International Football
HOW THE FIFA RANKING WILL LOOK LIKE ON MONDAY
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria will move three steps up the FIFA ranking when it is released on Monday. At the moment, the Super Eagles are ranked 44th.
With a flurry of World Cup qualifying matches played last weeks, some changes will be made in the ranking of the countries. However, no significant change at the top as the top six will retain their positions.
But Switzerland, the host country to FIFA, will drop from its current seventh position to 11th. Taking the seventh position is France which moves a step up the ladder. Spain will move from 11th position to eighth.
In Africa, Egypt may have picked its first World Cup ticket in 27 years, but they are upstaged in FIFA ranking by fellow Maghreb country, Tunisia which seats atop of CAF ranking.
Tunisia, the first African country to win a World Cup match in 1978 looks set for qualification in Africa’s last qualification match day next month.
Egypt now place second followed by Senegal which just need to win one of its two matches with South Africa to qualify for the World Cup.
Congo DR, struggling with Tunisia in Group A for World Cup qualification, will be ranked 35th in the world but fourth in Africa. Congo DR as Zaire is seeking a return to the world stage after a disastrous outing at West Germany 1974 where it recorded one of the worst results in World Cup history, a 0-9 loss to the then Yugoslavia, the birth country of its coach, Blagoje Vidinić.
Nigeria will be ranked fifth in Africa and followed by eastern neighbours, Cameroon. Algeria, the hitherto leading country in the continent some months ago, has dropped significantly to 65th in the world and 13th in Africa behind Guinea and Cape Verde.
PERMUTATION OF POSSIBLE FIFA RANKING ON MONDAY
- Germany
- Brazil
- Portugal
- Argentina
- Belgium
- Poland
- France
- Spain
- Chile
- Peru
- Switzerland
- England
- Colombia
- Wales
- Italy
- Denmark
- Mexico
- Uruguay
- Croatia
- Holland
- Iceland
- Costa Rica
- Northern Ireland
- Slovakia
- Sweden
- Ireland
- USA
- Tunisia
- Scotland
- Ukraine
- Egypt
- Senegal
- Turkey
- Iran
- Congo DR
- Bulgaria
- Paraguay
- Serbia
- Austria
- Bosnia Herzegovina
- Nigeria
- Cameroon
- Australia
- Japan
- Romania
- Czech
- Greece
- Morocco
- Panama
- Bolivia
- Venezuela
- Ghana
- Montenegro
- Burkina Faso
- Haiti
- China
- Jamaica
- Ecuador
- Cote d’Ivoire
- South Korea
- Saudi Arabia
- Cape Verde
- Russia
- Guinea
- Algeria
- Slovenia
- Albania
- Uzbekistan
- Cyprus
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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