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International Football

Flying Eagles begin World Cup title chase with ‘soft’ duel against Dominican

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

On 21 May, the day FIFA clocks 119 years, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles begin a quest to win the U-20 World Cup for the first time after having missed the title twice in their best outings in 1989 and 2005.

In 1989 they lost the the final game against a Luiz Figo propelled Portugal in Saudi Arabia. In 2005, it was Lionel Messi inspired Argentina that beat Nigeria in The Netherlands.

This time, they begin their 13th appearance with a clash with debutants, Dominican Republic.

On the same day, Brazil and Italy will clash in the opening game of Group D. Nigeria

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The Flying Eagles will be hoping to reach the knockout stage from the group.

Overall, Nigeria have reached the knockout stages in ten of their previous 12 FIFA U-20 World Cup campaigns. The last time they featured at the finals and failed to qualify from their group was all the way back in 1987.

As for the Flying Eagles’ first opponents, Dominican Republic it is the first time that the CONCACAF team will feature at a FIFA tournament across all levels.

The Caribbean nation secured their landmark qualification via the 2022 Concacaf Men’s U-20 Championship in Honduras last June, where they triumphed over El Salvador, Jamaica and Guatemala in the knockout stages en route to their first final, which they subsequently lost against a strong USA team who claimed their third successive title.

Not only did their exploits at the tournament see the Dominican Republic seal their spot at Argentina 2023, but they also clinched a place at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 courtesy of a thrilling penalty shoot-out win over Guatemala in the semi-finals.

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Midfielder Edison Azcona and forward Ángel Montes De Oca were both key to their memorable campaign on Honduran soil and are men that the Flying Eagles will have to watch out for.

Flying Eagles’ next match comes up on 24 May when they face Italy. On that same day, Brazil will play against Dominican Republic.

This is Italy’s third consecutive qualification. But overall, this is their eighth appearance in the global showpiece U-20 event.

 They secured a spot by reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 UEFA European U-19 Championship.

The Italians made it through to the final four in each of the last two editions of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, losing out to the eventual champions on both occasions; England in 2017 and Ukraine in 2019.

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Italy have qualified from their group in each of their last five appearances at the U-20 finals. The last time they failed to make it beyond the group stage was in 1981.

 The first goal in the history of the tournament was scored by Italy’s Luigi Capuzzo in a 1-1 draw against Côte d’Ivoire in 1977.

The only previous encounter of Nigeria and Italy was at Chile ‘87 when Nigeria stumbled 0-2 at Concepcion.

Nigeria will wrap up their group matches with a duel with Brazil on 27 May. The Flying Eagles did not win any of their previous encounters with Brazil, dating back to 1983 when they stumbled 3-0 after a soul lifting 1-0 defeat of the then Soviet Union.

Subsequent matches were lost 2-0, 4-0 and 4-2 in 1985, 1987 and 2015. The only respite was the 0-0 draw of 2005.

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NIGERIA’S GROUP D FIXTURES

21 May: Nigeria vs. Dominican Republic

24 May: Italy vs. Nigeria

27 May: Brazil vs. Nigeria

The two teams finishing first and second in each group and the four best teams among those ranked third will qualify for the round of 16.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

International Football

Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat

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Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.

Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.

FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.

Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.

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By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.

Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.

“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.

“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”

LONGER HALFTIMES

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Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.

“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.

“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”

The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.

“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.

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FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.

“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.

“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”

FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.

“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.

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“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.

-Reuters

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Former England and Man Utd midfielder Ince charged with drink-driving

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Championship - Norwich City v Reading - Carrow Road, Norwich, Britain - December 30, 2022, Reading manager Paul Ince applauds fans after the match Action Images/Matthew Childs/File Photo 

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.

Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.

“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.

“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”

Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.

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After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.

-Reuters

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From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro

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I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro

Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil. 

However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.

Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.

Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).

He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.

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His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.

These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people.  I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,”  he insists

The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius. 

“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.

‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”

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Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.

Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: I want to continue it.”

-Marca

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