International Football
World Cup: Morocco ‘aim for the sky’ after fairytale run in Qatar
Morocco coach Walid Regragui said the Atlas Lions are ready to “aim for the sky” after reaching the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time in 36 years on Thursday.
The North Africans sealed their passage into the last 16 with a 2-1 win over Canada thanks to goals from Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri which saw them finish ahead of Croatia on top of Group F. They next face 2010 champions Spain on Tuesday.
In Qatar, where the home team along with Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have exited, Morocco now carries the mantle for an Arab world that has cheered victories by Arab teams against some of the tournament favourites.
Regragui said his team’s performance in the first phase was down to a determination to “change the mindset” of Morocco’s national team, who had not advanced to the knockout rounds since the 1986 finals prior to arriving in Qatar.
Now France-born former Morocco international Regragui says the team is dreaming of going further than the last 16 – even winning the tournament.
“We set ourselves an objective – we said we wanted to give everything we’ve got and get out of the group stages. We can tick that box now,” Regragui said.
“So why not aim for the sky? We needed to change and we needed to change our mentality. We’re not going to stop here. We’re going to respect every opponent. But we are going to be very difficult opponents. So why not dream about lifting that trophy?
“We know that African teams need to set themselves objectives. We drew with Croatia. We beat Belgium. We beat Canada. We’re realistic, but we know what we’re worth. We’ll take it one game at a time… But if we’re 100 per cent and fighting fit we’re capable of great things.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Morocco fullback Achraf Hakimi wept after the match. “I didn’t think about it, but now I realise we made history,” he said. “We work very hard and we deserve it.”
According to opinion polls, a fifth of Moroccans believe their team will reach the semi-final, and national carrier Royal Air Maroc has put on special flights to ferry fans back and forth from Qatar.
On Thursday, the iconic Avenue Mohammed V through central Rabat thronged with supporters wrapped in the country’s red flag with its green star, setting off firecrackers as drivers honked their horns. Cafes had been packed for the match and even banks had closed early to allow people to watch.
Mohamed Tahiri, a lawyer out celebrating in Rabat among crowds waving flags despite the rainy weather, said Morocco was the only team left for Arabs to identify with.
“This is a day of celebration not only for us Moroccans but for all Arabs and for all the Amazigh North Africans too,” he added.
Regragui, who only took over as Morocco coach in August after the dismissal of predecessor Vahid Halilhodzic, said he had been determined to model Morocco’s mental approach on European and South American teams at the World Cup.
“Right from the beginning I have been talking about changing our mindset,” he said. “We didn’t come here just to play and say ‘We almost qualified (for the last 16)’.
“We want to play our own game, but we also need to get the results and do as all European or South American teams do. We need to emulate them. I don’t see any teams here that have just come to play. They come with a plan.
“So there is the mentality change. We didn’t want to fall prey to this negativity. The idea is to stay strong. We need to duplicate the play of European teams, with our own values. That’s what I tried to do today.”
AFP, REUTERS
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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