International Football
Flight to Qatar 2022 begins in Lagos for Super Eagles
Three-time African champions Nigeria will commence the process to earn a seventh FIFA World Cup finals appearance when they trade tackles with the Lone Star of Liberia at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on Friday evening, in one of the Day 1 games of the African qualifying campaign.
Since making their debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in 1994, the Eagles have only been missed participation in the finals once – the 2006 edition in Germany. They were denied of that berth courtesy of CAF’s head-to-head rule that favoured Agnola.
In 17 previous clashes with Liberia’s Lone Star, the Super Eagles have won 10 matches, drawing three and losing four. One of the four losses was in Monrovia in July 2000, when a team led by the man who is now that country’s President (George Ousmanou Oppong Weah) shot 2-0 ahead before Sunday Oliseh pulled one back for a 1-2 loss for Nigeria in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
That win catapulted the Lone Star to the top of the group, and the Eagles had to battle hard to snatch the ticket with wins in their last three matches, including away to Sudan and home to Liberia and Ghana.
However, in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture, the Eagles rallied to a 2-2 draw in Monrovia and stung the Lone Star 6-1 in the second leg in Calabar.
Friday’s match will see the Eagles leap to top of the group with a win, after group mates Cape Verde and Central African Republic battled to a 1-1 stalemate in their Day 1 encounter in Douala, Cameroon on Wednesday.
Central African Republic are playing their home games in Cameroon as CAF has certified none of their home venues worthy of hosting international matches.
As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic and preventive measures, protocols and guidelines, CAF has allowed that only 5,000 spectators be accommodated at the Teslim Balogun Stadium for the match.
A total of 29 players out of the 30 invited by Coach Gernot Rohr for the two games against Liberia and Cape Verde (defender Kevin Akpoguma was knocked out by illness) have been training in Lagos for the matches, and will have a final preparation on Thursday evening.
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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