International Football
BREAKING: AMERICA – BOUND IGHALO CONSIDERS RETURN TO SUPER EAGLES
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
With time running out on his loan spell at Manchester United, Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo is now considering a return to Super Eagles and a possible move to America’s Major League Soccer, MLS.
The striker whose last year’s January last day transfer to Manchester United hit global headlines told ESPN’s popular Interview programme, ‘Alexis Meet Nunes’ on Thursday that he was in good communication with Super Eagles’ manager and a return to the national team may be in the offing.
“I have good relationship with Gernot Rohr and at a time he wanted me to return to the team because he finds it difficult to seeing me play for Manchester United and not playing again for the Super Eagles.
“Although I retired from the team very early due to injury before the AFCON for eight weeks and unfortunately, I left the tournament with another injury and considering the travels from China wasn’t good from for me and have to look at other options of giving the younger ones a chance.
“I miss everyone in the team and if the need arises, I will want to play at another World Cup finals or the African Cup of Nations if not both tournaments but for now I will want the young lads to enjoy themselves,” he said in the television interview.
In a related development, with his loan move from Chinese side, Shanghai Shenhua, set to end on Jan. 31 after a year at Old Trafford the Nigerian star is waiting before making a decision on his next move but has said he would “love” the opportunity to play in the U.S.
“Today, I’m in Manchester but at the end of the month I don’t know where I’m going to be,” Ighalo told ESPN. “If it’s possible I’d like to stay here but if not I have to go.
“I have options. I wait for my agent. He is doing his job and I’m doing mine. At the end of the month, we have to decide what is best and we’ll take it. If it’s possible I’d like to play in MLS but I have to wait to see if it’s possible.
“The league is doing well and if the opportunity arises then I’d grab it with two hands,” he said.
In the finals days of the loan spell at Manchester United, things are not rosy for the Nigerian the arrival of Uruguay star, Edinson Cavani in the summer, it is unlikely United will extend Ighalo’s stay.
But if he leaves at the end of the month, the 31-year-old said he will do so having fulfilled his dream of playing for the team he supported as a boy in Lagos.
“I never believed I’d play for United,” he said. “Where I come from, we fight because of United games.
“We quarrel. We argue. When my team hasn’t done well, I’ve cried. I grew my love for United since I was young and I’m the happiest man on Earth for my dream to come true. I’ve fulfilled my dream to play for Man United.”
It was a surprise when United turned to Ighalo to fill the void left by the injured Marcus Rashford in January 2020. And not least to Ighalo himself.
“When the talk started I didn’t believe it,” he said. “I didn’t believe my agent.
“But I got a call from my agent that Man United wanted to do the deal at about 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. Shanghai time and I didn’t sleep until day break.
“They said I would need to take a pay cut but I said I don’t care, whatever the pay cut needs to be, just make this deal happen. This is my dream. I was on my bed praying. I didn’t sleep for two days. I didn’t believe it until I landed at Manchester airport.”
Ighalo made a key contribution to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team at the end of last season, scoring five goals in 19 appearances as United reached the semifinals of the FA Cup and Europa League, as well as finishing third in the Premier League to secure a return to the Champions League.
He has found opportunities harder to come by this term but it has not dented his appreciation for the chance to live out his dream.
“I’m a professional, I don’t make trouble and I don’t complain,” he said. “I just go to training and give my best.
“Lately I haven’t been playing much but it’s the coach’s decision. If I’m not in the team and give them 100% support. The team is doing well and that’s the most important thing.”
International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.
Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.
FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.
Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.
By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.
Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.
“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.
“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”
LONGER HALFTIMES
Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.
“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.
“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”
The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.
“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.
FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.
“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.
“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”
FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.
“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
-Reuters
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Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.
Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.
“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.
“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”
Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.
After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.
-Reuters
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International Football
From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro
“I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro
Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil.
However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.
Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.
Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).
He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.
His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.
These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people. I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,” he insists
The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius.
“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.
‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”
Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.
“Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: “I want to continue it.”
-Marca
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