International Football
Inexperienced Italy side hold Germany in Nations League
Germany needed a Joshua Kimmich equaliser as they came from behind to draw 1-1 with a much-changed Italy team in the Uefa Nations League in Bologna on Saturday (June 4).
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini gave the European champions the lead 20 minutes from time at the Renato Dall’Ara stadium only for Kimmich to strike at the other end shortly after.
The stalemate in League A, Group 3 came after England suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat away in Hungary in the same section earlier on Saturday.
Germany play England in Munich on Tuesday while Italy – looking to move on following their failure to qualify for the World Cup – host Hungary before travelling to face Gareth Southgate’s side in Wolverhampton next weekend.
Roberto Mancini’s team had already been in England on Wednesday, losing 3-0 to Argentina at Wembley in the first Finalissima, the encounter between the European champions and the winners of the Copa America.
Italy’s line-up here showed 10 changes from that game, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the only player to keep his place in Mancini’s starting XI.
“We were playing against a great team and we matched them,” Mancini, who handed debuts to several players, told broadcaster RAI.
“We have good young players so I am playing them and hopefully they will improve together.”
Davide Frattesi was among those brought into the side as the 22-year-old Sassuolo midfielder made his debut.
His Sassuolo teammate Gianluca Scamacca, who had come off the bench against Argentina, came closest to opening the scoring in the first half against Germany as he struck the post with a low drive from range 10 minutes before the interval.
Serge Gnabry blazed over at the other end and it took the second-half introduction of a teenage debutant for the hosts to really bring the game to life.
The 18-year-old Wilfried Gnonto was sent on in the 65th minute in place of Matteo Politano and five minutes later he whipped in a superb ball from the right for Pellegrini to finish first-time.
Gnonto left Inter Milan last year to join FC Zurich and scored eight times as they won this season’s Swiss title.
However Germany were back level in the 73rd minute as the home defence failed to clear Jonas Hofmann’s ball into the middle and Bayern Munich playmaker Kimmich fired in.
Only some alert goalkeeping from Donnarumma kept Italy on level terms after that and the Paris Saint-Germain shotstopper finished the game in some discomfort and requiring treatment for an apparent hand injury.
-AFP
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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