International Football
Ndidi out for the rest of the season
Super Eagles and Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury in major blow to the King Power Stadium.
The Nigeria international midfielder underwent surgery after coming off during Leicester’s UEFA Europa Conference League last-16, second leg tie with Rennes on March 17.
His manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed Ndidi won’t feature again this season and will rehabilitate with the aim of returning for the start of pre-season.
‘It’s unfortunate. He’s been a brilliant player for me in my time here. He picked up a nasty injury that has had to have surgery on and he’ll recover now until June.’
It comes as a setback in Leicester’s ambitions to become the first winners of the Europa Conference League, with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven awaiting them in the quarter-finals.
Winning that competition would return the Foxes to the Europa League for next season as they currently sit only 10th in the Premier League table.
Ndidi, 25, has made 31 appearances in all competitions for Leicester this season, scoring two goals.
He was an ever-present for Nigeria in January’s Africa Cup of Nations but they exited to Tunisia at the last-16 stage.
The knee injury prevented Ndidi playing for Nigeria in last week’s World Cup qualifying play-off tie against Ghana.
They lost on away goals following a 1-1 draw in their home second leg and so won’t be playing in Qatar later this year.
In better news for Rodgers, defenders Jonny Evans and Wesley Fofana are nearing a return to action.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s visit to Manchester United, Rodgers said: ‘The players are starting to come back now which is great. Jonny Evans will be available, whether he plays the whole game, starts or comes off the bench we’ll see.
‘It’s great to have him back, we’ll have to build him up. Wesley Fofana will be back involved as well. We’re starting to get players back.
‘Jonny Evans is a player who’s been a huge influence in my time here. He’s a player that’s played at the top level of his game through his career.
‘His standards every day are top level, so his influence in the team is a big plus.’
International Football
German Thomas Tuchel becomes 3rd foreign manager for England
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
International Football
Factbox on England head coach Thomas Tuchel
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
International Football
Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON7 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON1 week ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON1 week ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
AFCON3 days ago
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!