International Football
BRAZIL COACH, TITE PLEASED WITH 1-1 DRAW WITH NIGERIA
Brazil’s coach, Tite has declared himself pleased with his side’s second-half performance leading to a 1-1 draw with Nigeria on Sunday in Singapore.
According to The Straits Times in Singapore, the coach promised the wins will come when they kick off their World Cup qualifiers in March.
His team’s winless steak has now been stretched to four by Nigeria. It is a rare occurrence for Brazil to play three consecutive matches without a win.
This last happened in 2013. At the post-match press conference on Sunday night, the 58-year-old said: “Criticism is inevitable. We are adjusting our team and trying to develop new systems. We are preparing for competition.
“Now is the time to make mistakes but when we play in official competitions, we need to make zero mistakes.”
Winger Richarlison said: “As Brazil, we are always expected to win. When we don’t win, it is like something is wrong.
“We actually played quite well in the second half but, of course, we can still do better.”
After scoring all the goals in the 4-0 win over Japan when Brazil last visited in 2014, expectations were high for Neymar to deliver another spectacular show, especially after he fired blanks against Senegal in the first match.
But following a sprint, a rabona pass, and an innocuous knock before the 20,385-strong crowd, he was substituted with a hamstring complaint after just 11 minutes and 49 seconds in the second match of the Brazil Global Tour, with Philippe Coutinho taking his place.
A team spokesman said the Paris Saint-Germain star “felt discomfort” in his left thigh and would be examined by club doctors in France.
Globoesporte.com cited the Brazilian team doctor as saying the player was not in pain.
Amid a more boisterous atmosphere than last Thursday’s muted affair, Neymar started in a deeper central midfield role behind the front three of Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino and Everton, as Tite made just two changes to the side that were held 1-1 by Senegal at the same venue.
But Neymar’s exit seemed to unsettle the world No. 3 Brazilians.
The young Nigerian side, whose average age is 23.5 years, gradually imposed themselves as Brazil struggled to cope with their rivals’ pace and power.
The Super Eagles took a deserved 35th-minute lead when Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo weaved past Marquinhos to slam a shot beyond Ederson for his second international goal in as many games.
Whatever the animated Tite told the Samba Boys at the break had instant impact, as his team equalised three minutes after the restart.
Skipper Dani Alves’ cross from the right was headed onto the bar by Marquinhos, and Casemiro was on hand to sweep home the loose ball. Brazil then peppered their African opponents’ goal with shots as substitute Richarlison struck the woodwork twice, while Nigeria’s goalkeepers – Francis Uzoho and debutant Maduka Okoye who replaced him – also made crucial stops.
Also, Coutinho’s goal-bound shot was miscleared by Semi Ajayi on the line, but into Okoye’s grateful arms in the 86th minute.
World No. 34 Nigeria will be pleased with the result, after their only previous meeting in 2003 ending in a 3-0 defeat by the Brazilians.
Nigeria’s German coach Gernot Rohr said: “It was tough for us as the second game because Brazil would not have wanted to leave Singapore without winning, and it feels very good to know that we can play so well against some of the biggest names in football.
“We didn’t have our best team here, but our wingers gave Brazil a lot of problems on the counter-attack and I am proud of our players. They can have a good future.
“We can still improve in defending set-pieces. We have height, with players as tall as two metres, but we have to be better in the air.
“It is not enough just to have good size, they need to jump well with good timing.
“These results are good for African football when Senegal and Nigeria did not lose to Brazil, one of the strongest teams in the world.”
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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