International Football
BRAZIL CAPTAIN, ALVES ADMITS, ‘NO EXCUSES’ FOR MISTAKES IN SENEGAL MATCH
Brazil skipper Dani Alves did not mince his words at the mixed zone after Thursday’s Brazil-Senegal friendly that ended 1-1 at the National Stadium.
The 36-year-old right-back said: “After the 2-2 draw against Colombia and the 1-0 loss to Peru, it is now three games without a win, which is not normal for us.
“We are making mistakes but we know this is the Brazil national team we are talking about and there are no excuses.
“We need to produce results and win the next game because in Brazil, results are important.”
In Singapore for the Brazil Global Tour, the five-time world champions fielded a much stronger team than their last visit to the Republic, but produced a more muted performance against a team ranked 17 places below them at world No. 20.
Golden boy Neymar collected his 100th cap for the Selecao, and took only two minutes to complain of an innocuous knock. The flashy backheels, chops and sombreros followed, but the elusive goal did not.
This was largely the script that played out as there was a strangely muted atmosphere compared to the last time Brazil played here, when the Paris Saint-Germain star, then with Barcelona, scored all the goals in a 4-0 win over Japan in front of a 51,577-strong crowd.
Coach Tite tried his best to lift spirits when he sent out his strongest first XI, identical to the one that drew 2-2 with Colombia last month.
Only Neymar remained from the 2014 starting line-up as he linked with fellow fan favourites Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus up front in a 4-3-3 formation, with Casemiro, Arthur Melo and Philippe Coutinho making it a star-studded midfield.
There were also plenty of familiar names in the Selecao defence with Alves, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Alex Sandro protecting goalkeeper Ederson.
It took them just nine minutes to make the breakthrough when Jesus set Firmino free from the right, and the Liverpool forward dinked past Alfred Gomis to make it 1-0.
But the avalanche of goals failed to materialise as Senegal displayed good tactical awareness and positioning to supplement their physical advantage and negate the Brazilian’s fluid passing and movement.
After a minute-long water break in the 27th minute, the Africans’ tenacity and patience paid off in the 45th minute when their main man Sadio Mane charged into the box between Alves and Marquinhos before being bundled over by the latter as referee Muhammad Taqi pointed to the spot.
Despite pleas for Mane to take the kick, it was Famara Diedhiou who calmly slotted into Ederson’s bottom right corner for the equaliser.
For all his showboating and interchanging of positions with Firmino, Neymar was arguably most productive when he allowed two young pitch invaders to take a wefie with him. The 27-year-old looked on in disbelief when he whipped his 69th-minute free kick just over.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said: “We did not follow the plan in the first 10 minutes, but we did very well after that.
“During the break, we discussed and decided to stick closer to key players such as Neymar and Coutinho.
“Brazil are a good team but we are also determined and we managed this result. Unfortunately, we did not win but this is just a friendly and I must congratulate my team for doing a great job and hope that the future will be brighter.”
His opposite number Tite, however, was less than thrilled with the result, saying: “Neymar had been injured and has only just gotten back to the national team. He is still adapting to the way we play.
“We were better in the second half, with more ball circulation. But I am not pleased with the result and overall performance today as they were not what I was looking for. We have more to do.”
His men will have the chance to make amends when they take on world No. 34 Nigeria at the same venue on Sunday.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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