International Football
Super Eagles assemble for first World Cup qualifier in 21 years in Lagos
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
When the Super Eagles face Liberia in a World Cup qualifier at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Friday, it will be the first time Nigeria will be playing a World Cup qualifying match in Lagos in 21 years.
Nigeria’s last World Cup match in the former capital city was on 20 June 2000 when a largely second string squad comprising siblings of the established squad beat Sierra Leone 2-0 at the National Stadium.
Team officials informed that the camp was formerly opened on Sunday but the invited players are expected to arrive from this Monday 30 August.
The key players from the English and Scottish Premierships are expected this Monday and may likely return after Friday’s match with Liberia following the refusal of UK to allow the players travel to hotspot zones of Covid-19 in which Nigeria’s next opponents next week, Cape Verde are listed.
Except there is a change in the UK stance, Nigeria is condemned to feature almost a new squad in Tuesday’s away match in Cape Verde.
The situation has also condemned the team to fire the full cylinder in their opening match against Liberia as resilience Cape Verde are likely to pick point in Central African Republic and may take the drivers’ seat if they beat a second string Super Eagles next week in Prai.
According to a backroom staff of the Super Eagles, officials are already in camp awaiting the players’ arrivals.
“The coach is very much in touch with all the invited players and all their travel details have been sorted out and what we expect now is total victory for the team as we look ahead of the matches at hand,” the backroom staff disclosed.
The official also confirmed that the likes of Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun who were part of Rangers FC hard earned win against rivals, Celtic Sunday evening won’t arrive camp until Tuesday or Wednesday owing to protocols they will have to undergo after the match.
The same scenario applies to the duo of William Ekong and Oghenekaro Etebo who were part of the losing FC Watford side against Tottenham Hotspurs on Sunday.
The NFF’s option B plan is still much alive owing to the likelihood of most of the players from the United Kingdom to head back to Europe after the home match in Lagos this Friday.
“This was partly the reason why the coach spread his drag nets to virtually far Europe to get the best rest for the team knowing fully well that NFF had put all the logistics in right direction and it won’t be proper to underrate any of the oppositions Nigeria will face in the two matches at hand,” the official remarked.
According to the plans put together by NFF, the match at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on Friday, will kick-off by 5pm and with Eagles travelling to the island of Mindelo to tango with the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde on Tuesday, 7th September where the other invited players will come in when the core Europe players leave the camp.
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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