highly placed official in the PPPRA has added a fresh perspective to THISDAY’s exclusive report on the reported controversy.

While the NNPC claimed that the country’s daily consumption was averaging 50 million litres, and at some points got to 60 million litres, the PPPRA source who asked not to be named in this report, explained the agency had maintained a 35 million litres per day consumption figure but sometimes mark up to 45 million during periods of national religious celebrations and holidays which push consumption a bit up.

He noted that the agency had never marked up daily consumption to 50 and 60 million litres.

“Consumption is always high during the festive period because people usually travel and there are lots of consumption.

“PPPRA in the past had always placed daily consumption between 30 and 35 million, but the figure rises to 40 to 45 million during the festive periods,” explained the source, who suggested the NNPC might be exploiting its current role as a sole importer.

Further, THISDAY’s review of the latest petrol products stock data of the PPPRA, which was last updated on July 8, indicated that the country’s total average consumption for petrol was 45 million litres; diesel, nine million litres; household kerosene, eight million litres and aviation fuel, 1.5 million litres.

The document stated that the country’s total petrol stock – marine and land based, was 1,462,329,507 litres, with 32 days sufficiency, which when calculated gave a daily consumption ratio of 44.9 million litres.

The spokesman of the DPR, which is the apex regulator of the oil and gas industry, Mr. Paul Osu, could not be reached yesterday for his official reaction but an official of the Downstream Division, who opted not to be quoted because of the sensitive nature of the issue, told THISDAY that the NNPC operates like a cult, whose activities are not transparent.

He noted that the efforts by the successive administrations to open up the NNPC failed, adding that the figures being bandied by the NNPC as the country’s daily consumption for petrol were false.

According to him, Nigeria does not consume more than 30 million litres of petrol daily.

“It is false for NNPC to claim high figures. We are not consuming more than 30 million litres daily. But the NNPC operates like a cult and it did not start today. It has always been like that. Successive members of the National Assembly have tried to unravel the mystery behind the cult-like operation of the NNPC but nothing changed. NNPC will go to the National Assembly and make presentations and the matter will end. It is only when you get to the level of the presidency that you will understand how the NNPC operates,” he explained

When contacted yesterday, NNPC Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, refused to comment.

CNOOC to Invest $3bn

Meanwhile, the CNOOC has expressed its readiness to invest additional $3 billion in its existing stakes in offshore oil and gas operations in the Nigeria, the NNPC has disclosed.

According to Ughamadu, in a statement he sent to THISDAY in Abuja, a team of CNOOC’s top executives was at the corporation recently over the planned investment.

Ughamadu explained that the team was led by CNOOC’s Chief Executive Officer, Yuan Guangyu, who reportedly described the company’s investment in Nigeria as the most strategic and important overseas business undertaking.

He said CNOOC had invested over $14 billion in its Nigerian operations, and called on the management of the NNPC to seek common grounds of beneficial interest with CNOOC for enhanced productivity.

Guangyu also said Nigeria had remained the largest investment destination for CNOOC.

The statement quoted the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who was represented by the corporation’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ventures, Dr. Victor Adeniran, to have thanked CNOOC for its interest in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

He said the corporation was open to new investments and would foster meaningful and mutually beneficial relations with credible entities like CNOOC.            

The statement added that the CNOOC was founded in 1982, and is one of China’s three big national oil entities. It added that CNOOC was originally focused on offshore upstream exploration and production, while the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) was slanted towards onshore upstream exploration and production.

SINOPEC, the third of the tripod, it explained was focused on refining and marketing.