International Football
The ‘Day After’ – North Africans primed to dominate African presence at Qatar 2022
While Nigeria and Ghana will be ruing their missed goal chances in their barren draw at the Kumasi Stadium and fellow West Africans, Mali are on the verge of exit, North African sides look set to have higher number of teams at the World Cup.
Algeria Egypt and Tunisia struck first blood, winning the first leg matches of their Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup play-off qualification matches on Friday. Morocco pulled a draw in DR Congo and are at advantage in completing the job at home on Tuesday.
For central African teams, Cameroon and DR Congo, the results of their home matches is akin to ‘beginning of the end’. Both have mountains to climb to reach Qatar 2022.
Cameroon surprisingly lost 0-1 at home to Algeria while Mali also did the same in their home match with Tunisia.
For sure, at least one West African team will get to Qatar 2020 as Nigeria and Ghana will play a decider in Abuja on Tuesday. Senegal, with a narrow self-inflicted 1-0 loss to Egypt in Cairo, they may be able to turn the tide against rugged Egypt who paradoxically have awful records in World Cup qualifying and in the finals.
These are how the five first legs of the play-off went:
Cameroon 0-1 Algeria
In Douala, Islam Silimani scored the lone goal as former African champions Algeria silenced Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions at the Japoma Stadium.
Slimani scored his eighth goal in World Cup qualification, thumping home a 40th minute header from Youcef Bellaili’s delivery off a freekick.
Before then, Slimani had come close for the Desert Foxes when he pickpocketed Michael Ngadeu at the edge of the box, stormed into the box but Andre Onana made a brilliant save for a corner.
The home side didn’t create much danger in the final third but in the second half, they had some opportunities to score.
Leandre Tawamba who had come off the bench had a chance when he calmly controlled the ball inside the box but his shot on the half turn was weak and an easy pick for the keeper.
Mali 0-1 Tunisia
In Bamako, defender Moussa Sissako was the unfortunate villain for the Malians, as he scored an own goal and was sent off minutes later as the home side lost by a solitary goal to Tunisia.
Sissako scored a bizarre own goal in the 36th minute when his attempt to pass the ball back to his keeper was awry as the shot stopper had moved off his line and the pass was a yard off his positioning.
It went from bad to worse as Sissako was sent off four minutes later after being adjudged to have tripped a Tunisian attacker as the last man in defense.
Before going a goal and a man down, Mali had two close chances, both falling on Yves Bissouma, but his curling shots from just inside the box went wide.
In the second half, Mali’s Eagles pushed hard for an equalizer, but Tunisia defended in numbers to preserve the slim lead.
DR Congo 1-1 Morocco
In Kinshasa, substitutes Ayoub El Kaabi and Tarik Tissoudali combined for the equalizer as Morocco scored with 14 minutes left to salvage a 1-1 draw with DR Congo.
Yoane Wissa gave his side the lead just 12 minutes into the match when his brilliant shot from distance took a wicked deflection off skipper Roman Saiss and into the net.
In the 27th minute, Dieumerci Mbokani also had a chance with a shot from distance but keeper Yasine Bonou kept Morocco in the game.
In the second half, DR Congo began with pace and four minutes later, Wissa almost scored a similar goal to his first but this time, he couldn’t put the required curl on the ball as it went inches wide.
They were pegged back in the 54th minute when Morocco were handed a penalty after Cedric Bakambu handled inside the box. However, Ryan Mmaee stepped up and skied the penalty, a huge relif for the home side.
However, they were left off the hook with quarter of an hour left when Tissoudali struck a sweet volley after Ayoub El Kaabi had brilliantly headed down a deep cross from Adam Masina.
DR Congo had to finish the match with 10 men after Glody Ngonda was sent off for a second yellow card in the 85th minute.
Egypt 1-0 Senegal
At the Cairo international Stadium, hosts Egypt laid revenge on Senegal who beat them to the Africa Cup of Nations title in Cameroon last month, beating them by a solitary goal.
Saliou Ciss scored into his own net just four minutes in as the Egyptians took a massive lead that they jealously guarded ahead of next week’s second leg.
Ciss saw the ball come off the crossbar and ricochet off his feet into his own net after Mohamed Salah had chipped over Edouard Mendy, collecting a deep pass from midfield.
Despite going down early, Senegal proved their worth with a good fight, especially through talisman Sadio Mane. In the 37th minute the Liverpool forward surged ahead but his shot was just over.
In the second half he turned provider, slaloming past a forest of bodies inside the box before feeding Famara Diedhiou, but the latter couldn’t hit the target.
Men single handedly charged the forward line, but Egypt defended with discipline to preserve the lead.
Ghana 0 – 0 Nigeria
At a fully packed Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, hosts Ghana played to a barren draw with Nigeria in a highly publicized derby, leaving all to play for when the two sides clash in Abuja on Tuesday.
Both sides had chances to score, but none was lucky enough to find the back of the net.
Felix Afena Gyan, making his debut for the Ghanaian senior national team created a chance when he set up Under-20 star Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, but the latter’s shot from the edge of the area was saved by Francis Uzoho.
On the other end, Joe Wollacott also made a fine save to deny Moses Simon.
Uzoho was to be worked again minutes later when he went low to his left to keep out a shot from Mohamed Kudus. Just before that, skipper Thomas Partey had a shot from range which was deflected for a corner.
International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.
Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.
FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.
Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.
By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.
Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.
“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.
“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”
LONGER HALFTIMES
Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.
“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.
“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”
The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.
“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.
FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.
“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.
“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”
FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.
“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
-Reuters
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Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.
Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.
“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.
“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”
Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.
After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.
-Reuters
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International Football
From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro
“I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro
Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil.
However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.
Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.
Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).
He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.
His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.
These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people. I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,” he insists
The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius.
“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.
‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”
Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.
“Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: “I want to continue it.”
-Marca
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