International Football
THE U17 WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE IN NUMBERS
The FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil enters the knockout stage this Tuesday as Angola takes on Korea Republic while Nigeria will face Netherlands in the Round of 16.
So far, 36 of the projected 52 matches have been played. The road to the final matches continues.
In the meantime, FIFA.com rounds up the most fascinating stats from the first round, which was played out in Brasilia, Vitoria and Goiania.
Battle for Golden Boot
4 The number of goals Australia’s Noah Botic has scored to date, giving him the lead in the race for the adidas Golden Boot at Brazil 2019. Just behind him on three are Senegal’s Pape Sarr, Mexico’s Efrain Alvarez, Italy’s Degnand Gnonto and Nigeria’s Ibrahim Said.
Average Goals per Game
3.42 The average number of goals per game in the group phase: 123 in 36 matches, putting Brazil 2019 in the all-time U-17 World Cup top five for the time being. Egypt 1997 and Finland 2003 lead the way with 3.66 goals per match each.
The Best Defence
0 The number of goals conceded to date by Japan, the only team to keep clean sheets in all of their group games. Their solid rearguard and the performances of goalkeeper Zion Suzuki are the reasons for that perfect record. The Japanese have now gone 367 minutes without conceding in the competition, a sequence that stretches back to India 2017.
The Highest Number of Assists
3The number of assists served up by Paraguay midfielder Rodrigo Lopez, more than any other player at the tournament so far.
The Youngest Scorer
15 years, 11 months and 23 days. That was how old Italy’s Degnand Gnonto was when he scored against Solomon Islands on the opening day in Group F. With that goal, the Inter Milan forward became the youngest player to find the back of the net in the group phase at Brazil 2019
The Fastest Scorer
52 – The number of seconds on the clock when Paik Sanghoon gave Korea Republic the lead against Chile in the final round of games in Group C. The goal was the fifth fastest in the history of the competition, some way slower than the nine seconds it took Brazil’s Fabinho to score against New Zealand at Korea 2007.
Over A Dozen of Penalties
14 – The number of penalties awarded in the 36 group matches. Twelve of them resulted in goals while the remaining two were saved in some style: Italy goalkeeper Marco Molla denied Mexico’s Israel Luna and USA’s Chituru Odunze did likewise to the Netherlands’ Kenneth Taylor. Both keepers dived to the left to pull off their superb stops.
A Feast of Goals
8 –Mexico’s 8-0 defeat of Solomon Islands, which secured their place in the last 16, is the third-largest win in the tournament’s history. Nigeria beat Canada by the same scoreline at Japan 1993, while Spain hold the outright record courtesy of a 13-0 win over New Zealand at Egypt 1997.
Cautions and Expulsions
115 – The number of yellow cards shown by referees—an average of 3.19 per match. Eight red cards have also been issued.
Milestone Match
700 – Paraguay’s victory over Italy on the final matchday in Group F was the 700th match in the history of the tournament, which began as a U-16 competition in 1985.
Netherlands’ Return
14 – The number of years that the Netherlands have taken to return to the last 16. The last time they did so was at Peru 2005, when they went on to finish third. In between times they were knocked out in the group phases at Nigeria 2009 and Mexico 2011.
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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