International Football
Super Eagles land in Lagos, set for ‘Thunder and Blood’ fight with Cape Verde Blue Sharks
Qatar 2022 World Cup hopefuls, Super Eagles of Nigeria on Sunday after return to the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
They will be having their final battle with Cape Verde on Tuesday as they gear up to get to the African playoff to qualify for the 2020 World Cup.
They flew into the country aboard their official airline partner, Air Peace Embraer E-195 E2 jet after a four-and-half hour cruise from Morocco’s principal northern town to Lagos.
The aircraft touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 7.30am and the three –time African champions were immediately driven to their Eko Hotel abode.
They are scheduled to have a gym session in the evening to limber up ahead of a full training session on Monday at the match venue – Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The 2-0 victory in Tangier over the Lone Star meant the Eagles have won all their away matches in this qualifying series, and need only a draw against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde on Tuesday to progress into the final knockout round of African series for Qatar 2022.
They have scored two goals in each of the away games, with a 2-1 defeat of the Sharks on the island on Mindelo and 2-0 defeats of Central African Republic and Liberia in Douala and Tangier respectively.
They have to avert the type of slip they recorded last month when they unexpectedly conceded a late goal to Central African Republic.
This time around they need at least a draw to proceed to the final playoff holding in March 2022.
Ahmed Musa, who won a record 102nd senior cap for Nigeria after coming in as a substitute in Saturday’s triumph, said none of the players is thinking of a draw against the Sharks at the Teslim Balogun Satdium.
“No one is thinking of a draw. It is a must-win match, as far as we are concerned. The mindset is to win and reach the final round of the World Cup series without any story.”
Victory or draw against the Sharks will send 12-pointer Eagles into the knockout round, with the visitors, who are on 10, needing to win at the Teslim Balogun to make progress at Nigeria’s expense.
Nigeria has participated in all FIFA World Cup final tournaments since its debut in 1994 in the United States of America, bar the 2006 finals in Germany that she missed narrowly after FIFA opted to use the head-to-head rule in the qualifying campaign, which favoured Angola.
Already, in-form Senegal as well as Egypt, Mali, Morocco and Democratic Republic of Congo have sailed into that final round, with African champions Algeria expected to have no trouble doing the same. One of Ghana’s Black Stars and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana was set to emerge on Sunday night after their group’s final fixture in Cape Coast, with the home team needing a win and the visitors only in need of a draw.
Three other matches will produce the remaining two qualifiers. Five –time African champions Cameroon are at home to Cote d’Ivoire’s Elephants in Yaounde on Tuesday. The Lions, on 12 points, need a win while 13-pointer Elephants require only a draw.
Tunisia hosts Zambia also on Tuesday, and would scale through with a draw as long as Equatorial Guinea, who shocked the Carthage Eagles on Saturday, do not pick all the points in Nouakchott against Mauritania.
The Eagles and the Guineans are both on 10 points. Zambia, who victimized Mauritania 4-0 on Saturday to go to seven points, are also still in with a chance, if they win well in Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea drop all points in Nouakchott.
The final round of the African qualifying series will hold in March 2022.
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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