International Football
ARGENTINA COACH BEGINS PLAYERS’ MONITORING AHEAD OF WORLD CUP
BY BOLAJI OKUNOLA.
Argentina’s coach, Jorge Sampaoli has begun a tour of the various European leagues to monitor prospective players who will make his final squad to this summer World Cup in Russia.
Like in four of the last six World Cup tournaments, Argentina will again be facing Nigeria apart from drawing two other group opponents for the first time – Iceland and Croatia.
According to information gathered by www.sportsvillagesquare from ESPN, Sampaoli has up to 60 players in his radar. Kwese ESPN quoting local media in Argentina reported that the 57 year old coach left the Argentine capital city, Buenos Aires for Spain on Tuesday accompanied by his assistant Sebastian Beccacece and fitness coach Jorge Desio.
They told the local TyC Sports: “Our first stop will be Barcelona where we will talk with [Javier] Mascherano and Leo [Messi]. We will then go to Seville, Manchester, London, Liverpool and many more places.
“It’s going to be a very long and very extensive tour. We will meet many players and I hope we make the most of it. We want to gain time. I will be talking to coaches of players that we are following, watch the training sessions and speak to players. The idea is to draw conclusions that will be positive with respect to the future.”
Asked if this tour will be crucial when considering the final squad, Sampaoli said: “No, I don’t think so. There will be a lot more events in the future that will determine a list that right now is conformed of 45 to 60 players, but has to be reduced to 23.
“There are going to be players in and out depending on form and injuries. That is what we will consider when making the final evaluation.”
One player that Sampaoli is keen to see is Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo who returned to action two months ago after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a knee ligament injury.
“We are monitoring Rojo and we saw his last performances,” Sampaoli said. “We know that Rojo is getting in shape. He is a player that is always under consideration for selection. He has experience. We will talk to him as we haven’t had the opportunity to do so yet.”
Everton centre-back Ramiro Funes Mori is also a step closer to first-team return.
Funes Mori tore his meniscus while on international duty with Argentina back in March and underwent further knee surgery in July.
“We know that he [Funes Mori] has been training with the team for the past few weeks,” Sampaoli said. “We are going to talk to him.”
Sampaoli also confirmed meetings with Gonzalo Higuain and Mauro Icardi in Italy.
Serie A’s leading scorer with 17 goals in 19 league starts for Inter Milan, Icardi missed Argentina’s last two games of 2017 through injury.
Higuain has also been in good form, scoring nine goals and setting up three more for Juventus.
The 30-year-old forward played 45 minutes in Sampaoli’s first match in charge against Brazil in September but he has not been named in a squad since.
“One of our planned visits on this trip is to see Gonzalo [Higuain],” Sampaoli said. “We will also take advantage and see Mauro [Icardi] in Milan.”
Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa, who has not featured for Argentina under Sampaoli, will also get a visit from the national team coach.
“I want Angel [Correa] and others to know that even though they have not been called up yet they are being monitored by us,” Sampaoli said.
La Albiceleste booked their place in Russia next summer with a 3-1 win against Ecuador, courtesy of Messi’s hat trick. However, going into the game they were in danger of either having to go through a playoff to secure their place at the finals or missing out altogether.
“Our intention is to experience this year with intensity, with a lot of passion but also with a lot of wisdom in order to have the right vision,” Sampaoli said.
Argentina will face Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria in Group D of the World Cup.
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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Nigeria’s Super Eagles were held to a 2-2 draw by FIFA World Cup-bound Jordan in an eventful international friendly in Antalya on Tuesday night, with the contest overshadowed by a late red card to Alex Iwobi.
Iwobi, making his 98th appearance for the national team, was sent off in the closing stages, capping a dramatic encounter in which Nigeria surrendered a first-half lead and finished the game with ten men.
The match, played at the Mardan Sports Complex, brought Nigeria’s March international window to a close, but it proved anything but routine as both sides delivered a fiercely contested and entertaining clash.
Jordan, ranked 64th in the world and enjoying strong recent form, struck first in the 17th minute through Mousa Tamari. A well-worked free-kick routine caught the Nigerian defence napping, allowing the forward to fire home the opener.
Nigeria responded quickly and thought they had equalised six minutes later when Raphael Onyedika finished from a Moses Simon cut-back, but the goal was controversially ruled out.
