Germany handed Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who fills in for Ederson at the Premier League champions, his first call-up on Thursday ahead of their Nations League matches against Bosnia and Hungary later in November.

The 32-year-old, who joined City in 2022, plays a back-up role for his club with more appearances in the Champions League and domestic cup competitions than in the Premier League where Brazilian Ederson is first choice.

But Ortega has performed with distinction when he has deputised for Ederson, including late last season when City coach Pep Guardiola called him “a world-class goalkeeper, an exceptional, exceptional goalkeeper.”

Ortega is likely to be the third choice for Germany behind Alexander Nuebel and Oliver Baumann.

Group A3 leaders Germany, who have already qualified for the last eight in the Nations League, host Bosnia on Nov. 16 before traveling to Hungary three days later.

“After making sure of a spot in the quarter-finals we now want to seal top spot in the group,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

“Reaching the Nations League final four next year is an important milestone on our way to the 2026 World Cup.”

-Reuters

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has been appointed manager of his home nation Trinidad and Tobago, the country’s Football Association said on Friday.

Yorke, who won the treble with United as a player, made 72 appearances for Trinidad and Tobago, scoring 19 goals, and was captain at their only World Cup in 2006.

“As a player I experienced some incredible moments in a Trinidad and Tobago shirt. With this squad I hope that can continue as head coach,” Yorke said.

His only managerial experience came at Macarthur FC, where he won the Australia Cup in 2022. The 52-year-old also had a brief spell as assistant manager witht Sunderland and was also assistant with Trinidad and Tobago in 2009.

-Reuters

Saudi Arabia has reappointed Frenchman Herve Renard as manager to replace Roberto Mancini, the Gulf country’s national team announced on Saturday.

Nigeria had struggled to sign Renard as a replacement for Finidi George who resigned last June as the Super Eagles’ head coach.

But the efforts failed, even after waiting for Renard to complete his assignment as the coach of the French women’s team at Paris 2024.

The 56-year-old, who was in charge of the Saudis from 2019 to 2023, takes over from Italian Mancini who left the position as Saudi Arabia coach on Thursday by mutual agreement after 14 months in the job.

“I am back,” Renard, clad in Saudi traditional costume, said in a video published on the Saudi national team’s X social media account.

According to Reuters, Renard’s contract runs until the end of 2025 with an option to extend through the 2027 Asian Cup, the team said in a statement.

Renard had left his job with the Saudis to lead France’s women’s team at the World Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“I did not intend to leave. But when your country knock on your door, you have to respond,” he said in the video.

During his first spell, he led Saudi Arabia to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they surprisingly beat eventual champions Argentina in their opener.

“I did not finish my story with Saudi yet. And thank God, I am back,” added the Frenchman.

He will resume his duties with the Saudis on Oct. 27, with their next World Cup qualifiers away to Australia and Indonesia in November kicking off his second stint, the team added.

Saudi Arabia are third in Group C of Asia’s third round of World Cup preliminaries with five points. They are five points adrift of group leaders Japan after four matches.

They lost 2-0 at home to Japan on Oct. 10 before being held to a scoreless draw by Bahrain five days later.

The top two in each group advance automatically to the World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed sides go into another round of preliminaries with the bottom two finishers eliminated.