International Football
Flash back: Super Eagles suffer heaviest World Cup defeat
By KUNLE SOLAJA
At the ongoing Euro 2020, Denmark at the weekend marched into the quarter finals after their 2-0 defeat of Netherlands on Sunday (26 June).
In the encounter, Patrik Schick scored his fourth goal of the tournament to bring into memory, the famous 4-1 defeat of Nigeria on this date at the France ‘98 World Cup.
Co-incidentally, it was also a Round of 16 match! Till date, it remains Nigeria’s worst defeat in all 21 World Cup matches the Super Eagles have played
Never since the 30 October 1955 Jalco Cup encounter in which the then Gold Coast (now Ghana) beat Nigeria’s Red Devils 7-0 in Accra had a Nigerian national team been so humiliated as it happened on this date 28 June 1998.
So much was expected from the Nigerian national team that the entire France ’98 followers were shocked when the team was beaten 4-1 by Denmark, which owed its qualification into the Round of 16 to being one of the lucky third placed teams at the group stage.
The effect was not as shocking as the 5-1 loss to Algeria in the opening game of the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations from which the Super Eagles later recover and got to the final.
But this time, the world had expected Nigeria, which had beaten two European sides, Spain by 3-2 and Bulgaria by 1-0 to do the same to Denmark and set up for the first time, in the World Cup a quarterfinal clash of reigning Olympic champions and World Cup holders.
The players that won the Atlanta ‘96 Olympic gold medal composed the bulk of the Super Eagles. Brazil, the current World Cup holders had already scaled into the quarterfinals.
But the clash was not to be. Nigeria crumbled miserably 4-1 on a night the duo of Uche Okechukwu and Rashidi Yekini played their last international matches.
The match was barely three minutes old when Peter Moller put Denmark ahead. Brian Laudrup added the second in the 12th minute.
When Ebbe Sand put in the third in the 60th minute, it turned to be the fastest goal by a substitute player in the World Cup history.
He was just 18 seconds on the pitch after coming in as a substitute for Peter Moller.
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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