International Football
FIFA CONFIRMS NIGERIA’S 41ST POSITION
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
As permutated by the Sports Village Square last Saturday, Nigeria is this Monday ranked 41st by the football governing body, FIFA in its monthly ranking of national teams.
The ranking released this Monday confirms the meticulous calculations carried out by Sports Village Square. This Monday’s ranking is crucial as it will be used in the December 1 final draw for the 2018 World Cup competition.
By the ranking, the Super Eagles are 18th among the 23 of the expected 32 teams for the World Cup. But in reality, Nigeria places 19th as the host country, Russia will be brought from the 63rd position it occupies to be in the top eight ranked team during the draw which holds in State Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
But the 19th position is not permanent. It will change next month when the other nine qualifiers emerge. Some of the potential World Cup-bound teams currently rank higher than the Super Eagles.
Among them are Tunisia and Senegal, possible qualifiers from Africa’s Groups A and D respectively. Tunisia currently ranks 28th as against Nigeria’s 41st. Senegal are in the 32nd position, nine steps higher than Nigeria in the ranking.
Not only African sides are set to push Nigeria down the World Cup draw’s ranking. Four more teams in Europe will join the already qualified 23. As at now, there are eight countries jostling for the four spots. All, except Greece, are ahead of Nigeria.
Greece, currently 47, is the only one among the potential new World Cup qualifiers from Europe whose ranking is below Nigeria’s.
In the other ranking released by FIFA, Peru have climbed into the top ten for the first time in an edition marked by the recent, decisive FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Peruvians, who qualified for an Intercontinental Play-off against New Zealand, were joined in the Ranking’s upper echelons by Spain, who climbed from 11th to 8th on the back of an impressive conclusion to their unbeaten qualifying campaign.
These positions are well captured in earlier story scooped by Sports Village Square at the weekend.
The table makes pleasant reading for many European nations, with Germany holding on to top spot and France (7, up 1), England (12, up 3), Denmark (19, up 7), Scotland (29, up 14) and Austria (39, up 18) among others making significant gains.
The Austrians are one of four new entries to the top 50, where they are joined by Czech Republic (46, up 12), Morocco (48, up 8) and World Cup qualifying sensations Panama (49, up 11). That shake-up has left UEFA with 28 teams in the top 50, up one on last month, a rise that comes at the expense of CONMEBOL, who drop down to eight.
Peru’s historic rise will compensate for that, and Los Incas are one of five nations celebrating their best-ever Ranking position this month. Sharing that distinction are Palestine (84, up 7), Luxembourg (93, up 8), Comoros (127, up 14) and Chinese Taipei (143, up 8).
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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