International Football
Egypt eyeing first back-to-back World Cup appearances
For Egypt, a World Cup qualification has often proved far-fetched. On Tuesday, however, the team will have a chance to make it back-to-back appearances at the football’s most prestigious show piece for the first time ever.
For some reason, Egypt have never been able to match their African dominance when it came to World Cup qualification, but they could go some way into ending that dismal record as they meet Senegal in the second leg of a qualifying playoff in Dakar.
Holding a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg, Egypt are slight favourites to reach the Qatar finals , but they will have to negotiate a tough tie against the reigning African champions at their new 50,000-seat Abdoulaye Wade stadium.
Although Egypt have a record haul of seven African Nations Cup titles under their belt, they only reached the World Cup three times in 1934, 1990 and 2018.
Out for vengeance after they lost to Senegal on penalties in the Nations Cup final last month, Egypt secured a smash-and-grab win over the Teranga Lions in Cairo last Friday.
An early own goal from defender Saliou Ciss, after some good work from Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, proved to be the difference. Egypt then defended doggedly, keeping at bay the likes of Sadio Mane and Ismaila Sarr after Senegal had mounted an onslaught.
Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz — who is targeting a personal glory of leading a team to the World Cup finals for a fifth time after previous successes with South Africa, Iran and Portugal — hailed his team’s fighting spirit, angrily hitting back at those who criticized his cautious game-plan.
The Portuguese implied that repelling Senegal’s attacks was a success on its own, highlighting the quality that Senegal boasts. He said an even more solid performance is needed in the second leg if Egypt are to preserve their advantage.
“It’s a 0-0 World Cup game, everything is open. We need to be more powerful, we need to do it double. We need to defend with 15 or 16 players. We will probably need to fight for our lives in Dakar,” he told a news conference after the first leg.
“History does not talk about those who play better. As we know, Italy played well against Macedonia and they are out of the World Cup.”
To contain Senegal’s threat once again, Queiroz will need his entire backline to be vigilant. However, with his defence depleted, his task will not be simple.
Egypt’s central defensive pair who played the first leg will not be available, with Mohamed Abdel-Moneim ruled out after fracturing his nose in an aerial collision with Mane and Mahmoud El-Wensh suspended after picking up a second yellow card in the qualifiers.
Queiroz called up 33-year-old defender Ali Gabr, who was one of the pillars of the Egypt side that reached the Nations Cup final in 2017, and Ahly’s Rami Rabia to fill the gaps.
Senegal could also have to do without Paris Saint-Germain defender Abdou Diallo, who was taken off in the first half of Friday’s clash after sustaining what appeared to be a groin injury.
-Ahram
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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