International Football
Fact File on the 10 African teams in World Cup playoff
The current top nine ranked African teams all made it to the World Cup playoff scheduled for March next year. The only team among the qualifiers not ranked among top 10 is DR Congo.
The qualified teams are: Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Egypt, DR Congo, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia who all won their respective groups to reach the final qualifying playoff phase for the 2022 World Cup.
Subsequently, the 10 teams will be divided into 2 pots based on their FIFA ranking and a draw will be conducted for the home and away matches that will produce five final qualifiers.
Sports Village Square presents a fact file on the 10 gladiators. The teams are presented in the current FIFA ranking order.
Senegal
FIFA ranking: 20
Coach: Aliou Cisse
Captain: Kalidou Koulibaly
Key players: Sadio Mane, Ismaila Sarr and Idrissa Gana Gueye.
Group H: Played=6, Won=5, Drew=1, Lost=0, Goals For=15, Goals Against=4, Points=16
Previous World Cup participations: 2 (2002 and 2018)
Tunisia
FIFA ranking: 27
Coach: Mondher Kebair
Captain: Wahbi Khazri
Key players: Wahbi Khazri, Ferjani Sassi and Ali Maaloul.
Group B: Played=6, Won=4, Drew=1, Lost=1, Goals For=11, Goals Against=2, Points=13
Previous World Cup participations: 5 (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018)
Morocco
FIFA ranking: 29
Coach: Vahid Halilhodzic
Captain: Romain Saiss
Key players: Youssef En-Nesyri, Munir El Haddadi and Achraf Hakimi.
Group I: Played=6, Won=6, Drew=0, Lost=0, Goals For=20, Goals Against=1, Points=18
Previous World Cup participations: 5 (1970, 1986, 1994, 1998 and 2018)
Algeria
FIFA ranking: 30
Coach: Djamel Belmadi
Captain: Riyad Mahrez
Key players: Riyad Mahrez, Islam Slimani and Sofiane Feghouli.
Group A: Played=6, Won=4, Drew=2, Lost=0, Goals For=25, Goals Against=4, Points=14
Previous World Cup participations: 4 (1982, 1986, 2010, 2014)
Nigeria
FIFA ranking: 36
Coach: Gernot Rohr
Captain: Ahmed Musa
Key players: Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi.
Group C: Played=6, Won=4, Drew=1, Lost=1, Goals For=9, Goals Against=3, Points=13
Previous World Cup participations: 6 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018)
Egypt
Fifa ranking: 44
Coach: Carlos Queiroz
Captain: Mohamed Salah
Key players: Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Elneny, Ahmed Hegazi, Mohamed El Shennawi
Group F: Played=6, Won=4, Drew=2, Lost=0, Goals For=10, Goals Against=4, Points=14
Previous World Cup participations: 3 (1934, 1990, 2018)
Ghana
FIFA ranking: 52
Coach: Milovan Rajevac
Captain: Andrew Ayew
Key players: Andrew Ayew, Jordan Ayew, Thomas Partey
Group G: Played=6, Won=4, Drew=1, Lost=1, Goals For=7, Goals Against=3, Points=13
Previous World Cup participations: 3 (2006, 2010, 2014)
Cameroon
FIFA ranking: 54
Coach: Toni Conceicao
Captain: Eric Choupo-Moting
Key players: Eric Choupo-Moting, Karl Ekambi and Andre Onana
Group D: Played=6, Won=5, Drew=0, Lost=1, Goals For=12, Goals Against=3, Points=15
Previous World Cup participations: 7 (1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014)
Mali
FIFA ranking: 57
Coach: Mohamed Magassouba
Captain: Molla Wague
Key players: Kalifa Coulibaly, Moussa Djenepo and Amadou Haidara.
Group E: Played=6, Won=5, Drew=1, Lost=0, Goals For=11, Goals Against=0, Points=16
Previous World Cup participations: None
DR Congo
FIFA ranking: 67
Coach: Hector Cuper
Captain: Dieumerci Mbokani
Key players: Dieumerci Mbokani, Ben Malango, Yannick Bolasie
Group J: Played=6, Won=3, Drew=2, Lost=1, Goals For=9, Goals Against=3, Points=11
Previous World Cup participations: 1 (1974)
International Football
German Thomas Tuchel becomes 3rd foreign manager for England
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
International Football
Factbox on England head coach Thomas Tuchel
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
International Football
Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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