International Football
Tradition may favour Ghana in must-win tie with Korea
If tradition prevails, Ghana Black Stars are favoured to come out with at least a point in their today’s encounter with Korea Republic.
The match comes up this afternoon at the Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan in Doha. Korea have never won their second match at the World Cup. There are 10 instance of such.
They lost six times and drew four times. But tradition is never reliable in permutation of high staked encounters.
Ghana on the other hand, have never lost their second group match at a FIFA World Cup.
In the three past editions they featured, they won one and drew two.
Although they lost their to Portugal, they can take confidence from being the only one of the five African teams in Qatar to score in their opening fixture.
Traditions are only meant for statistical puposes. They are sometimes broken. Ghana will therfore have to do more than their casual approach displayed in their opening game against Portugal.
The Black Stars will have to consider the fact that Korea Repubic have scored two goals in each of their previous three FIFA World Cup matches against African teams.
While Korea Republic have kept a clean sheet in two successive FIFA World Cup matches for the first time, Ghana have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last eight FIFA World Cup matches.
So, while statistics are important, they are not perfectly reliable as pedigree, efforts and determination and a sting of luck determine match outcomes.
Beaten 3-2 by Portugal in their opening Group H encounter, Ghana should attempt to bounce back. as they take on Korea Republic at the same venue where the Asian side kicked off their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign with a goalless draw against Uruguay. This is the first competitive meeting between the two teams.
In ten previous FIFA World Cup participations, Korea Republic have faced African opponents three times.
That included Nigeria in 2010. They won one, drew one and lost one. They will look to build on their clean sheet from their opening game at this year’s tournament.
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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