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BRAZIL CAPTAIN, ALVES ADMITS, ‘NO EXCUSES’ FOR MISTAKES IN SENEGAL MATCH

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Brazil skipper Dani Alves did not mince his words at the mixed zone after Thursday’s Brazil-Senegal friendly that ended 1-1 at the National Stadium.

The 36-year-old right-back said: “After the 2-2 draw against Colombia and the 1-0 loss to Peru, it is now three games without a win, which is not normal for us.

“We are making mistakes but we know this is the Brazil national team we are talking about and there are no excuses.

“We need to produce results and win the next game because in Brazil, results are important.”

In Singapore for the Brazil Global Tour, the five-time world champions fielded a much stronger team than their last visit to the Republic, but produced a more muted performance against a team ranked 17 places below them at world No. 20.

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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 did not.

This was largely the script that played out as there was a strangely muted atmosphere compared to the last time Brazil played here, when the Paris Saint-Germain star, then with Barcelona, scored all the goals in a 4-0 win over Japan in front of a 51,577-strong crowd.

Coach 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 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 Alves, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Alex Sandro protecting goalkeeper Ederson.

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It took them just nine minutes to make the breakthrough when Jesus set Firmino free from the right, and the Liverpool forward dinked past Alfred Gomis to make it 1-0.

But the avalanche of goals failed to materialise as Senegal displayed good tactical awareness and positioning to supplement their physical advantage and negate the Brazilian’s fluid passing and movement.

After a minute-long water break in the 27th minute, the Africans’ tenacity and patience paid off in the 45th minute when their main man Sadio Mane charged into the box between Alves and Marquinhos before being bundled over by the latter as referee Muhammad Taqi pointed to the spot.

Despite pleas for Mane to take the kick, it was Famara Diedhiou who calmly slotted into Ederson’s bottom right corner for the equaliser.

For all his showboating and interchanging of positions with Firmino, 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 he whipped his 69th-minute free kick just over.

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Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said: “We did not follow the plan in the first 10 minutes, but we did very well after that.

“During the break, we discussed and decided to stick closer to key players such as Neymar and Coutinho.

“Brazil are a good team but we are also determined and we managed this result. Unfortunately, we did not win but this is just a friendly and I must congratulate my team for doing a great job and hope that the future will be brighter.”

His opposite number Tite, however, was less than thrilled with the result, saying: “Neymar had been injured and has only just gotten back to the national team. He is still adapting to the way we play.

“We were better in the second half, with more ball circulation. But I am not pleased with the result and overall performance today as they were not what I was looking for. We have more to do.”

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His men will have the chance to make amends when they take on world No. 34 Nigeria at the same venue on Sunday.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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International Football

Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat

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Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.

Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.

FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.

Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.

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By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.

Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.

“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.

“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”

LONGER HALFTIMES

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Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.

“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.

“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”

The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.

“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.

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FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.

“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.

“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”

FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.

“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.

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“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.

-Reuters

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Former England and Man Utd midfielder Ince charged with drink-driving

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Championship - Norwich City v Reading - Carrow Road, Norwich, Britain - December 30, 2022, Reading manager Paul Ince applauds fans after the match Action Images/Matthew Childs/File Photo 

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.

Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.

“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.

“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”

Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.

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After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.

-Reuters

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From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro

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I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro

Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil. 

However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.

Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.

Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).

He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.

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His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.

These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people.  I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,”  he insists

The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius. 

“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.

‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”

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Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.

Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: I want to continue it.”

-Marca

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