International Football
Ghana in danger of possible elimination from World Cup qualifying
Ghana and South Africa will go head-to-head in Cape Coast on Sunday for a place in next year’s African World Cup play-offs.
Mali sealed their place in the final round of qualifiers as they beat 10-man Rwanda 3-0 to secure top spot in Group E and join Morocco and Senegal in progressing through the group stage.
Ghana now know any kind of win on Sunday over visiting South Africa will see them through as Group G winners, despite the Black Stars being held to a 1-1 by Ethiopia in Johannesburg.
After their narrow win over Zimbabwe on Thursday Bafana Bafana know that a draw from their trip to Ghana will be enough of them to progress.
Only the group winners will progress to the play-offs next March, when the continent’s five representatives in the Middle East will be decided.
South Africa’s 1-0 win over neighbours Zimbabwe came thanks to Teboho Mokoena, who headed home a beautiful cross from Keagan Dolly in the 26th minute.
The win was enough to put Bafana Bafana three points clear of Ghana at the top of the group but South African fans would have been hoping for more goals to give them more of an advantage.
Earlier in the day in a game also played in Johannesburg, as Ethiopia do not have a stadium that meets international standards, Ghana captain Andre Ayew fired the Black Stars ahead ahead from a free-kick midway through the first half.
However they were pegged back with 18 minutes left as Getaneh Kebede equalised for Ethiopia as he volleyed home.
The Black Stars failed to reach the World Cup in Russia in 2018, while South Africa have not played at the tournament since hosting the first finals in Africa in 2010.
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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