International Football
FIFA PROVIDES FORENSIC ANALYSES OF AFRICAN PRELIMINARY DRAW FOR QATAR 2022
Excitement is mounting ahead of the African qualifying competition for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, especially with the draw for the first round being made on Monday. There is something for everyone in the 14 ties, which feature derbies, reunions and more than one intriguing match-up.
After overseeing the draw, Ghanaian football legend Anthony Baffoe identified the West African duel between Liberia and Sierra Leone as the pick of the 14 ties.
“The countries have produced two of the continent’s great players: George Weah and Mohamed Kallon respectively,” said the former Black Star.
“Gambia v Angola and Botswana v Malawi will also be interesting ties,” he added. “The meeting between two teams that appeared at the 2019 CAF Africa Cup of Nations [Burundi and Tanzania] should also be exciting.”
The ties will be played over two legs, to be held between 2 and 10 September 2019. The 14 winners will join the continent’s top 26 teams, who were all given first-round byes, to form the group of 40 sides that will contest the second round.
Did You Know?
Ethiopia-Lesotho,
old foes meet again
The last official meeting between the two was a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations
qualifier that ended in a 2-1 victory for the Ethiopians, with all three goals
truly spectacular strikes.
Somalia-Zimbabwe,
from opposite ends of the Ranking
Zimbabwe are the best-ranked of the 28 teams contesting the first round in the
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking for July 2019, lying 112th. In contrast, Somalia
are the joint lowest, bringing up the rear in Africa in 202nd, a position they
share with Eritrea.
Eritrea-Namibia,
a foregone conclusion?
Another clash of opposites. Surprise qualifiers for this year’s Africa Cup of
Nations, Namibia will be expected to see off the Eritreans, the joint lowest
African team in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
Burundi-Tanzania,
too close to call
Judging by their recent appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations, which saw
Burundi make their debut in the competition and Tanzania their first appearance
in 39 years, this tie should be one of the tightest in the first round. The
duel between Tanzania forward Mbwana Samatta and Burundi front man Fiston Abdul
Razak will be one to watch.
Djibouti-Eswatini,
revenge in the air
This tie presents Djibouti with an early opportunity to avenge their 6-0 and
2-1 defeats to Eswatini in the qualifiers for Russia 2018.
Botswana-Malawi,
happy memories for the Flames
It was against Botswana that Malawi chalked up their record international win,
an 8-1 victory on 13 July 1968, a result that is also Botswana’s heaviest
defeat of all time.
Gambia-Angola,
experience could prove crucial
Of the 28 teams in action in the first round, Angola are – along with Togo –
the only ones to have graced the World Cup, at Germany 2006. Meanwhile, Gambia
have never so much as appeared at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Liberia-Sierra
Leone, a rivalry renewed
One of the few genuine derbies in the first round. “They won’t have too far to
travel to knock the other one out,” said Baffoe at the draw ceremony.
Mauritius-Mozambique,
history in the making again?
The Mauritians have happy memories of playing Mozambique, the islanders having
beaten them 1-0 to record their first ever Africa Cup of Nations qualifying win
back in 2015. Can they repeat the trick in a World Cup preliminary match?
Sao Tome e
Principe-Guinea Bissau, a battle of two Portuguese-speaking nations
There are six African countries where Portuguese is an official language. Sao
Tome e Principe and Guinea Bissau are two of them.
South
Sudan-Equatorial Guinea, a score to settle
Like Botswana and Malawi, Equatorial Guinea recorded their biggest ever win
against the South Sudanese: a 4-0 win in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations
qualifier.
Comoros-Togo,
together again
Comoros and Togo will meet in the first round, having just been drawn together
in the first round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Chad-Sudan,
the derby of the west
Aside from Liberia-Sierra Leone, this is the other derby in the first round.
Chad and Sudan are neighbours and the rivalry between the two national teams is
intense.
Seychelles-Rwanda,
a first-time meeting
The two sides have never faced off in an official match before, with Seychelles
aiming for their first ever win in a World Cup campaign.
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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