International Football
Cameroon quest for record-extension among African teams
Africa’s most frequent FIFA World Cup participants Cameroon begin their eighth tournament with a first-ever fixture against Switzerland, who helped to eliminate four-time winners Italy on the road to Qatar.
This is Switzerland’s 12th FIFA World Cup appearance. Ever-present since 2006, they have made it to a fifth successive tournament for the first time, having previously completed four straight appearances in 1954, when, as hosts, they reached the quarter-finals – their best performance. Switzerland have lost just two of their last 12 FIFA World Cup group-stage encounters, with no defeats in the last four.
Absent in 2018, having being upstaged by Nigeria, Cameroon are back for an eighth World Cup appearance in the last 11 tournaments and will be eager to end a run of seven successive defeats at the finals.
In 1990, they became the first African quarter-finalists, famously beating holders Argentina 1-0 in the opening match.
Key facts
• Three-time quarter-finalists, Switzerland are competing in their 12th FIFA World Cup and this is their fifth in a row, which represents their best-ever sequence of qualifications.
• Switzerland have not lost their opening match in their last five World Cup appearances (Win 2; Draw 3).
• Switzerland have successfully qualified from their group in four of their last five appearances at the FIFA World Cup.
• Cameroon have made more appearances at the FIFA World Cup than any other African nation; their qualification for Qatar 2022 extends their record to eight participations.
• Vincent Aboubakar, Nicolas Nkoulou and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting are the only members of the Cameroon squad with previous World Cup experience; all three are appearing at their third final competition.
Switzerland team facts
FIFA WORLD CUP TEAM RECORDS
Overall record: Play 37; Win 12; Draw 8; Lost 17; Goals For 50; Goals Against: 64 Goals Difference: -14
Biggest win: 4-1 Switzerland v. Italy (23/06/1954)/4-1 Switzerland v. Romania (22/06/1994)/3-0; Switzerland v. Honduras (25/06/2014)
Biggest defeat: 0-5 Switzerland v. West Germany (12/07/1966)
Highest scoring draw: 2-2 twice, the last of which was v. Costa Rica (27/06/2018)
Highest scoring match: 12 goals – Austria 7-5 Switzerland (26/06/1954)
Most goals scored in a match: 5 goals – Austria 7-5 Switzerland (26/06/1954)
Most goals conceded in a match: 7 goals – Austria 7-5 Switzerland (26/06/1954)
Most goals scored at a FIFA World Cup: 11 – 1954 (4 matches)
Fewest goals scored at a FIFA World Cup: 1 (1966, 2010)
Most goals conceded at a FIFA World Cup: 11 – 1954 (4 matches)
Fewest goals conceded at a FIFA World Cup: 0 – 2006 (4 matches)
FIFA WORLD CUP STREAKS
Successive wins: 2 (1950-1954)/2 (2006)
Successive defeats: 7 (1954-1966)
Successive draws: 1 (eight times)
Successive matches without a defeat: 5 (2006-2010)
Successive matches without a win: 8 (1954-1994)
Successive matches with a goal scored: 4 (1934-1938)/4 (1954-1962)
Successive matches without scoring: 3 (1994-2006)
Successive clean sheets: 5 (2006-2010)
Cameroon team facts
FIFA WORLD CUP TEAM RECORDS
Overall record: Play 23; Win 4 ; Draw 7; Lost 12; Goals For 18; Goals Against: 43 Goal Differnec: -25
Biggest win: 2-1 Cameroon v. Romania (14/06/1990)/2-1 Cameroon v. Colombia (23/06/1990)/1-0 Cameroon v. Argentina (08/06/1990)/1-0 Cameroon v. Saudi Arabia (06/06/2002)
Biggest defeat: 1-6 Cameroon v. Russia (28/06/1994)
Highest scoring draw: 2-2 Cameroon v. Sweden (19/06/1994)
Highest scoring match: 7 goals – Cameroon 1-6 Russia (28/06/1994)
Most goals scored in a match: 2 – four times
Most goals conceded in a match: 6 – Cameroon 1-6 Russia (28/06/1994)
Most goals scored at a FIFA World Cup: 7 – 1990 (5 matches)
Fewest goals scored at a FIFA World Cup: 1 – 1982, 2014 (3 matches)
Most goals conceded at a FIFA World Cup: 11 – 1994 (3 matches)
Fewest goals conceded at a FIFA World Cup: 1 – 1982 (3 matches)
FIFA WORLD CUP STREAKS
Successive wins: 2 (1990)
Successive defeats: 7 (2002-present)
Successive draws: 3 (1982)
Successive matches without a defeat: 5 (1982-1990)
Successive matches without a win: 8 (1990-2002)
Successive matches with a goal scored: 3 (three times)
Successive matches without scoring: 2 (three times)
Successive clean sheets: 2 (1982)
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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