AFCON
Why Bafana Cancelled First Training Session in Uyo
South Africa’s Bafana Bafana will probably have their first training session in Nigeria this Friday as the cancelled an earlier on Thursday owing to fatigue.
Sports Village Square gathered from the team’s accompanying journalist, Marc Strydom, that fatigue was largely the reason.
The team had earlier been booked for the outer field of Godswill Akpabio Stadium but opted for a nearby field at their Meridien Hotel in Uyo.
The team had largely been on the road since leaving Johannesburg on Wednesday, Here is the journalist’ account:
“With the journey from Johannesburg‚ flying at 3pm on Wednesday to Lagos‚ and overnight stay there‚ then fly on Thursday to Uyo having involved several delays‚ Baxter opted for a set-play training session near the team hotel to restore his players’ freshness.
“Bafana arrived almost two hours late at their Meridien Hotel in Uyo‚ only to have delays checking into their rooms because of booking problems.
“The hotel is about a 45-minute bus ride from the match venue‚ the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
“I think the journey’s been of that nature that there have been delays everywhere‚” Baxter said.
“People have been standing around‚ and on their feet for 40 minutes more than we expected all over the place.
“We had to get up earlier than expected (on Thursday morning)‚ and we were stuck in traffic. And that’s all adding up. All of that means that we got in very late.
“And after the few trainings we had in Jo’burg‚ with the great energy and enthusiasm we showed there‚ I don’t want to dampen that by taking players 45 minutes on a bus‚ then doing a light session that really is not going to affect the game.
“It’s two percent that it might. We need to do our set plays. And we can do that on a field with some goalposts closer to the hotel.
“So I decided not to put the boys on the bus for 40 minutes. Not to be the centre of attention by coaching out at the stadium‚ and thinking that’s great.
“The players need to be given a chance to have a right go at Nigeria. And that’s going to take a lot of energy.
“We’re going to go and do our set plays in private‚ do the swimming pool to recuperate‚ and we’ll have a good meeting tonight where we’ll go through our set plays again.
“I think that gives the players a good pre-match training tomorrow where we can go through our game plan.
“And then there will be a few smiling faces instead of being long faces and tired legs.”
Bafana woke up earlier than expected in Lagos on Thursday morning due to a change in scheduling of their flight to Uyo‚ then sat waiting at the hotel for busses to arrive.
They waited again for some time at the airport to board their flight. Including the waiting at OR Tambo International Airport for their flight to Lagos‚ it has made for a gruelling stop-start journey that saw them arrive 24 hours later at their hotel in Uyo at just before 3pm Nigerian time”.
AFCON
African champions Cote d’Ivoire ring changes with new backroom staff
Cote d’Ivoire head coach Emerse Fae has overhauled his backroom team following the Elephants’ Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023, success earlier this year.
Fae, who took over from Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset during the tournament in January, has brought in three new faces as he builds towards qualifying for the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 World Cup.
Former Cote d’Ivoire goalkeeper Gerard Gnahouan, 45, joins as goalkeeping coach after working in this role with French Ligue 2 side Sochaux.
Gnahouan, capped 10 times by the Elephants between 2002 and 2011, takes over as goalkeeping coach and will be tasked with getting the best out of first-choice Yahia Fofana.
Moroccan Samir Anba, previously with French club Nice and Morocco’s Under-17s, takes over as fitness coach, while Jeremy Antonio arrives as video analyst after working with Fae at French side Clermont.
“This new composition of the technical staff marks the start of a new era for the Cote d’Ivoire national team, and expectations are high,” said Fae.
Fae kept faith with assistant Guy Demel while former international Alain Gouamene joins as the second assistant coach of the AFCON-winning team.
The 40-year-old led an all-local setup to a surprise African title in March after being promoted from Gasset’s number two following their near exit at the group stage.
The new backroom additions have a huge challenge ahead, with Cote d’Ivoire facing crunch matches in June as they bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Elephants top their qualifying group after beating Gambia and Seychelles in the opening two matches in Group F of the qualifiers under caretaker Gasset.
-CAF
AFCON
Liberia, Eswatini hold upper hand in AFCON 2025 preliminary qualifiers –
After commanding victories in the first leg matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers, Chad, Liberia, and Eswatini find themselves in advantageous positions as they gear up for the return fixtures scheduled for Tuesday.
As the second leg of the preliminary fixtures approach, all eyes will be on these teams as they vie for their coveted spots in the group phase of the qualifiers, with the hopes of making their mark on the continental stage.
Chad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritius, joining Liberia and Eswatini in the lead after their impressive triumphs earlier last week.
Liberia secured a 2-0 victory against Djibouti, while Eswatini displayed their dominance with a 3-0 win over Somalia.
The second leg promises to be fiercely contested, particularly for Chad, who will face a challenging encounter against Mauritius on the latter’s home turf.
Coach Kevin Nicaise’s players are keen to defend their slender lead and secure their spot in the next phase of the qualifiers but the trainer admits they have an arduous task.
“We are far from perfect, far from being a top team in the world. We are in the construction phase. There are still things to work on and improve,” coach Nicaise said after their first-leg win.
“It is not overnight that we will be a top team in the world, we are aware of that, however we are working hard with the group and the staff to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Liberia will host Djibouti, aiming to build on their first-leg success and seal their progression to the next round.
Eswatini will host Somalia with confidence, seeking to maintain their winning momentum and secure passage to the next stage of the tournament.
South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe will also face off in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter, following their goalless draw in the first leg.
With both teams eager for victory, the match promises to be a thrilling battle for supremacy.
-CAF
AFCON
Liberia and Eswatini take control of AFCON preliminary ties
Liberia and Eswatini took commanding leads in their respective Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, preliminary round ties after claiming impressive away victories on Wednesday.
Liberia captain Murphy Dorley scored one of two first-half goals as the Lone Stars defeated hosts Djibouti 2-0 in the opening leg in Marrakech.
Mohammed Sangare broke the deadlock from the penalty spot on 23 minutes before Dorley coolly slotted home Sebastian Teclar’s cross 12 minutes later.
Djibouti struggled to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents as the Lone Star side kept them at bay to take two away goals into next week’s second leg in Monrovia.
Eswatini were also celebrating after demolishing Somalia 3-0 in the Moroccoan city of El Jadida to put one foot in the group stage qualifiers.
Striker Sabelo Ndzinisa was the hero, netting twice either side of Felicio Figuareido’s 40th minute opener for the visitors.
Somalia now face an uphill battle to qualify when they travel to the Mbombela Stadium in the South African city of Nelspruit for the return on March 26th.
The opening leg victories give Liberia and Eswatini a huge advantage heading into the second legs as they target a place in the group stage on the road to next year’s finals in Morocco.
Back from the locker room, Somalia still couldn’t play its game.
Worse, Eswatini widened the gap with Ginindza who scored his double of the evening in the 56th minute. 3-0, the score remained unchanged on the scoreboard until the final whistle.
Victory for Eswatini which will still have to perform in the return leg to ensure its qualification for the qualifiers.
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