International Football
WHICH THREE TEAMS COULD NIGERIA DRAW AT WORLD CUP?
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The 32 coaches whose teams made it among the 209 that went through the qualifying series must have heaved sigh of relief the moment their teams secured the qualification for Russia 2018.
Now other sets of worries come in. Before the thought of teams’ compositions, the thoughts are now focused on which teams are potential opponents.
The riddle will be solved at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow when the Final Draw ceremony will hold.
Some of the coaches are new comers to the grand event. One of such is Nigeria’s manager, Gernot Rohr. This is his first World Cup and will be attending the December 1 Draw thinking more of the Super Eagles’ potential opponents.
He carries a lot of burden. Sports Village Square recalls that in an interview he granted last month to French popular sports publications, L’Equipe, he told his interviewers that his target was to take Nigeria to the semi-finals, a point no African team had reached in the past 21 competitions.What goes on in Gernot Rohr’s mind as the World Cup Final Draw beckons?
Only Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana moved as far as quarterfinals in 1990, 2002 and 2010 respectively.
Realizing the lofty objective of reaching the semi-finals begins with getting favourable group draw.
Getting to the semi-finals is not a weird dream as the trio of Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana were within seconds of reaching the stage before mother luck went against them. Take Cameroon for instance in 1990.
Facing England, Cameroon almost caused upset. David Platt had put England ahead midway into the first half. Cameroon levelled up through an Emmanuel Kunde penalty kick. Before England realized what has happened, Cameroon had turned the form books upside down.
Eugene Ekeke put Cameroon ahead off a flick of a pass from ageless Roger Milla. Cameroon were at the brink of semi finals before two penalty kick awards to England changed the tide.
In 2002, Senegal stretched their quarterfinals opponents, Turkey, almost to a breaking point until after extra time when İlhan Mansız of Turkey broke the deadlock by scoring the match’s sole goal in the 94th minute.
Ghana were even more daring but unlucky. Missing a possible match winning penalty kick award and eventually crashed out to Uruguay in a penalty shootout.
With Nigeria expectedly in Pot 4, it means the Super Eagles will not draw opponents from the weaklings as sporting consideration was the sole determinant of the allocations to the pots.
It means Nigeria will not face any of Serbia, Australia, Japan, Panama, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Being in Pot 4 means that Nigeria will be drawn into a group with one team from each of Pots 1, 2 and 3.
In Pot 3, the choice is limited as geographical consideration will ensure that Nigeria is not drawn with any of Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal. Therefore, the scope is narrowed down to Denmark, Iceland Costa Rica, Sweden and Iran.
Here, a repeat of past fixtures of Nigeria in the World Cup looms large. Nigeria faced Denmark at France ’98, Sweden in 2002 World Cup and Iran at Brazil 2014.
The two teams Nigeria had never faced in the World Cup finals are Iceland and Costa Rica, even though the then Green Eagles played a friendly match with Iceland in 1981.
In Pot 2, Nigeria has history of past encounters will seven of the eight teams. Croatia is the only team Nigeria had never met before. But drawing teams like England, Uruguay, Spain or Mexico could be challenging.
Not easy too are possible match up with Colombia or Peru. In Pot 1, the possibility of Nigeria playing the opening match exists if drawn with Russia.
That way, it will be fourth time an African team will be playing the opening match after that of Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and South Africa in 2010.
Incidentally, none of those African teams lost the opening games. Argentina is in Pot 1. A Nigeria versus Argentina match has been a recurring fixture in the World Cup since 1994. The only exception to such recurring fixture was France ’98 where Nigeria drew Paraguay.
The alternative South American team Nigeria could draw is Brazil. A typical group involving Nigeria often has a South American side, one or two European teams or an Asian opponent.
For regional consideration, if Nigeria draws either Uruguay or Colombia from Pot 2, a fixture with any of Brazil or Argentina will not be possible. But if Uruguay and Colombia do not fall into Nigeria’s group, then Argentina or Brazil will come knocking.
Hypothetically, Nigeria’s group will have Argentina/Brazil from Pot 1, any of England, Switzerland and Croatia from Pot 2 and from Pot 3, Iran/Costa Rica or any of the following European teams – Denmark, Iceland and Sweden.
The permutation continues until the draw of December 1.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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