International Football
SUPER FALCON’S ONOME EBI GUNS FOR OMAGBEMI’S RECORD FOR MULTIPLE MATCHES AT WORLD CUP
BY FOLAKE OKEGBENLE.
If Onome Ebi is fielded tonight
by Super Falcons’ handlers in the destiny-shaping match with France, she will,
with 13 games, become the joint-leading African player in the Women’s World Cup
appearance ranking, the same number as compatriot Florence Omagbemi
(1991-2003).
Vastly experienced defender Ebi, this is her fifth World Cup appearance. Her first came in 2003 as part of a Nigeria team that consisted of national legends Perpetua Nkwocha, Precious Dede and Mercy Akide.
The 36-year-old centre-back plays for China PR club Henan Huishang and was named Nigeria’s Player of the Year 2018.
When France and Nigeria meet this Monday night in their last Group A match, it will be the third time both teams ever clashed.
The two previous matches were in favour of France. The first took place in the Women’s World Cup 2011, when Les Bleues prevailed 1-0 thanks to Marie-Laure Delie’s 56th-minute winner. The second match was last year in a friendly match in France. The hosts not only spelt Nigeria with 8-0 win, they added an extra.
France with two matches in the group stage, already qualified for the next round and could be tempted to rest some key players.
The Super Falcons have reached the second round only once, in 1999. France have ventured beyond the group stage three times in four editions, including this one.
Thomas Dennerby is facing France for the third time in the finals of a FIFA competition, having done so twice before as coach of Sweden.
The first meeting was in the Play-Off for Third Place at the Women’s World Cup 2011, which the Scandinavians won 2-1. Sweden lost by the same scoreline in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Football Tournament 2012.
Dennerby is overseeing his 12th Women’s World Cup game and climbs to joint-fifth position in the all- time coaches’ appearance table, alongside Ma Yuanan (China PR), Gero Bisanz (Germany) and Tony Di Cicco (USA).
If his Nigerian charges qualify for the second round, the Swede will join Japanese tactician Norio Sasaki in fourth place.
If picked, Eugenie Le Sommer and Gaetane Thiney will play their 14th match in the competition and equal Laura Georges’ record as the highest-ranking Frenchwoman in the World Cup appearance table.
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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