International Football
Cape Verde promise Nigeria ‘a titanic battle’
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
As the Nigeria Super Eagles get set to consolidate their leadership of the Group C of the World Cup qualifying series this Tuesday, at the Adérito Sena Stadium, in São Vicente, their opponents and hosts, Cape Verde have promised a titanic battle.
Nigeria leads the group with three points having won their matchday 1 fixture against Liberia while Cape Verde scrapped a point from their away duel with Central African Republic last week.
Liberia which Nigeria defeated last Friday bounced back on Monday with a late 1-0 win over Central African Republic to also put pressure on the Super Eagles.
The game with Cape Verde will be the second time ever the Super Eagles will face the chain of island and Africa’s most westerly nation.
Both met in a friendly match in Portugal in January 2013 and the game ended goalless. Century cap seeking Ahmed Musa is the only remaining member of the Super Eagles that played that match.
The NFF triggered the activation of their new partnership deal with Air Peace as the team flew in peace for the five-hour flight to the archipelago nation.
According to the NFF chieftain, Amaju Pinnick who took the back seat at the flight, he left the 12 business class seats for the Super Eagles’ starting line up for the game so that they can stretch their legs and travel in comfort.
For Cape Verde, this Tuesday’s game marks the return of the national team to the Adérito Sena Stadium, in Mindelo after 20 years.
According to local publication, A Nação , Cape Verde central defender Carlos Ponck, who plays for Turkish side, Basaksehir, “the objective is to win the games at home so that the Blue Sharks can continue to dream of the World Cup.
“We have the will, desire, determination and ambition to be in the Worlds, so each game is decisive and we have to take the field to win.
“We know Nigeria are a strong team but we also have our qualities and we’ve been working hard to win the home game,” said Ponck.
Along the same lines, assistant coach of the team, Humberto Bettencourt said that the national combined strategy involves making “the use of their weapons”.
“We know the power of our opponent and we will make use of our weapons, being certain that the objective is to leave with the three points”.
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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