International Football
VIDEO: BANYANA BANYANA SKIPPER, VAN WYK, AIMS TO UPSET FALCONS AND OTHERS
It is bound to be a double challenge for Nigeria and South Africa as both clash on two continental platforms on the same weekend.
While the Super Eagles are away to Bafana Bafana in Johannesburg on Saturday November 17, in the frame of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series, their women counterparts will the next day also slug it out in Ghana at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Falcons have almost consistently beaten South Africa’s Banyana Banyana. But the South African skipper, Janine Van Wyk has remarked that the team plans to do better when the competition begins in Ghana.
The situation for them is further compounded by the fact that another powerhouse in the continent, Equatorial Guinea, has just been reinstated in the group, making Group B, a ‘group of death’.
Janine Van Wyk, addressing the media in a video uploaded by SAFA.net, remarked that the competition in Ghana was a major opportunity for the South Africans to qualify for the Women’s World Cup. She believed that the team had the quality players that can deliver the ticket.
Meanwhile, the head coach of the team, Desiree Ellis, has announced a squad of 21 players. She has selected the bulk of the squad that has been with Banyana Banyana for a long period of time.
The squad also shows a lot of experience with most of the players having taken part in the Women’s AFCON tournament before.
Ellis has also called up two uncapped players – Amanda Mthandi (University of Johannesburg) and Tiisetso Makhubela (Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies).
“It was a difficult task to pin down the final 21 players as they all raised their hands to show how much they want to be part of this magnificent team.
But I am confident that the players we have chosen will do the business for South Africa. Too many times we have close to winning the tournament and I think with the preparations we have had, we feel ready for the competition,” said Ellis.
The former Banyana Banyana captain has also selected four players to be on stand-by – Kholosa Biyana, Rachel Sebati, Thato Letsoso and Hilda Magaia.
The quartet will travel with the squad to Ghana and return to South Africa after the international friendly match that will be played in Accra on Sunday, 11 November.
Banyana Banyana have been drawn in Group B against defending champions Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia.
South Africa will open her account with a clash against the Super Falcons on 18 November, followed by an encounter against Kenya three days later (21 November). Both matches will be played at Cape Coast.
For the final match, Ellis and her charges will travel to the capital Accra to face Zambia on 24 November.
South Africa will be making their 12th appearance at the tournament.
The squad has been in camp since Sunday, 21 October, and will travel to Ghana on Friday.
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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