International Football
Five African countries await their fate at Friday’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 draw
The five African countries that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will know their fate on Friday night, 01 April 2022 at the Final Draw in Doha, Qatar.
African champions Senegal are among the five teams from the continent that booked their places following Tuesday night’s second-leg of the FIFA World Cup playoffs.
The four other countries that joined the Teranga Lions are the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Ghana’s Black Stars, Atlas Lions of Morocco and Tunisia’s Eagles of Carthage.
All the 32 sides that will be involved in the tournament will be drawn into eight groups of four for the tournament that will be played in November and December 2022.
Host nation Qatar, as it is the norm, will be placed in position one of Group A of the draw.
Road to Qualification:
CAMEROON: Eighth appearance
Group stage:
The indomitable Lions topped Group D with 15 points, off five wins and a single loss. Their only defeat was against Ivory Coast away from home. They completed home and away doubles over Mozambique and Malawi.
They sealed qualification to the play-off round on the final day, with a 1-0 win over Côte d’Ivoire in Douala.
In the group phase, the Cameroonians scored 12 goals and conceded only three. Vincent Aboubakar, Christian Bassogog, Eric Choupo-Moting, Karl Toko Ekambi and defender Michael Ngadeu scored two goals each.
Play-off-
In the play-off round, Cameroon lost 1-0 at home to Algeria, but a never-say-die attitude in Blida saw them win 2-1 with a last minute goal and progress to Qatar on the away goal rule.
GHANA: Fourth appearance
Group Stage:
The Black Stars sealed a ticket to the play-off round on the final day, with a win over South Africa at home as the two sides finished with 13 points each. With similar goal difference, Ghana edged out Bafana Bafana on account of scoring more goals.
Ghana won four matches, drew one and lost one, against the South Africans in Johannesburg. They scored seven goals in six matches and conceded three, skipper Andre Ayew being their top scorer with three.
Play-off:
In the play-off round, Otto Addo’s boys progressed on the away goal rule after drawing 1-1 with Nigeria in the return leg in Abuja. They had drawn 0-0 at home in Kumasi but Thomas Partey’s goal at the Moshood Abiola Stadium proved vital.
SENEGAL: Third appearance
Group Stage:
The African champions had an unbeaten record in Group H, winning five of their six matches. Their only blemish was a 1-1 draw away to Togo on the penultimate round of matches with Habib Diallo scoring a last gasp equalizer.
They scored 15 goals and conceded only four. Famara Diedhiou was their top scorer with four goals while Sadio Mane and Ismaila Sarr scored three each.
Play-off:
The Lions of Teranga prevailed 3-1 over Egypt on penalties after winning the return leg 1-0 in Dakar. The result pushed the aggregate score to 1-1, having lost by a solitary goal in the first leg in Cairo.
Keeper Edouard Mendy saved one penalty with Sadio Mane striking home the winner to send them to Qatar.
MOROCCO: Sixth appearance
Group Stage:
The Atlas Lions were the only side to progress through the group phase with a 100pc record. They completed home and away victories over Guinea Bissau, Guinea and Sudan to attain a maximum 18 points.
They scored 20 goals and conceded only once, away to Guinea in a match they won 4-1. Ayoub El Kaabi was their top scorer with five goals while Ryan Mmae had four.
Play-off:
The Moroccans were in free-flowing form in the play-off round. Despite a 1-1 draw with DR Congo in the first leg in Kinshasa, they ran riot at home in Casablanca, winning 4-1 to easily make the plane to Qatar.
TUNISIA: Sixth appearance
Group Stage:
Tunisia topped Group B with 13 points off four wins, a draw and a loss. They dropped points in the 0-0 draw away to Mauritania, and their only defeat also came on the road, a 1-0 loss against Equatorial Guinea in Malabo.
The Carthage Eagles scored 11 times with veteran Wahbi Khazri contributing to three goals as their top scorer. They conceded only two goals.
Play-off:
The Tunisians were forced to sweat by Mali, though they eventually edged them out 1-0 on aggregate. An own goal in Bamako gave them a slight 1-0 edge and they were held to a 0-0 draw at home in the return tie.
But, the return on the road proved to be vital as it hoisted them into Qatar.
-Cafonline
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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