International Football
SUPER EAGLES B SQUAD LANDS IN DAKAR FOR WAFU CUP OF NATIONS
Nigeria’s home-based senior players have arrived in Dakar, capital of Senegal for the 2nd WAFU-FOX Cup of Nations starting in the Senegalese city of Thies on Saturday, 28th September.
A team of 21 players and six officials flew by Air Cote d’Ivoire early on Thursday morning from Abuja to Abidjan, and then connected the Senegalese capital by the same airline.
The updated fixtures show that Nigeria, silver medallists at the inaugural edition staged in Cape Coast, Ghana two years ago, will tango with the Sparrow Hawks of Togo in their first match of the competition at the Stade Lat Dior Thies on Sunday.
It is an opportunity come quickly for the Eagles to avenge their 4-1 lashing by the Hawks in a 2020 African Nations Championship qualifying match in Lome last Sunday.
Victory over the Sparrows in the first elimination round will take the Eagles to the second phase, before the semi finals and the final. The tournament ends on 13th October.
All 16 participating teams will partake in the first elimination round, with host nation Senegal up against Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso against Mauritania, Cote d’Ivoire against Cape Verde and Guinea against Benin Republic.
Sierra Leone, drafted in to replace Morocco that executed a late withdrawal, will be up against Liberia, while Mali takes on Niger Republic and Gambia will tackle Ghana.
21 EAGLES B FOR WAFU CUP
Goalkeepers: Adamu Abubakar (Wikki Tourists); Galadima Mohammed (Nasarawa United); Theophilus Afelokhai (Enyimba FC)
Defenders: Olisa Ndah (Remo Stars); Stephen Manyo (Enyimba FC); Udochukwu Anumudu (Lobi Stars); Okon Nya (Akwa United); Ebube Duru (Lobi Stars); Etboy Akpan (Akwa United); John Lazarus (Lobi Stars);
Midfielders: Sikiru Alimi (Lobi Stars); Fatai Gbadamosi (Shooting Stars); Williams Ukeme (Wikki Tourists); Ndifreke Effiong (Akwa United); Chisom Orji (Collin Edwin Academy); Olatunji Oluwadamilare (Enyimba FC); Samuel Matthias (Akwa United)
Forwards: Sunusi Ibrahim (Nasarawa United); Seth Mayi (Remo Stars); Tosin Omoyele (Plateau United); Mfon Udoh (Akwa United)
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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