International Football
LOW ATTENDANCE AT BRAZIL’S 1-1 DRAW WITH SENEGAL
Five-time world champions Brazil fielded a much stronger team than their last visit to the Republic, but produced a less sterling performance than five years ago, as the world No. 3 were held 1-1 by world no. 20 Senegal at the National Stadium on Thursday
Golden boy Neymar collected his 100th cap for the Selecao, and
took only two minutes to complain of an innocuous knock. The flashy backheels,
chops, and sombreros followed, but the elusive goal didn’t come.
This was largely the script that played out in a strangely muted atmosphere at the Sports Hub, compared to the last time Brazil played here, when Neymar scored all the goals in a 4-0 win over Japan in front of a 51,577-strong crowd at the same venue.
Even as the second and third tiers of the arena were completely empty – the official attendance was 20,621 – the sound system was not as bright as usual, as the national anthems and half-time fan interviews were barely audible.
Tite tried his best to lift spirits when he sent out his strongest first XI, identical to the one that drew 2-2 with Colombia in the United States last month.
Only Neymar remained from the 2014 starting line-up as he linked with fellow fan favourites Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus up front in a 4-3-3 formation, with Casemiro, Arthur Melo and Philippe Coutinho making it a star-studded midfield.
There were also plenty of familiar names in the Selecao defence with evergreen skipper Dani Alves, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Alex Sandro protecting goalkeeper Ederson.
It took them just nine minutes to make a breakthrough when Jesus set Firmino free from the right, and the Liverpool forward clinically dinked past Alfred Gomis for the lead.
But the avalanche of goals failed to materialise as Senegal displayed good tactical awareness and positioning to supplement their physical advantage and negate the South Amercians’ fluid passing and movement.
After a minute-long water break in the 27th minute, the Africans’ tenacity and patience paid off when their main man Sadio Mane charged into the box between two defenders and was bundled over by Marquinhos as referee Muhammad Taqi pointed to the spot in the 45th minute.
Despite pleas for Mane to take the spot-kick, it was Famara Diedhiou who calmly slotted into Ederson’s bottom right corner for the equaliser.
There was still time for Neymar to squander a one-on-one opportunity when he shot straight at Gomis after being put through by Firmino before both sides went into the break on level terms.
For all his showboating, Neymar was arguably most productive when he allowed two young pitch invaders to take a wefie with him. The 27-year-old looked on in disbelief when his 69th-minute free-kick was whipped just over.
With Tite and his opposite number Aliou Cisse frantically pacing their respective technical areas and gesticulating throughout the match, and both sets of players remonstrating with Taqi over his decisions, one got the sense that both teams took this friendly seriously, as Neymar and Mane stayed on the pitch for the full match.
Mane almost broke the deadlock when his angled shot cannoned off the post in the 85th minute, while Neymar burst down the other end two minutes later only to see his effort blocked by Salif Sane.
Neymar then had a 90th-minute free-kick well held by Gomis as Senegal held firm for a draw that should please only the underdogs with ambitions of breaking the established world order
- The Straits Times
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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