International Football
It’s Good Friday for Super Falcons as winning streak continues
After a spell of seven lost matches, Nigeria’s Super Falcons may have turned a new leaf, winning two matches back-to-back. On Friday, they recorded a 2-1 win over Haiti. This is a cheery follow-up to their 1-0 defeat of Costa Rica in February, breaking a spell of losses since their 1-0 defeat of Cameroon in Morocco last year July.
Two goals, one in each half, steered nine-time African champions Nigeria past Haiti’s senior women national team in an international friendly in Antalya, Turkey on Friday.
Returnee marks-woman Asisat Oshoala had already seen her simple tap-in disallowed in the 22nd minute, and fellow Spain-based forward Rasheedat Ajibade has seen her shot miss by the whiskers, before Esther Okoronkwo caught the Haitian defence completely off-guard with a free-kick from the right that slipped past the goalkeeper in the 40th minute.
Haiti, who are also heading to the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand this summer, came back from the dressing room looking to take the fight to the Super Falcons, but goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, former U20 captain Tosin Demehin and captain Onome Ebi warded off their incursions.
Two minutes before the hour-mark, Oshoala jabbed in from close range to make it two for the Falcons, in the process registering her first goal for the team since scoring in a Turkish Women’s Tournament defeat of Equatorial Guinea two years ago.
A defensive mix-up accounted for the Haitians pulling one back in the 75th minute, but there was no stopping the Super Falcons who have now won their last two matches, going back to the defeat of World Cup-bound Costa Rica in Mexico in February.
Next up for the African heavyweights is a clash with World Cup co-hosts New Zealand also in Antalya on Tuesday evening.
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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