International Football
Will Ghana pay the penalty again in grudge laden duel with Uruguay
Penalty kick played a crucial role in Ghana’s campaign at Qatar 2022. First, it was a controversial penalty kick in their home match with South Africa that launched the Black Stars into the play-off where they met Nigeria.
A penalty kick awarded against Ghana in the first leg which was overturned by VAR was the saving grace.
In the second leg in Abuja Nigeria had to depend on the lottery of penalty kick to avert a possible home defeat.
Here in Doha, penalty kick played a role as Portugal’s opening goal was by penalty kick.
Today, Ghana face Uruguay in a grudge encounter as the Black Stars loss to the South American side was hinged on inability to convert penalty kicks. Twelve years ago in South Africa, with the scores level at 1-1 and the game approaching the final seconds of extra time, Suárez blocked a goal-bound winner on the line with his hands.
It was a goal that would have put Ghana into the World Cup semifinal, making it the first African team in history to reach the final four.
Instead, Suárez was sent off, but Asamoah Gyan, Ghana’s star man and captain, missed the penalty.
Images of Suárez wildly celebrating the miss in the tunnel became one of the enduring moments of that World Cup and only further angered the already incandescent Ghanaian supporters.
Ghana went on to lose the subsequent penalty shootout and with it the team’s chance at creating history.
Now, ahead of the first meeting between these sides since that memorable night more than 12 years ago, Suárez insists he has nothing to say sorry for.
“I don’t apologize about that … but the player is gonna miss a penalty,” Suárez told reporters in the buildup to the rematch, per Reuters. “Maybe, I can say [I] apologize if I injure the player and take a red card.
“But in this situation, I take a red card and the ref said penalty. This is not my fault because I didn’t miss. It’s not my responsibility to shoot the penalty.”
Time heals all wounds, as the saying goes, but that clearly hasn’t been the case with Ghana’s feelings towards Suárez. In the wake of the Black Stars’ dramatic 3-2 win over South Korea at Qatar 2022, jubilant fans outside Education City Stadium were already calling out El Pistolero.
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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