International Football
IT’S VICTORIOUS FAREWELL FOR ROONEY
Wayne Rooney believes the future is bright for England as a youthful Three Lions eased past the United States 3-0 at Wembley on his international swansong on Thursday.
Agence France-Presse reports that Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and debutant Callum Wilson grabbed the goals in a dominant England display despite Gareth Southgate fielding a very inexperienced side.
Should England avenge their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat by Croatia on Sunday at Wembley, Southgate’s men can build on the progress made by surpassing expectations in Russia this summer by qualifying for the semi-finals of the inaugural Nations League.
“It’s my opinion that England are in very safe hands from what I’ve seen this week,” said Rooney. “The way they are being coached is brilliant, it’s a great group of young players who have a bright future.
“They will go close to being the next team to bring a trophy back for England.”
The decision to honour Rooney with a first cap for two years divided opinion.
However, the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for the introduction of England’s greatest ever goal-scorer just before the hour mark on his 120th international appearance.
“It will live with me for a long time,” added Rooney.
“It is something which created debate because it was the first time something like this happened, but it is the right thing to do for the players if you achieve and leave your mark on the England team.”
England’s former captain was also honoured before kick-off with a guard of honour and the presentation of a plaque bearing a golden Three Lions badge by current skipper Harry Kane.
“I asked Harry Kane to present me with the award because I believe he will beat my goalscoring record and I look forward to presenting him with the trophy,” added Rooney.
Kane didn’t get the chance to add to his 19 international goals as Southgate prioritised keeping most of his key players fresh for Croatia’s visit on Sunday.
“It has been a brilliant year no matter what happens on Sunday. We’ve had real shoots of progress and achieved some outstanding results,” said Southgate.
“But everybody wants to get to a semi-final out of a very tough group so it would be a really big step forward.”
As Rooney and Kane watched on from the bench for the first 45 minutes, Wilson was handed his chance to impress on his international debut, while Jadon Sancho was given his first start.
England quickly put the game to bed with two goals in as many minutes midway through the first half as firstly Lingard received Dele Alli’s pass before curling high into the far corner.
Sancho has quickly made a name for himself at Borussia Dortmund and the 18-year-old built on his fine Bundesliga form by teeing up Alexander-Arnold to drill his first international goal into the far corner.
As planned, Rooney got the chance to add to his 53 international goals and was handed the captain’s armband one last time when he entered on 58 minutes.
He didn’t get the fairytale ending as Brad Guzan made a fine save to the crowd’s dismay in stoppage time.
However, Wilson did get his goal to cap a dream debut for the Bournemouth striker, who has battled through the lower leagues and two cruciate ligament injuries in both knees to make it to the international stage.
Wilson got ahead of his marker to turn Fabian Delph’s cross in at the near post 13 minutes from time.
International Football
Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad
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.
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
International Football
Soon Cisse ceases to be Senegal’s Coach
After 107 matches spanning nine years, Aliou Cisse will not have his contract renewed as Senegal coach, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Of the 107 matches, Cisse’s team won 70, drew 24 and lost 13.
But the impressive scorecard is not enough to impress his employers.
Thus, the end beckons for Cisse’s successful nine-year spell in charge of the side that included a first Africa Cup of Nations title and two World Cup qualifications.
He had been under increasing pressure after Senegal’s surprise last 16 exit at the 2023 Cup of Nations when they lost on penalties to hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
Senegal are unbeaten in six matches since then, but home draws with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso, and criticism from certain quarters over their style of play, made up the mind of the country’s sports ministry, who fund the salary of the national team coach, that a change was needed.
“The FSF would like to thank Aliou Cisse for his good collaboration and his brilliant results at the head of the various national selections that he has managed since his arrival in 2011 and wish him every success for the future,” the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said in a statement.
FSF added Cisse’s exit stemmed from a failure to fulfil the targets in his last contract, which expired at the end of August, which included victory at the 2023 Cup of Nations and reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
They also said the “regression of our national team in the FIFA rankings and the risk of disaffection between our national team and the Senegalese (public)” had played a role.
The FSF will appoint an interim technical team to lead the side in Cup of Nations qualifiers against Malawi at home on Oct. 11 and away four days later.
Cisse, 48, was captain of Senegal when they reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup with what is heralded as a golden generation of players.
He briefly had a spell as caretaker coach of the national team in 2012, but took over full time three years later.
He led Senegal to 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualification, making the last 16 in the latter before losing to England. They were beaten in the final of the 2019 Cup of Nations by Algeria.
The side made up for that disappointment when they beat Egypt in the final two years later to be crowned African champions for the first time.
International Football
Why FIFA banned Samuel Eto’o
Always in the news for bad reasons, Samuel Eto’o has again made global headlines. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned the former striker and the current president of the Cameroon Football Federation.
He is banned from attending Cameroon’s matches for the next six months for violating conduct rules during the recent U-20 Women’s World Cup, where his national team faced Brazil in the round of 16.
According to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, Eto’o was found to have breached articles 13 (“Offensive behaviour and violations of fair play principles”) and 14 (“Misconduct of players and officials”) of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code.
The sanction stems specifically from the match between Brazil and Cameroon, held on September 11 in Bogotá, Colombia. As a result, Eto’o will be prohibited from attending any matches involving Cameroon’s national teams, both male and female, across all age groups.
“Mr Eto’o has been notified today, the date on which the sanction comes into force,” stated the FIFA press release.
This is not the first time Eto’o has faced controversy. He previously drew attention for his behavior towards players and national team coach Marc Brys, whom he allegedly threatened in front of cameras if his directives were not followed.
During the Qatar World Cup, the former Real Madrid, Mallorca, and Barcelona player made headlines again after assaulting a fan who filmed him outside a stadium after a match.
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