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Nigeria’s Eyes on Cameroon as Festival of Champions Begins

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA

 

Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ manager, Gernot Rohr, is likely to draw a lesson or two from what South Africa’s Stuart Baxter did to get good result when Bafana Bafana beat Nigeria 2-0 at home last Saturday.

The big lesson is not to employ a ‘shot-in-dark’ approach to preparation to important assignments. He must have learnt that it is very important to gather credible intelligent reports on opposing teams.

Even before getting to physically meet his players for the first time, Baxter consulted another coach in South Africa, Gavin Hunt of Bidvest Wits  for information on his players and engaged a Manchester United scout to help monitor Super Eagles’ training and matches in France.

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The result speaks very loud on the essence of monitoring and intelligence gathering. The same South Africa that mauled Nigeria in Uyo could not beat an equally home losing side, Zambia when both met in a friendly later in the week.

The opportunity to monitor Nigeria’s next important opposition comes now that the FIFA Confederation Cup begins in Russia on Saturday.

It is a ‘Festival of Champions’ as six continental cup winners gather along with current World Cup holders and next World Cup hosts. Cameroon, Nigeria’s next World Cup qualifying opponents, as champions of Africa flies the continental flag.

They play in Group B and will meet Chile on Sunday at 7pm Nigerian time at Spartak Stadium in Moscow. The match comes up a little over 24 hours after hosts, Russia, would have met Oceania champions, New Zealand at Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg.

It is at the Saint Petersburg Stadium that Cameroon will be facing Australia, the Oceania-based Asian Football Federation champions.

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Cameroon’s last group match will be next Sunday at the Fisht Stadium, Sochi against the native country of Gernot Rohr, Germany.

The Cameroonians who arrived Russia two days ago are featuring in the Confederation Cup after those of 2001 and 2003. They got to the final match of the latter, even though they had to cope with the tragedy of losing a player, Vivian Foe who slumped and died on the pitch on the road to the final match.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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International Football

Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health

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Brasileiro Championship - Gremio v Flamengo - Arena do Gremio, Porto Alegre, Brazil - September 22, 2024 Flamengo coach Tite REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo

Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.

The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.

“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.

“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.

“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”

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Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.

-Reuters

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Brazil sack coach Dorival after humiliating loss to Argentina

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World Cup - South American Qualifiers - Argentina v Brazil - Estadio Mas Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina - March 25, 2025 Brazil coach Dorival Junior is seen before the match REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.

The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.

“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.

“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.

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Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.

However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.

Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.

Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.

But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.

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Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.

Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.

Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.

Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.

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Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.

Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.

Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.

They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.

-Reuters

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England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game

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England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.

Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.

“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.

Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.

However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.

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“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.

-Reuters

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