International Football
Mahrez strikes as African champions Algeria set 27-game unbeaten record
Captain Riyad Mahrez scored as Algeria defeated Tunisia 2-0 in an international friendly on Friday (June 11) to create a record 27-match unbeaten run by an African national team.
An Ivory Coast side that included brothers Yaya and Kolo Toure and Didier Drogba set a 26-match benchmark in 2013, and Algeria began their remarkable run by winning 4-1 away to Togo five years later.
Popularly known as the Desert Foxes, the north Africans set the record by winning 20 matches, drawing seven, scoring 58 goals and conceding 17.
They faced 24 opponents from Africa plus Mexico, Colombia and Qatar, played nine matches at home, six away and 12 at neutral venues.
Facing Tunisia away was a huge challenge as reigning African champions Algeria sought to overtake the mark set by the Ivorian “golden generation”.
The Tunisians are ranked second in Africa, two places above Algeria. They had home advantage and took a 12-match unbeaten run into the north African showdown.
But Algerian fears that they might trip at the final hurdle were soon allayed as Qatar-based Baghdad Bounedjah and Manchester City winger Mahrez scored within 28 minutes of the kickoff.
Rattled after conceding twice, there was no way back for the hosts against an Algerian defence marshalled by Aissa Mandi and Djamel Benlamri.
The centre-backs were among eight starters in Rades who also began the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal in Cairo, which Algeria won 1-0 through a Bounedjah goal.
AC Milan midfielder Ismail Bennacer missed the wins over Mauritania, Mali and Tunisia this month due to a foot injury that required surgery.
Right-back Mehdi Zeffane and midfielder Adlene Guedioura were the other absentees and Youcef Atal, Ramiz Zerrouki and Haris Belkebla took their places.
Guedioura did come off the bench during the second half only to be red-carded two minutes from the end of regular time.
The line-up was composed exclusively of Algerians based in Europe and the Middle East, including three playing in France and two in Qatar, with Mahrez the sole English Premier League representative.
Having broken the African record, coach Djamel Belmadi can now adjust his sights to the 36-match world mark set by then world champions Brazil in 1996.
Algeria are scheduled to play back-to-back 2022 World Cup qualifiers in September, October and November in a group that includes Djibouti, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The toughest of the six fixtures should be the visit to Burkina Faso, who defeated Algeria the last time the countries met in a World Cup qualifier in Ouagadougou.
Algeria will then defend the Cup of Nations title from Jan 9 in Cameroon, where they hope to become the first country since Egypt in 2010 to retain the title.
-AFP
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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