International Football
WAFU CUP: KANU IS MATCH HERO AS SUPER FALCONS DETERMINED TO SWEEP ASIDE NIGER
African champions, Nigeria intend to take all their opportunities when they clash with the senior women team of Niger Republic in Abidjan on Saturday in order to seal a place in the WAFU Women’s Cup Tournament.
The Nigeriens are the standout whipping team of Group B after a 10-0 bashing in the hands of Mali on Thursday evening, just after the Falcons thrashed Burkina Faso’s girls 5-1 at the same Parc des Sports in Treichville.
Former junior international Uchenna Kanu bagged a hat-trick, and was named Woman-of-the-Match. The Burkinabes prosecuted most of the encounter with 10 players after Salimata Simpore was sent off in the 16thminute for the foul that led to the first penalty kick.
Saturday’s clash should be even easier for the nine –time African champions, but they are determined not to take anything for granted as football has continued to prove to be unpredictable.
“We want not just to win, but to win well so that we quickly seal a place in the quarter finals,” said Captain Evelyn Nwabuoku.
A high –score win on Saturday will earn the Falcons an early ticket into the semi finals, take confidence to maximum level and set them in good mood for the concluding stages of the of the sub-regional championship.
Against the Burkinabes, Uchenna Kanu opened scoring as early as the eighth minute, before Captain Nwabuoku and Amarachi Okoronkwo converted penalty kicks. Kanu scored two more goals in the second period before Charlotte Milogo pulled one back for Burkina Faso.
After Saturday’s clash with the Nigeriens, the FIFA World Cup –bound Falcons will tackle high –scoring Mali on Tuesday evening.
According to the team’s programme, the Falcons will fly out of Nigeria to Austria on 21st May, where they will spend two weeks at the world –renown Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf perfecting strategies for the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals. They will arrive in France on 4th June.
At the World Cup finals, holding 7th June – 7th July, the African champions will file out against Norway in Reims on 8th June, take on Korea Republic in Grenoble on 12th June and tango with host nation France in Rennes on 17th 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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