International Football
NIGERIA TO RANK NUMBER 41 ON MONDAY; SET FOR POT 4 OF WORLD CUP DRAW
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
When the October 2017 FIFA ranking is released on Monday, Nigeria will be ranked number 41 in the world and fifth in Africa, Sports Village Square has calculated.
The October ranking is crucial as it will be exclusively used for the final draw of the World Cup which will hold on December 1 at State Kremlin Palace in Moscow Russia.
As at the moment, with the inclusion of Russia which even though will be 63rd in global ranking, but will be moved forward among the top eight seeds at the World Cup Draw, Nigeria will be number 19 in ranking among the 23 already qualified teams.
The situation will definitely change when some of the expected nine qualifiers are added next month. Of the nine expected World Cup teams, four are expected from Europe as eight will be drawn into straight knockout fixture on Tuesday.
Of the eight European teams struggling for qualification, Nigeria will be ahead of on Greece in the FIFA ranking to be released on Monday.
The effect of this is that Nigeria will be pushed three or four steps down the ranking ladder by the time the four new European qualifiers emerge.
The other seven European aspirants that are ahead in ranking to Nigeria are Switzerland (to rank 11), Italy (15), Denmark (16), Croatia (19), Northern Ireland (23), Sweden (25) and Ireland (26).
From the current 19th ranking among the World Cup qualifiers which will certainly go to 23 or 24 when four more qualifiers emerge from Europe, further threat to Nigeria’s position also come from Africa where either Tunisia (to be ranked 28th on Monday) or Congo DR (to be FIFA ranked as 35) will emerge from Group A.
Senegal which is set to pick the Africa Group D ticket will also be ranked 32 on Monday thus also pushing Nigeria down in World Cup Draw ranking.
Qualification of either Morocco or Cote d’Ivoire will not affect Nigeria’s position in the overall ranking of qualified teams.
As it is, based on the 23 qualifiers so far, Nigeria will temporarily be in Pot 3, but Pot 4 is the ultimate destination.
Only the Pot 1 is completely established and not open to changes. Those to be there are hosts, Russia, defending champions, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland and France.
Teams in the same pot will not meet in the group stage of the World Cup.
The Pot 2 potentially has England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Iceland, Costa Rica and Egypt. Changes are expected in this pot as Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Sweden and Ireland are potential entrants who are currently involved in European play offs.
They will know their opponents on Tuesday when a play off draw will be made at the FIFA headquarters.
Most likely to be in the Pot 4 when all the 32 teams must have emerged next month are: Nigeria, Iran, Serbia, Japan, Panama, Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia.
Significantly, of the 23 teams already assured of a place in the 2018 World Cup, the host country, Russia is the least ranked.
RANKING OF THE WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFIED TEAMS
1st. Germany
2nd. Brazil
3rd. Portugal
4th. Argentina
5th. Belgium
6th. Poland
7th. France
8th. Spain
12th. England
13th. Colombia
17th. Mexico
18th. Uruguay
21st. Iceland
22nd. Costa Rica
31st. Egypt
34th Iran
38th. Serbia
41st. Nigeria
44th. Japan
49th. Panama
60th. South Korea
61st. Saudi Arabia
63rd. Russia
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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