International Football
Nigeria Beat Ghana, Secures WAFU Semi Finals Ticket
Home-based Super Eagles bounced back at the brink of elimination to secure a ticket to the semi finals of the WAFU Nations Cup holding in Ghana.
The Nigerian side beat the hosts, Ghana, 2-0 thus enabling the duo to the semi final stage which Ghana had before the match picked a slot. The two goals came within a space of three minutes
The other Group A encounter, Mali versus Guinea, played simultaneously with the Ghana versus Nigeria clash almost upstaged Nigeria as Guinea shot into an early lead through Abdoulaye Naby Camara in the seventh minute.
A win by any of Mali or Guinea would have spelt doom for Nigeria if the Eagles had failed to win. As at half time, it appeared Nigeria would be eliminated as the Eagles had failed to score.
But second half goals from Anthony Okpotu and Peter Moses handed Nigeria changed the situation, giving Nigeria a 2-0 win. By that time, the flames were going off for Guinea as Abdoulaye Naby Camara which shot his side ahead had also scored an own goal that eliminated both sides, ending scores at 1-1.
In the other match, Super Eagles started fast and created their first chance on goal in the sixth minute when John Friday intercepted a bad back pass and was left with just the keeper to beat, but he fluffed his shot wide.
According to Ghanasoccernet, a minute later Ghana suffered a big set-back when Isaac Twum left the field injured and was replaced by Ahmed Adams.
Nigeria continued to boss the game and almost scored in the 13th minute when Anthony Okpotu broke behind Black Stars defence and even beat the keeper with his shot, but defender Vincent Atingah made it back to clear the ball off the goal line.
Three minutes later Peter Moses was on the attack for the Super Eagles when he drove into the box from the right flank, beating two defenders before seeing his 14-yard shot superbly saved by the keeper.
On the half hour Ghana finally created their first scoring opportunity when Emmanuel Lomotey met a corner with a strong header, but his effort skimmed the wrong side of the crossbar.
Ten minutes later Felix Addo muscled his way into space inside the Nigerian box, but saw his ten-yard strike well-saved by the Ghanaian shot-stopper.
Eight minutes into the second half Nigeria took the lead when Anthony Okpotu showed great strength to hold his marker off to get on the end of a through ball and clinically fired home from six-yards out, 1-0.
Three minutes later the Super Eagles doubled their lead courtesy of a thunderous 20-yard strike from Peter Moses which found the corner of the net, 2-0.
Ghana tried to find their way back into the match, but struggled to penetrate the Nigerian defence.
The Black Stars did almost score in the 72nd minute when Emmanuel Lomotey unleashed a powerful long-range free-kick, but his effort was brilliantly saved by the keeper.
That was as close as Ghana came to finding a goal as Nigeria won the game 2-0 and with it progressed into the semi finals of the competition along with the Black Stars.
With the other Group A game between Mali and Guinea ending 1-1 at the Nduom Sports Stadium it leaves Ghana top of the standings with six points, followed by Nigeria with five points.
Guinea and Mali were left with two points apiece in third and fourth place respectively.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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