International Football
FIFA’S TIMELY WARNING TO SUPER EAGLES: FIVE REASONS ICELAND CAN SHOCK THE WORLD
World football governing body and owners of the World Cup competition has warned the global audience to watch out for the mystery team called Iceland when the World Cup kicks off in June next year.
Iceland, one of the two debutants and the smallest county ever to qualify for the World Cup, will feature in Group D where the Super Eagles will be attempting to cross to the next round.
Iceland will be Nigeria’s second opponents after that of Croatia before facing Argentina.
FIFA in its website gave five reasons why Iceland can shock the world. It remarked that there is an undeniable novelty factor to the small country’s participation at Russia 2018.
“Even their manager, Heimir Hallgrimsson, acknowledged as much after their spot at the FIFA World Cup – and place in history as the smallest nation ever to qualify – was secured. “This is really odd,” he said. “I mean, Pele, Maradona… Aron Einar Gunnarsson.”
FIFA warned that no one should be fooled by this light-hearted suggestion that Iceland, and their bearded captain, might seem out of place among the game’s greats on the global stage.
“For all the focus on their record-breaking population, they were also the smallest country ever to qualify for the UEFA European Championship – and everyone knows how that tale unfolded.
‘Indeed, while Iceland’s World Cup hopes haven’t been aided by a tough draw that has pitted them against Argentina, Croatia and Nigeria, there is plenty of cause for optimism. And if Lionel Messi, Luka Modric and Co need any reminding, FIFA.com has five reasons why the Nordic newcomers are a team worth fearing”.
According to FIFA the Icelanders are serial giant-killers. “‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall’ seems to be the motto of a team that, over the past couple of years, has beaten the likes of Croatia, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece and, most famously of all, England.
“As midfielder Olafur Skulason said: “I could see the newspapers in other countries talking about how unlucky we are to get that kind of group – but that is exactly what we want. We want those big games. We want to play against Argentina. What an amazing team to play against in the first game ever for Iceland in the World Cup!”
FIFA also remarked that Iceland can better their EURO heroics. It will be recalled that Iceland stunned the football world by qualifying from their group at UEFA EURO 2016, then knocking out England in the last 16.
But despite their outstanding results, which also included a win over Austria and a draw with eventual champions Portugal, the players insisted that performance levels were below par. “I strongly believe we’re better than we showed in most of those games,” veteran defender Kari Arnason told FIFA.com.
“There were nerves at the EURO but we’re normally better in keeping the ball, working openings.” This was borne out in qualifying, when Iceland impressed en route to topping a group featuring Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine. It also bodes well for Russia 2018. As Arnason said: “It’s nice to say that we did so well [at the EURO] and still have a lot of room to improve.”
FIFA also points out that Iceland have a star No. 10 of their own. Lionel Messi might be Group D’s headline act, but Iceland also have an influential and highly effective No10 in the shape of Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The midfielder is undoubtedly the ace in the debutants’ pack, with vision, shooting ability and set-piece expertise among his most notable attributes. As Sigurdsson’s former manager, Lars Lagerback, pointed out, he also epitomises Iceland’s team-centred approach.
“Together with Henrik Larsson, I would say that Gylfi is the best team player I’ve worked with,” Lagerback said of the man Everton paid £45 million for. “He always plays for the team and must be one of the best two-way midfield players out there.”
FIFA also hailed the Icelandic team spirit which it described as second-to-none.
Though their midfield playmaker stands out, Iceland’s strength lies not in star players, but in unity. Sigurdsson himself acknowledged this when asked about the secret behind their success.
“It has a lot to do with the team spirit that we have,” he said. “How we are as a group is unique.” The country’s modest population, and the consequently small pool of players to pick from, ensures that Hallgrimsson’s squad rarely changes, and is largely comprised of close friends who have come through the youth ranks together.
According to FIFA, the Icelandic players have a special bond with their supporters. In most countries, the idea of the national coach visiting fans in the pub ahead of matches would be unthinkable.
But according to FIFA, this is not so with Iceland, where Hallgrimsson has maintained these remarkable routine – briefing supporters on tactics, sharing motivational videos – throughout the last two qualifying campaigns.
“There’s a closeness there that makes us a little special,” he explained. “We have built a unique relationship with our fans and my visits to the bar have become a sweet Icelandic tradition.”
Another tradition, which became famous at the EURO – when almost ten per cent of Iceland’s population headed to France to cheer the team on -, is the ‘Thunderclap’.
The war cry-like chant drew inspiration from the film ‘300’ and made for an intimidating sight and sound. As one Portuguese journalist wrote at the EURO: “Don’t cross Iceland – their Viking chant is terrifying!”
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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