International Football
FRANCE WON’T BEAT NIGERIA TODAY, SAYS NNADOZIE
BY ANN ODONG
Nigeria face on-song hosts France, this Monday. Chiamaka Nnadozie was in goal as the Super Falcons lost 8-0 to Les Bleues in a friendly last year, but she is adamant history won’t repeat itself.
“I know they will feel relaxed, think that they will maybe score more than eight goals.
“It’s going to be a tough game. They are one of the best teams in the competition, but we are letting them know that it’s not going to be like that again.
“That was last year. I know we are not going to lose. We are going to make our country proud.”
The tournament this year has seen some superb goalkeeping performances, and among them is a record-breaking one from Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie.
As Nigeria entered their second match against Korea under the pressure of knowing that, following a 3-0 loss to Norway, only victory would preserve realistic hope of a top-two finish in Group A.
Many coaches would have played it safe, but Thomas Dennerby handed the gloves to the 18-year-old from Imo State, and she responded with a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.
“My coach called me and said, ‘This is your time’,” Nnadozie told FIFA.com. “It was a dream that came true.”
Nnazodie’s rise in Nigerian women’s football has been rapid. She started playing football as a 12-year-old and was quickly elevated into the U-17 and U-20 national teams.
Last year she pulled on the gloves at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and displayed her potential in a Player of the Match performance against Haiti in Brittany.
It was in that tournament that Nnadozie set her sights on returning to France for the senior global finals.
“I knew it was going to come true, because when I was coming up my coach used to tell me, ‘Work hard, you will get there’,” she said. “I really worked for it. Every time at training, I gave it my best. Even if I was tired, I would keep pushing.”
Nnadozie carried only one target into France 2019.
“I told myself that before the end of the tournament, by God’s grace, I must keep goal in one match,” she said. “When I was called upon to keep goal, though I was a little bit scared, I encouraged myself, I told myself, ‘Come on, you’ve been doing it during the friendly matches, so you have to do it now’.”
Nnadozie achieved her pre-tournament goal in a performance against Korea Republic that demonstrated poise and maturity beyond her years.
She became, at 18 years and 186 days, the youngest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at the Women’s World Cup.
“After the match, when I saw the post, I was so happy,” said Nnadozie. “A young girl like me getting a good record, I was so proud of myself.
“I am so proud of the defence. They did great. I know I can’t do it without them – they made it possible for me.”
Nnadozie’s chemistry with the defensive unit illustrated how quickly she has made herself a part of the Nigerian squad. The remarkable calm the teenager displays on the pitch contrasts her infectious personality off it.
“I love playing, joking around with people,” she said. “Whenever I notice you are angry or sad, I will come and do some funny things. I love seeing people around me happy.
”Sometimes when I am not around, they will call me saying, ‘We miss you’. Whenever I come in, when everyone is moody, I will just do one funny thing and they will laugh.”
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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