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Cameroon release World Cup play-off squad against Algeria 

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Cameroon’s recently appointed coach has handed a first invitation to the country’s senior men’s national team to German-based holding midfielder Gaël Bella Ondoua. Rigobert Song has released a 38-man provisional squad for the Indomitable Lions’ Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff double-header later this March.

Ondoua is the only player preselected for the first time in the list of players dominated by TotalEnergies 2021 AFCON Bronze Medalists.

AFCON 2021 Golden Boot winner Vincent Aboubakar, spearheads the squad which also includes current UEFA top scorer Karl Toko Ekambi of Olympique Lyonnais in France.

The squad of four goalkeepers has 2017 AFCON winner and goalkeeper of the tournament Fabrice Ondoa alongside substitute goalkeeper of the 2021 competition. They are complemented by Congo-based Simon Omossola of AS Vita and Devis Epassy who has featured twice for Cameroon in the current FIFA World cup qualifier.

In defense, Song has picked 14 players, most of whom were at the last with the exception of Jean Claude Billong of Clermont in France and Sacha Boey of Turkish giants Galatasaray. Both players missed the AFCON because of injuries and return to compete for a spot with the likes of; deputy captain Michael Ngadeu, AFCON 2021 revelation Jean-Charles Castelletto, US-based Olivier Mbaizo, Jerome Onguene among others.

There is a bigger competition for spots in the midfield as all seven midfielders Song’s predecessor picked for the AFCON have new company in Jeando Fuchs who has been out of the team for over a year. Swansea City midfielder Olivier Ntcham who turned down a previous invitation in November 2019 is another of the returning options plus newcomers Gaël Bella Ondoua who is having a stellar season at German second tier side Hannover 96.

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Cyprus base Arnaud Djoum- one of the midfield propeller of Cameroon’s fifth AFCON success in 2017, in Gabon is another notable figure returning to the team after as a midfield option.

Napoli’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Martin Hongla, Samuel Oum Gouet are the more established midfielders in the the squad.

Captain Vincent Aboubakar leads the eleven forward in the initial squad with Kevin Soni who is hoping to stay this time around, after he was left out of the AFCON squad.

Eight players in the team came through Song’s Under-23 squad of three years ago, seven of which participated at the 2019 Under-23 AFCON tournament in Egypt.

Record participants – Cameroon with seven appearances at the FIFA World cup face Algeria targeting a fifth appearance, on March 25 at the Japoma Stadium in the first-leg game before jetting to Algeria to face coach Djamel Belmadi’s Desert Foxes in the return game four days later, at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida.

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Full Squad

Goalkeepers

Ondoa Josep Fabrice (FK Auda, Lituania); Devis Epassy (OFI Crete, Greece); Simon Omossola ( Vita Club, DR Cong); Andre Onana (Ajax Amsterdam, Holland)

Defenders:

Onguene Jerome ( RB Salzburg,Austria); Fai Collins (Al-Tai,Saudi Arabia); Moukoudi Harold (Saint Etienne, France); Sacha Boey (Galatasaray,Turkey); Tchamba Duplex (SønderjyskE, Danmark); Mbaizo Olivier (Union Philadelphia,USA); Nouhou Tolo (Seattle Sounders,USA); Enzo Ebosse(SCO Angers;France); Jean Claude Billong (Clermont-France); Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui (Gent, Belgium); Jean Charles Castelleto (FC Nantes, France);

Midfielders:

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Zambo Anguissa (Napoli, Italy); Neyou Yvan (Saint Etienne, France); Onana Jean Emile (Bordeaux-France); Djoum Arnaud (Apollon Limassol, Cyprus); Oum Gouet (KV Mechelen-Belgium); Martin Hongla (Hellas Verona-Italy); Kunde Malong (Olympiakos-Greece); Lea Siliki (Middlesbrough– England); Jeando Fuchs (Peterborough United, England); Olivier Ntcham (Swansea,England); Gaël Bella Ondoua- (Honnover 96-Germany)

Forwards:

Karl Toko Ekambi (Lyon,France); Kévin Olivier Soni (Asteras Tripolis, Greece); Moumi Ngamaleu (Young Boys, Switzerland ): Leandre Tawamba (Al Taawoun, Saudi Arabia); Aboubakar Vincent (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia), Stephane Bahoken (SCO Angers, France); John Mary (Al Shabab, Saudi Arabia); Njie Clinton (Dynamo Moscow, Russia); Ignatius Ganago (RC Lens, France); Eric Choupo-Moting (Bayern Munich,Germany); Christian Bassogog (Shanghai Shenshua – China)

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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International Football

Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat

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Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.

Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.

FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.

Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.

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By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.

Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.

“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.

“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”

LONGER HALFTIMES

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Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.

“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.

“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”

The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.

“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.

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FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.

“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.

“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”

FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.

“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.

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“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.

-Reuters

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Former England and Man Utd midfielder Ince charged with drink-driving

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Championship - Norwich City v Reading - Carrow Road, Norwich, Britain - December 30, 2022, Reading manager Paul Ince applauds fans after the match Action Images/Matthew Childs/File Photo 

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.

Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.

“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.

“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”

Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.

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After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.

-Reuters

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From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro

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I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro

Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil. 

However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.

Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.

Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).

He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.

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His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.

These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people.  I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,”  he insists

The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius. 

“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.

‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”

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Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.

Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: I want to continue it.”

-Marca

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