International Football
NIGERIA’S COMEBACK KINGS OUT TO PROVE THEIR PEDIGREE – FIFA
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets are on the march again as they face European champions, Netherlands at midnight on Tuesday. The Nigerian side sealed their place in the last 16 with two emphatic comebacks
Three minutes into their debut at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup – a competition that they’ve won an unmatched five times – Nigeria conceded. Gyorgy Komaromi tapped in David Laszlo’s soaring cross at the far post, and Hungary were up on the U-17 juggernauts.
In the second match it looked as if they had turned the tables. Ibrahim Said capitalised on a goalkeeping error to put the Golden Eaglets ahead five minutes after the opening whistle. That lead lasted 51 minutes of match time, until Johan Mina’s penalty goal put the Nigerians in the hole again.
Two matches, two deficits. They were staring at defeat with less than 15 minutes to go on both occasions. And on each, the Africans produced stirring comebacks.
Against Hungary, captain Samson Tijani was the primary difference-maker, netting Nigeria’s first and last goals of a 4-2 victory, the latter coming via free-kick from 30 yards.
“We don’t relent,” Tijani told FIFA.com of his team’s proclivity for late rallies. “We don’t give up easily. We force ourselves to keep pushing until we get the win.”
Said embodied the motto in Nigeria’s second win, completing the only hat-trick of Brazil 2019 thus far with a pair of goals in the 85th and 89th minutes.
His second was the standout, a curling, dipping golazo from outside the left edge of the box. Final score: Nigeria 3, Ecuador 2.
“In my mind, I kept thinking, ‘We should not be losing’,” said Said of the match against La Tri. “It gave me the fire to score a goal like this, along with the help from my team-mates.”
Combining the two wins that ensured their place in the knockout phase, the Golden Eaglets outscored their opponents 5-0 in the final 15 minutes of the match. For Tijani, Said and head coach Manu Garba, when it comes to this competition, Nigeria are special.
“The will to win every game is part of the DNA of every Nigerian team, and my team here in Brazil is no exception,” Garba told FIFA.com before the tournament began.
“It gives us more confidence to push harder, knowing what our country has worked for and that they are behind us,” Tijani said. “So we’ll keep pushing.”
The Nigerians have drawn a formidable opponent in the Round of 16 – one that pulled off a different kind of comeback to reach this stage.
The Netherlands lost their first two matches in Brazil by a combined score of 6-1. Down but far from out, the European champions pummelled USA 4-0 in their final group fixture to burst through.
The Dutch will be coming off their best performance of the tournament when the two sides meet on Tuesday. Nigeria, meanwhile, fell 2-1 to Australia in the their Group B closer. The faith of the Golden Eaglets, however, remains unshaken.
“I know this team and these players possess the effort to keep fighting back, no matter the situation,” said Tijani.
Both of Nigeria’s last-minute triumphs came at Goiania’s Estadio Olimpico. You can guess the location of their showdown with the Oranje.
“We want to bring this World Cup back to Nigeria,” Said said. “I want to make my country proud of the team.”
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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