International Football
Mane shines as Senegal beat Togo in World Cup qualifiers
Expectedly, top seeded African team, Senegal beat Togo on home soil in one of the Matchday 1 of the World Cup qualifying series in Africa on Wednesday.
Talismanic Sadio Mane opened the scoring as Senegal earned three points in their opening Group H encounter.
After blazing over the bar in the first half, Mane played a neat one-two before poking home just before the hour as the Liverpool star took full advantage of his ability to represent his nation.
While Mane is free to play since his matches are in countries that are not on the British government’s Covid red list, club colleague Mohamed Salah cannot at home to Angola on Wednesday as Egypt is on the list.
Unburdened by the threat of having to quarantine for 10 days upon his return to England, Mane was lively throughout in a game wrapped up when Abdou Diallo lashed home nine minutes from time.
The victory represents a modicum of revenge for the Senegalese, who could not beat Togo as the Sparrowhawks pipped them to the 2006 World Cup when they last met at this stage.
Senegal travel to Congo on Tuesday, while Togo seek their first points at home to Namibia on Sunday.
Elsewhere, it ended 1-1 as neighbours Guinea-Bissau and Guinea met in a World Cup qualifier for the first time in 25 years.
The game should have been played in Bissau but as the stadium there was deemed unfit by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) last month, it took place in Mauritania.
An available Liverpool player was again in the thick of the action as Naby Keita teed up Francois Kamano for Guinea’s opener before Joseph Mendes earned both sides a point in Group I.
Earlier, Central African Republic (CAR) put aside the difficulties of being barred from using their stadium when drawing 1-1 with Cape Verde as the Group C game marked the very first in Africa’s second round.
The match was played in the Cameroonian city Douala after the national stadium in CAR capital Bangui has also been deemed unfit to host international matches by Caf.
Contesting the second qualifying round for only the second time in their history, CAR earned a vital point as Tresor Toropite fired home from close range after 53 minutes.
This levelled the scores after Julio Tavares had neatly side-footed Cape Verde in front nine minutes before the break, with the visitors then missing two decent chances to extend their advantage.
When they last contested the second round, CAR impressed in their opening game – when registering their sole World Cup qualifying win to date – before losing their remaining five matches.
The next game in Group C takes place on Friday when Nigeria host Liberia.
Wednesday’s evening games see a Salah-less Egypt side host Angola and Gabon travel to Libya, with both games in Group F, while Mali take on Rwanda in Group E’s opening tie.
Like others, Mali should have been playing the game on home soil but will instead take to the field in the Moroccan city Agadir after their stadium did not meet Caf standards.
Mali built new stadiums to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2002 but none are now deemed suitable.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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