International Football
SUPER FALCONS TO PLAY ABOUT 10 MATCHES BEFORE WORLD CUP
The Nigeria Football Federation has firmed up plans to provide African champions, Super Falcons, with what could turn out to be their best –ever preparation for the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, thenff.com can reveal.
Participation in the Four –Nation Invitational Tournament in China, 17th – 20th January, will be followed by participation in the Cyprus Women’s Cup (25th February – 7th March), before planned friendly matches with Spain or Canada before a final training camp in Austria that could also take in two tune –up games.
On Tuesday, players and officials of the nine –time African champions were at the Embassy of China in Abuja for visa processing. The team is expected to fly out of Nigeria to China on Monday.
Hosts China, Romania and Korea Republic are the other teams taking part in the four –day invitational.
Overwhelmingly voted as the Women National Team of Year 2018 in Africa at the AITEO-CAF African Football Awards in Senegal on Tuesday, the Super Falcons are determined to adequately prepare and be competitive at this year’s global tournament – a championship in which they have only reached the quarter finals once before, 20 years ago.
Already, the Nigeria Football Federation has announced that the Falcons will have their final camping programme at the same Avita Hotel and Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Austria, where the Super Eagles stayed before flying to Russia to participate in last year’s FIFA World Cup finals.
On return from the invitational tournament in China, the Falcons will begin visa processing for Cyprus, where a 12 –Nation Invitational Tournament awaits between 25th February – 7th March.
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, North Korea, Mexico, Slovakia, South Africa and Thailand are the other nations taking part. Of the lot, Nigeria, Italy, South Africa and Thailand will be going to France.
Spain (who play African team South Africa, as well as Germany and China in Group B) and Canada (who play African team Cameroon, as well as New Zealand and The Netherlands in Group E) have approached Nigeria for friendly matches. Jamaica, who play Australia, Italy and Brazil in Group C, have also written to the NFF expressing interest in playing the Super Falcons.
Nigeria, the only African country to have featured in all previous editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the competition was launched in China in 1991, will tackle host nation France, Korea Republic and Norway in Group A of this summer’s finals.
The Super Falcons will open their account in France against Norway, at the 21,000 –capacity Stade Auguste Delaune in Reims on 8th June, before matches against Korea Republic in Grenoble on 12th June and against hosts France in Rennes on 17th June.
The 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals will hold 7th June – 7th July this year, with France up against Korea Republic in the opening match at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 7th June.
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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