International Football
WORLD CUP DRAW: NIGERIA AND POT 2 TEAMS
BY KUNLE SOLAJA, seven consecutive World Cup reporter.
One of Nigeria’s three opponents at the group stage of the World Cup will come from Pot 2 which comprises of Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Croatia.
Nigeria has had previous encounters with all except Croatia. The remotest encounter that could be linked with Croatia was Nigeria facing Yugoslavia in a friendly match in 1998. Croatia was a part of the former Yugoslavia.
Pot 2 is headed by Spain, a team Nigeria had met twice in competitive encounters. The first was the opening Group D match of France ’98 in Nantes which Nigeria won 3-2. The second was a 3-0 defeat of Nigeria at the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup in Brazil.
Nigeria and Peru had met once. Nigeria lost the friendly match played in Lima on May 23, 2012 by a lone goal. The match with Switzerland, another Pot 2 team ended 1-0 in favour of Nigeria. Thanks to the solitary goal scored by Taiye Taiwo in the November 20, 2007 match played in Zurich.
The late former Nigerian manager, Amodu Shuaibu made his debut with an encounter with England at the old Wembley Stadium on November 16, 1994 when Nigeria also unveiled its new Nike kit. England won the match 1-0, courtesy of David Platt’s goal.
Super Eagles’ Finidi George challenges England’s Dennis Wise from behind during the England versus Nigeria football match at Wembley Stadium.
The two teams waited till the World Cup of 2002 before meeting again. This time a star-studded England team was held to a goalless draw in Osaka, Japan in a match Vincent Enyeama had the first of eight World Cup matches.
Colombia, another Pot 2 team had met Nigeria four times. If the Olympic Games match of Moscow 1980 were to be counted, the number of matches increases to five.
The June 25, 1980 Olympics Games match is downplayed on account that FIFA does not count it as grade A, even though Nigeria, like most other non-European nations at the time fielded their Grade A side. Nigeria lost that last group match 0-1 to Colombia.
In the proper grade A encounters, Colombia beat Nigeria 1-0 in a April 17, 1994 friendly match, both played as part of preparations for the USA ’94 World Cup. They met again in a USA Gold Cup encounter the following year. Colombia again prevailed 1-0. In November 2008, Colombia again beat Nigeria, 1-0 in another friendly encounter.
The most recent encounter of both countries is a 2010 friendly match which ended, 1-1. Encounters with Mexico are also on the rise. Both have met five times, but Nigeria is yet to win. The best result had been the four drawn matches while Mexico won once – the USA Gold Cup encounter of 1995 which ended 2-1.
The most recent of the five encounters was the goalless draw was the March 2014 in the USA as part of preparation for the Brazil 2014 World Cup.
Diego Forlán was handed a splendid 100th cap celebration when Uruguay beat Nigeria 2-1 in a FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil 2013. That is the only encounter ever between Nigeria and Uruguay.
Croatia has never met Nigeria.
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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