The Super Eagles eventually drew level in the 30th minute. Stand-in captain Moses Simon, earning his 97th cap, reacted fastest after Ademola Lookman’s effort was blocked, slotting home with a composed left-footed finish for his second goal in as many matches.
Nigeria went ahead four minutes before halftime when Bright Osayi-Samuel’s pinpoint cross found debutant Emmanuel Fernandez, who showed great composure to control and finish, giving the three-time African champions a 2-1 lead at the interval.
The second half took on a more physical tone, with goalkeeper Francis Uzoho forced off in the 57th minute after sustaining an injury while clearing the ball. Adebayo Adeleye replaced him between the posts.
Head coach Eric Chelle introduced Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi to shore up the midfield, but Jordan continued to press and were rewarded with an equaliser in the 77th minute.
Nigeria pushed for a winner late on, handing a senior debut to Philip Otele, while Samuel Chukwueze came on for Moses Simon. However, the closing moments were marred by Iwobi’s dismissal, leaving the Super Eagles to see out the match with ten men.
Despite the draw, the encounter offered valuable insights for the coaching crew as Nigeria continues preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
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By Kunle Solaja
Match Context
- Fixture: Jordan vs Nigeria
- Venue: Antalya, Turkey
- Occasion: Four-Nation Invitational Tournament
- Kick-off: Tuesday (evening)
They would have loved facing Jamaica in Mexico today for a place at the World Cup, but fate has other plans, and Nigeria’s Super Eagles will be taking on World Cup debutants Jordan in a friendly match instead in Turkey.
The encounter promises to be a revealing contest for both sides as preparations intensify for future global assignments.
The encounter, staged as part of a four-nation tournament in Turkey, will be the third meeting between the two countries, with the head-to-head record finely poised.
History Beckons in Third Meeting
Nigeria claimed a 2-0 victory in their first clash at the National Stadium, Lagos, on 28 April 2004 during the LG Cup.
However, the tables turned in 2013 when a largely experimental Nigerian side under the late Stephen Keshi suffered a 1-0 defeat in Amman, courtesy of a Hatem Aqel penalty.
This latest meeting now serves as the decider in what has quietly become a balanced rivalry.
Jordan arrive in buoyant mood, riding on the crest of a historic achievement, which is their first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup (2026).
Jordan’s Al-Nashama
Their recent form underlines a team growing in confidence and tactical discipline. In the past months, Al-Nashama have:
- Held Russia (0-0)
- Defeated Dominican Republic (3-0)
- Drawn with Mali (0-0)
- Narrowly lost to Bolivia (1-0) and Albania (4-2)
- Pushed Tunisia (3-2 loss) in a competitive encounter
They also opened this invitational tournament with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica, further evidence of their resilience.
The team’s preparations have been boosted by a morale-lifting visit from Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, President of the Jordan Football Association, during their Antalya training camp.
Coach Jamal Al-Salami has deliberately scheduled matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica, citing their stylistic similarity to World Cup opponents such as Argentina, Austria, and Algeria.
Despite missing several key players, including star forward Mousa Ta’mari, Jordan have continued to show depth, blending senior players with youth prospects as part of a broader developmental strategy.
Nigeria head into the clash with renewed confidence after a 2-1 victory over Iran in their opening game of the tournament, with goals from Moses Simon and Akor Adams.
Unlike previous meetings, the Super Eagles are expected to field a full-strength squad, packed with Europe-based stars, something Jordanian observers have already described as a “heavyweight challenge.”
The squad boasts a blend of experience and attacking flair.
The presence of multiple attacking options gives Nigeria a clear edge going forward, while their physicality and pace could pose serious problems for the Jordanians.
Jordan are expected to adopt a compact, disciplined shape, relying on quick transitions and defensive organisation, qualities that earned them results against stronger opposition in recent friendlies.
Nigeria, by contrast, will likely dominate possession, using width and individual brilliance to break down Jordan’s defensive lines.
The key battle may lie in midfield, where Jordan’s structure will be tested against Nigeria’s blend of strength, technique, and tempo.
For Jordan, this is another step in fine-tuning a squad preparing for its historic World Cup debut—a chance to measure themselves against elite opposition.
For Nigeria, it is an opportunity to assert authority, build cohesion among its star-studded squad, and maintain momentum ahead of more competitive fixtures.
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