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International Football

AFTERMATH OF POT ALLOCATION, NIGERIA MAY DRAW FAMILIAR FOES

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

 

The possibility of Nigeria facing Argentina again in the World Cup looms large on Thursday as FIFA allocated qualified teams into four pots for the final draw coming up at Moscow’s State Kremlin Palace on December 1.

Expectedly, Nigeria, ranked 42 has fallen into the last pot along with seven other teams- Serbia, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia.

In principle, teams in the same pot will not meet at the group stage. The principle of drawing the teams into the groups will remain unchanged. This means that no teams from the same confederation, with the exception of UEFA, which could have up to two teams in the same group, will be drawn into the same group.

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With three African teams in Pot 3, Nigeria will therefore draw an opponent only from the following Pot 3 teams: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden and Iran. With the exception of Europe, teams from the same continent are not put in the same group.

Europe sometimes had two teams owing to their higher number of teams than other continents. FIFA decided that only sporting principles were applicable in the allocation of teams into pots.

The three teams in Pot 3 are Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal. The top seeds along with hosts, Russia are in Pot 1. They are Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland and France. Nigeria will draw one of those teams on December 1.

Argentina is the only team in Pot 1 that Nigeria ever faced at the World Cup. Spain leads Pot 2 which also has the last team to qualify, Peru. Others in the Pot are Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Croatia.

Sports Village Square recalls that Spain and England are the only teams in Pot 2 that Nigeria faced at the World Cup.

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But outside that, Nigeria had met Uruguay at the FIFA Confederation Cup in Brazil in 2013, Switzerland in a friendly match on November 20, 2007 in Zurich. Nigeria won the encounter, 1-0 through a goal scored by Taiye Taiwo,

Apart from the goalless outing at the World Cup 2002, Nigeria had also met England in a friendly match on November 16, 1994. In fact it is exactly 23 years this Thursday that the match was played on the sacred turf of old Wembley.

Nigeria had met Colombia twice in the past. The first was in Cali on November 19 2008. Nigeria lost 0-1. When Nigeria met Colombia again in the preparation for South Africa 2010, the encounter in Milton Keyne in England ended 1-1.

Mexico had met Nigeria five times in the past. The first time was a 1-1 draw at the then Intercontinental Cup (now FIFA Confederations Cup) in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Mexico excelled 5-4 on penalties. Next was the 2-1 defeat of Nigeria in Dallas, in the 1995 US Cup, before a 2-2 draw in Mexico City on October 10, 2007 and another 2-2 draw on June 1, 2013. Both sides met again in another friendly match that ended goalless in Georgia, United States on March 6, 2014.

The Pot 3 is led by Denmark, the team that knocked Nigeria out at the Round of 16 at France ’98. Also in Pot 3 is Iceland. The only encounter Nigeria had with the country was on August 22, 1981 in Reykjavik. Nigeria lost the friendly match 0-3. It was in the preparation to face Algeria in the final qualifying series for Spain 1982 World Cup.

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Costa Rica is the only team in Pot 3 that Nigeria had never met. Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal are other teams in the Pot 3. Sweden beat Nigeria 2-1 at World Cup 2002.

 

 

 POT 1   POT 2 POT 3 POT 4
Russia   Spain Denmark Serbia
Germany   Peru Iceland Nigeria
Brazil Switzerland Costa Rica Australia
Portugal England Sweden Japan
Argentina Colombia Tunisia Morocco
Belgium Mexico Egypt Panama
Poland Uruguay Senegal Korea Republic
France Croatia Iran Saudi Arabia

 

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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

German Thomas Tuchel becomes 3rd foreign manager for England

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 - Bayern Munich v VfL Wolfsburg - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - May 12, 2024 Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel looks on before the match REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo

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

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Factbox on England head coach Thomas Tuchel

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Champions League - Bayern Munich Training - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - May 7, 2024 Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel on the pitch during a walk around REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo

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.

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* 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.

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* 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.

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* 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.

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* 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

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Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad

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Mateus Mane in England's colour

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.

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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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