International Football
Black Stars need a miracle to beat Nigeria, says Dan Owusu
Legendary Ghana forward Dan Owusu has written off the Black Stars in their two-match World Cup play off with Nigeria. According to the former striker, Ghana will need a miracle to edge past Nigeria for a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Dan Owusu, should not be confused with the more dangerous Kwasi Owusu who was a ‘tormentor-in-chief’ of the Nigerian defence in matches of the early 1970s. Easily recalled was the hattrick that Kwasi Owusu scored against Nigeria in a tempestuous World Cup qualifier on 10 February 1973 – the first time Nigeria lost a match at the Lagos National Stadium.
He died two years ago. But his name sake was almost as good as the late Kwasi Owusu whose goal also made Nigeria lose the gold medal at the maiden Nigeria-Ghana Sports Festival in August 1974.
The Black Stars will take on their sworn rivals in crunch final play-offs on Friday at the Baba Yara Stadium before the reverse fixture at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on March 29, 2022.
The winner of both legs will secure one of the five African World Cup slot.
In an interview with Sylvester Ntim of Koforidua-based Bryt FM, the former Kotoko forward cast doubt about the Black Stars qualification chances, claiming the team will need a miracle to beat the Super Eagles to qualify.
“Ghana’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup is very slim, in fact, the game against Nigeria is very dicey but here is the case we don’t know the men to even do the job for us. Why have they kept the squad for all this while? He quizzed.
“Before a team can be a champion, it will depend on the goalkeeper because we all saw what Edward Mendy did for Senegal at the AFCON, Senegal couldn’t have won the title had it not being him”
“But our case is different, so I think it will be difficult for Ghana to qualify unless miracle but miracle is not considered in football, it’s about quality” he said.
“To get a strong starting lineup for the Black Stars now is very difficult. Every coach has players he calls which brings inconsistency to the team. We have many Ghanaian players locally and others in Europe who are very good footballers yet when coaches are making call ups, they choose more foreign players than the local players”
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
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
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
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