International Football
NATIONS LEAGUE: CONFIDENT ENGLAND READY FOR ICELAND
Iceland will forever bear a scar for English football, after an embarrassing exit at Euro 2016 to a country with a population of less than 1 per cent the pool on offer to the Three Lions.
Four years on, the nations meet today in the Nations League for the first time since that fateful night in Nice, with the visitors in Reykjavik a much-changed side.
Only six of the England squad who lost in the round of 16 in that tournament remain.
Among them, captain Harry Kane, 27, and Raheem Sterling, 25, are now the senior figures in a squad filled with youth, flair and far less fear than the side who were racked by self-doubt after falling 2-1 behind just 18 minutes into that famous defeat by Iceland.
Phil Foden, 20, and Mason Greenwood, 18, have been handed their first senior call-ups after impressing for Manchester City and Manchester United respectively since football returned from the coronavirus shutdown in June.
They could be two of the beneficiaries of the one-year delay to the European Championship, with England one of the favourites for a tournament they will largely play on home soil next summer.
“They are realistic challengers,” said England boss Gareth Southgate about Foden and Greenwood’s prospects for Euro 2020.
Both will have to fight their way into one of the most star-studded front lines in world football, one which already boasts Kane, Sterling, Greenwood’s United teammate Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund.
Southgate added: “We’re a year away from a European Championship, let’s see if they can break into that team. It gives us great competition for places.”
Neither player seems to lack confidence when it comes to making an impact on international football.
Greenwood has been hailed by former England greats Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney for his ability to finish clinically with either foot. He scored 19 goals in his breakthrough season.
Foden also has lofty ambitions as he hopes to be the man to fill David Silva’s shoes at City next season.
Named player of the tournament when England won the Under-17 World Cup three years ago, he has already experienced success at international level.
He and England’s new generation still have to prove themselves at senior level, but they are providing far more cause for optimism than the crop that will forever be remembered for crumbling to Iceland.
Meanwhile, Spain captain Sergio Ramos has praised his side for not giving up the fight, as Jose Luis Gaya snatched a late point in their 1-1 Nations League draw with Germany in Stuttgart on Thursday.
The Germans were seconds away from victory in the League A, Group 4 clash after Chelsea’s new signing Timo Werner gave the hosts a second-half lead, only for Gaya to tap home a Rodrigo Moreno header in the sixth minute of added time.
“We fought until the end. It was a good test for the start of the season,” said Ramos to German broadcaster ZDF.
–AFP
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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