International Football
Tite bows out as Brazil coach after ‘painful’ exit
Tite confirmed that it was the “end of a cycle” for him as coach of Brazil after the favourites were dumped out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals on penalties by Croatia on Friday.
The 61-year-old, who has been in charge since 2016, had previously made it no secret that he would leave the position after the tournament in Qatar, regardless of the outcome.
“It is a painful defeat but I go in peace. It is the end of a cycle,” he told reporters after Brazil’s dramatic exit from the competition at Doha’s Education City Stadium.
“I already said that a year and a half ago. I didn’t come here to win and then turn around and say I was going to stay. People who know me know that.”
After a goalless 90 minutes, Brazil took the lead through Neymar midway through extra time only for Bruno Petkovic to equalise for Croatia in the 117th minute.
That meant penalties, and Rodrygo’s first kick for Brazil was saved by Croatia’s Man of the Match Dominik Livakovic.
With Croatia scoring four penalties, Marquinhos had to convert when he stepped up for Brazil, only to hit the post.
Tite had already overseen a quarter-final exit at the hands of Belgium at the last World Cup in Russia four years ago.
In between, Brazil won the Copa America on home soil in 2019 but then lost the final of that tournament as hosts to Argentina last year.
The Brazilian Football Confederation has previously said it will not choose its next coach until January.
Neymar was to take 5th penalty
Asked to assess his time in charge, Tite said: “In time, I will be able to respond better.
“I am not in a position now to evaluate all the work we have done, but as time goes by, you will be able to make that assessment.
“I don’t have the capacity to do that now after we have been eliminated.”
Meanwhile, Tite was asked why Neymar did not step up to take Brazil’s fourth penalty instead of Marquinhos when they had to score just to stay alive in the shoot-out.
“Because he takes the fifth and decisive penalty,” he explained.
“The player with the most quality and the right mentality steps up when there is the most pressure.”
Neymar never got the chance to take a penalty, having earlier equalled Pele’s record of 77 goals for the Brazilian team.
It is just the second time Brazil have lost a penalty shoot-out at the World Cup, after they were beaten by France in the same way at the quarter-final stage of the 1986 tournament in Mexico.
“When you lead 1-0 in extra time and then you concede the equaliser 13 minutes into the second half of extra time, it is difficult,” Tite said of his team’s state of mind going into the shoot-out.
“It is difficult to stay mentally strong in a situation like that.”
–AFP
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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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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