International Football
Algeria were only 10 seconds late to the World Cup
The final night of African qualifying for the World Cup produced high drama and upsets on Tuesday, though the continent’s line-up in Qatar will have a familiar look about it.
Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia participated at the last finals in Russia in 2018, while Cameroon and Ghana were at the finals four years before that.
Both Cameroon and Ghana produced unexpected away success to qualify, eliminating the more fancied Algeria and Nigeria.
Cameroon secured their place with the last kick of the match, deep in extra time in Blida, as Karl Toko Ekambi swept home a speculative cross.
It left Algeria, who were African champions in 2019 and had breezed through the earlier stages of the World Cup preliminaries, crestfallen.
“We were only 10 seconds away from the World Cup. We collapsed,” Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi said after the 2-1 home loss.
“We put our lives on hold for this match and this success and we only had qualification on our minds. It is going to be hard to get through the next days.”
Ghana profited from a goalkeeping error to also advance on the away goals rule, their 1-1 draw in Nigeria setting off rioting by home fans in Abuja.
“We had a bit of luck in a really tough match and had to fight our way through. But our defensive line was excellent,” said former international Otto Addo, appointed coach just one month ago.
Nigeria’s failure to qualify is likely to see wholesale changes to their football leadership. The team dominated possession but lacked a cutting edge and looked a spent force before the final whistle.
Senegal repeated their penalty shootout success over Egypt as Sadio Mane again got the better of his Liverpool team mate Mohamed Salah.
Dakar’s new stadium was filled to capacity hours before the clash which saw Senegal beat Egypt 1-0 for a 1-1 draw on aggregate after extra time.
That set up another shootout between the teams, some six weeks after Mane had netted the decisive kick to win the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.
He was again the talisman as he fired home to give Senegal a 3-1 shootout victory. Salah had put Egypt’s first effort well wide of goal.
Tunisia denied Mali a first World Cup finals appearance with a 1-0 aggregate triumph while Morocco enjoyed an emphatic 4-1 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo in Casablanca after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
-Reuters
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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