International Football
AMAZING FACTS ON NIGERIA’S WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION OPPONENTS
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles are scheduled to begin their quest for qualification for the 2022 World Cup in October. With Tuesday’s draw, the Nigerians are in Group C along with Liberia, Cape Verde and Central African Republic.
The Nigerian team is one of the 13 out of 56 African teams to have taken part in the previous editions of the World Cup. All the 13 are still in the race.
As usual, www.sportsvillagesquare.com takes an insightful look at the fixtures and comes out with the following points of interest.
- Thirteen African teams have already taken part in the World Cup, and they are all still in the running to grace the 2022 edition: Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Congo DR, Senegal, Tunisia and Togo.
- Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa with four goals, ranks among Africa’s top scorers at the World Cup. The leading African scorers are Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan (six), Cameroon’s Roger Milla (five) and Ahmed Musa (four).
- Nigeria with six victories in 21 matches, leads among African teams in the number of games won at the World Cup. Cameroon and Ghana with four wins each in 23 and 12 matches respectively, jointly follow the Nigerians.
- When the Super Eagles take on Liberia in the week of October 5 to 13, the encounter will mark Super Eagles’ 105th World Cup qualifying match, the second highest in Africa after Morocco’s 112.
- The encounter with Liberia will be the fifth time both teams will meet in a World Cup qualifier having met four times in the 1986 and 2002 qualification series.
- Overall, Nigeria and Liberia have met 18 times in the past across all competitions. What could have been the 19th clash was reduced to an exhibition match owing to the inclusion of President George Weah who featured for 75 minutes for his country in a match that was to mark the ten 51 year old president formal hanging of boots.
- P W D L F A
Nigeria 18 10 4 4 28 15
Liberia 18 4 4 10 15 28
- 8 Oct. 1963 (F) Liberia 2 -2 Nigeria
- 26 Oct. 1963 (F) Nigeria 3-0 Liberia
- 24 Nov. 1972 (F) Liberia 1-2 Nigeria
- 9 Feb. 1975 (F) Liberia 0-0 Nigeria
- 25 Oct. 1979(F) Liberia 1-1 Nigeria
- 26 Jan. 1980 (F) Nigeria 1-0 Liberia
- 3 Oct. 1981 (F) Nigeria 3-0 Liberia
- 20 Oct.1984 (WCq) Nigeria 3-0 Liberia
- 4 Nov. 1984 (WCq) Liberia 0-1 Nigeria
- 18 Jan. 1987 (SCSA) Liberia 2-0 Nigeria
- 30.Jan. 1987 (SCSA) Liberia 2-0 Nigeria
- 28 June. 1987 (OQ.) Liberia 2 -1Nigeria
- 11 Jul. 1987 (OQ.) Nigeria 4-1 Liberia
- 9 Jul. 2000 (WCq) Liberia 2 -1 Nigeria
- 5 May 2001 (WCq) Nigeria 2-0 Liberia
- 28 Jan. 2002 (CAN) Liberia 0-1 Nigeria
- 8 Sept. 2012 (CANq) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 13Oct. 2012 (CANq) Nigeria 6-1 Liberia
- Super Eagles’ other World Cup qualifying opponent is Cape Verde. Nigeria and Cape Verde have met only once. That was a friendly match of both teams on January 9, 2013 in Faro, Portugal. It ended 0-0.
- When Nigeria and Central African Republic meet Central African Republic (CAR), it would be their first ever confrontation. Both were initially in the same qualifying frame for the Argentina ’78 World Cup, but CAR withdrew in the opening round against the then Zaire (now DR Congo) which also withdrew in the second round schedule with Nigeria.
- If on-field results are put into consideration, Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ have an unbeaten run of 35 matches in the World Cup qualifying series. But that was technically broken by Algeria in November 2017 when FIFA reversed the on-field result of 1-1 to a 0-3 loss by Nigeria following Super Eagles’ fielding of Shehu Abdullahi who on account of yellow cards in preceding matches was ineligible. Otherwise, Nigeria’s unbeaten run could have been 35. The figure 34 however still remains the longest in Africa. Nigeria last lost a World Cup qualifying match in Luanda on June 20, 2004 when Angola had a 1-0 win in the race to Germany 2006. Nigeria’s record is the second longest unbeaten run globally after that of Spain’s 59. Nigeria’s 35 unbeaten run is even four ahead that of 2014 World Cup winners, Germany.
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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