International Football
Against Ghana, Super Eagles aim at 185th World Cup qualifying goal and even more
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
No African side has scored more World Cup qualifying victories than Nigeria whose aggregate currently stand at 62 wins in 111 games -a win rate of 56.36 percent.
Till the last weekend when they played goalless with the Black Stars, they have scored 184 goals in 111 World Cup qualifying matches.
The last goal, scored under a minute of kick-off was against Cape Verde last November in Lagos. It was similar to the under a minute goal scored by Tijanni Babangida in the 3-0 defeat of Ghana 21 years ago in Port Harcourt.
It was in the same city that Nigeria became the first African team to hit a milestone of 100 goals when Victor Agali scored the second of Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat of Sudan on 27 January 2001.
Coincidentally, it was against Ghana that Nigeria first scored a World Cup qualifying goal when Dejo Fayemi scored in a 4-1 loss in Accra 62 years ago.
Ever since, there have been milestone goals, the last of which is the 180th scored by Leon Balogun in the 2-0 away win over Central African Republic last October.
NIGERIA’S WORLD CUP QUALIFYING MATCHES’ MILESTONE GOALS
No. Scorer Match/Scores Goal Date 1st Dejo Fayemi Ghana 4-1 Nigeria 2-1 August 28, 1960 10th Sam Garba Okoye Ghana 1-1 Nigeria 0-1 May 18, 1969 20th Yakubu Mambo Nigeria 2-1 Congo 2-1 August 2, 1969 30th Thompson Usiyen Nigeria 4-0 Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 July 10, 1977 40th Godwin Uwelimo Egypt 1-3 Nigeria 1-3 October 21.1977 50th Humphery Edobor Nigeria 3-0 Liberia 2-0 October 10, 1984 60th Wole Odegbami Nigeria 1-0 Gabon 1-0 January 7, 1989 70th Rashidi Yekini Nigeria 4-0 South Africa 4-0 January 7, 1989 80th Rashidi Yekini Nigeria 4-0 Cote d’Ivoire 4-0 September 25, 1993 90th Emmanuel Amuneke Nigeria 3-0 Kenya 2-0 June 7, 1997 100th Victor Agali Nigeria 3-0 Sudan 2-0 January 27, 2001 110th Tijjani Babangida Nigeria 3-0 Ghana 2-0 July 29, 2001 120th Obafemi Martins Rwanda 1-1 Nigeria 1-1 June 5, 2005 130th Nwankwo Kanu Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe 4-1 October 8, 2005 140th Osaze Odemwingie Nigeria 4-1 Sierra Leone 3-1 June 6, 2008 150th Obafemi Martins Kenya 2-3 Nigeria 2-3 October 14, 2009 160th Victor Moses Nigeria 2-0 Ethiopia 1-0 November 16, 2013 170th Mikel Obi Nigeria 4-0 Cameroon 2-0 September 1, 2017 180th Leon Balogun CAR 0-2 Nigeria 1-0 October 10, 2021 184th Victor Osimhen Nigeria 1-1 Cape Verde 1-0 November 13, 2021
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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