International Football
Can Eguavoen and Amuneke deliver the World Cup ticket? 
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are at the verge of another World Cup appearance. Should the Eagles prevail tomorrow, Nigeria will feature in her seventh World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike in the previous two qualifiers for 2014 and 2018, it has been anything but a smooth ride for the Super Eagles. In the course of the 2022 qualifiers, the Super Eagles, on field, lost their admirable record of 36 unbeaten streak at the World Cup qualifying series.
Before the shocking 0-1 loss to Central African Republic in Lagos last October, the last time the Nigerian side lost a World Cup qualifying game was way back in 20 June 2004 against Angola in Luanda.
They went 38 matches without a loss, even though the result of their last qualifiers against Algeria, which ended 1-1, was annulled owing to Nigeria’s fielding of an ineligible Shehu Abdulahi.
The qualifying series for 2022 took a dramatic twist after the Eagles lost 0-1 to unrated Central African Republic in what incidentally, was the first ever international meeting between both countries.
That was the beginning of the end for the unduly elongated coaching tenure of Gernot Rohr. Although his team managed to reverse the score-line in the return leg at the adopted home ground of Central African Republic in Douala, Cameroon, it was clear that Rohr was living on borrowed time.
The last group match, a home duel with Cape Verde was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Needing to just avoid a loss, Rohr’s team laboured throughout the game, despite getting a dream opening, scoring in the very first minute of the match.
The mantle has now fallen on former international, Austin Eguavoen, who incidentally as the coach of the national team, lost his role to a German, Berti Vogts in 2007.
Taking over from another German, Rohr, Eguavoen, seems to have had his ‘vengeance’. But what should we expect?
Austin Eguavoen is assisted by fellow ex-international, Emmanuel Amuneke as they prepare the Super Eagles for the decisive encounter with Ghana Black Stars.
The first match comes up in Kumasi on Friday. This will be Nigeria’s 111st World Cup qualifying match. Coincidentally, it was against Ghana that Nigeria debuted in the World Cup qualifying series when they met in Accra on 28 August 1960.
At the time, Nigeria lost 4-1. But time has changed and Nigeria Super Eagles have since taken the commanding role when it comes to World Cup qualification.
As at the end of the group stage of the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, no African side has racked up as many qualifying victories as Nigeria, whose overall record of 62 wins in 110 games equates to a win rate of 56.4%.
This record is the benchmark for Eguavoen and Amuneke as the Eagles target the ultimate goal of making it to Qatar 2022.
This will be Eguavoen’s second attempt at qualifying the Super Eagles for the World Cup. At the closing stages for the Germany 2006 qualification, he was drafted to take over from Christian Chukwu.
He achieved some good results, but they were not enough to steer the team to Germany. When he took over from Chukwu in 2005, though a defender in his playing days, he showed he had an attacking philosophy.
The Super Eagles under his watch scored 10 goals in two matches and became the only coach of Nigeria to have led a team to beat Algeria at home.
Such offensive inclination had seen his side becoming the only one with a 100 per cent outing at the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations 2021. Playing against Ghana is not a strange assignment for him considering that his team had beaten Ghana before at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Port Said, Egypt.
With good attacking option as well as solid defensive strategy, Eguavoen’s side should be able to overcome Ghana and qualify for the World Cup, a feat that will make him and Amuneke, the third set of Nigerians to achieve World Cup qualification feat after those of Amodu Shaibu and Keshi combination in 2002 and Keshi in 2014.
The decisive match will air on SuperSport on DStv Premier League channel 203 and GOtv channel 38. Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
-ThisDay
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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