World Cup
Nigeria seek World Cup redemption, Sudan eye history
Underperforming Nigeria and disadvantaged Sudan share the spotlight ahead of two 2026 World Cup qualifying matchdays in Africa from Wednesday.
Seeded to win Group C and automatically qualify, a Nigerian team boasting the past two African Footballers of the Year Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman lie fifth in a six-team section.
In a qualifying competition spanning three years, the Super Eagles drew with Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa, then crashed to Benin in pursuit of a seventh World Cup appearance.
Since finishing 2024 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up to hosts Ivory Coast, Nigeria have had three coaches — locals Finidi George and Augustine Eguavoen and now Eric Chelle.
Fired by Mali after a poor start to their World Cup campaign, Ivory Coast-born Chelle admits he faces a “huge challenge”, starting with Rwanda away and Zimbabwe at home this month.
Blessed with outstanding forwards Osimhen and Lookman, the coach says “football is about scoring goals and I favour an attacking style”.
Seeded fifth in Group B, Sudan occupy first place ahead of a top-of-table clash with three-time World Cup qualifiers Senegal in Benghazi as they try to reach the finals for the first time.
The match is in Libya because Sudan has been engulfed in a civil war since April 2023. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and uprooted more than 12 million people.
AFP Sport highlights five matchday five clashes as the African qualifying schedule reaches the halfway mark:
Ethiopia v Egypt
As if trying to contain star Egypt forwards Mohamed Salah and Mahmoud Trezeguet is not sufficiently daunting, Ethiopia must also deal with recent Manchester City recruit Omar Marmoush.
Salah and Trezeguet are the leading scorers in African qualifying with five goals each — between them netting all but one of the Pharaohs’ 11 in Group A, which they lead by four points.
Although this is a home fixture for Ethiopia, ranked 113 places below Egypt, it will be staged in Morocco because the east African country lacks a FIFA-approved stadium.
Sudan v Senegal
Ghana-born Sudan coach Kwesi Appiah has told his squad to imagine they are world superstars as they seek to stretch a two-point Group B lead over Senegal.
“Look straight at the Senegalese stars and believe you are as good as they are. There is a war raging in your homeland and you are playing for your families and your country,” he told them.
Senegal can call on 32-year-old two-time African Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane, but will miss another high-profile forward, Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea, due to a hamstring injury.
Rwanda v Nigeria
Nigeria may be ranked 80 places above Rwanda, but dare not underestimate the Wasps after what happened in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying last year.
Rwanda forced a 0-0 draw in Kigali, then stunned Nigeria 2-1 in Uyo with Innocent Nshuti and Jimmy Mutsinzi scoring within three minutes during the second half.
Chelle will not be the only new coach on view. Rwanda did not extend the one-year contract of German Torsten Spittler and hired Algerian Adel Amrouche.
Gambia v Kenya
Former South Africa star Benni McCarthy, part of the Manchester United backroom staff when Erik ten Hag was manager, debuts as Kenya coach, vowing to take the Harambee Stars to the World Cup.
“With the right mindset and dedication from the players, and a willingness to learn and give everything they have got, we can surprise a lot of people,” says the 47-year-old.
African champions Ivory Coast are set to win Group F, so Kenya need wins away to Gambia and at home to second-placed Gabon to have a realistic chance of coming second and reaching play-offs.
Ghana v Chad
After failing to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and a World Cup loss away to shock Group I leaders Comoros, Ghana coach Otto Addo cannot afford any more setbacks.
Chad are pointless, have scored just once, some stars are boycotting this match due to “poor organisation” and coach Kevin Nicaise quit to be replaced by Qatari Tahir Zakaria Gardia.
So, it is hard to imagine Ghana, bolstered by Premier League trio Thomas Partey, Jordan Ayew and Antoine Semenyo, failing to secure three points before a tougher assignment against Madagascar.
-AFP
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With just a year to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in the United States, concerns are mounting over the impact of extreme summer heat on players and fans.
According to experts interviewed by the BBC, FIFA may be forced to adjust match schedules drastically—possibly even staging the World Cup final as early as 9 a.m.—to mitigate the risks posed by soaring temperatures.
The warnings follow sweltering conditions witnessed during recent international and Club World Cup matches held in the U.S., where athletes and spectators alike were exposed to intense heat and humidity.
One of the leading voices raising the alarm is Professor Mike Tipton, an expert in thermal physiology at the University of Portsmouth. Speaking to BBC Sport, he emphasised the potential health risks of playing in extreme conditions and recommended that matches begin as early in the day as possible.
“From a thermo-physiological point of view, for health and performance reasons, I would look to start matches as early as possible,” Tipton stated, suggesting that even the final—traditionally held in the afternoon or evening—could be moved to a morning kickoff.
Tipton went further, noting that the ideal solution would be to host the tournament during a cooler time of year, as was done with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was shifted to November and December due to extreme heat.
However, with the 2026 tournament already locked in for June 11 to July 19, FIFA’s only remaining flexibility lies in scheduling match times.
The 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico across multiple cities, some of which are known for intense summer heat.
Health experts are urging organisers to prioritise player safety and fan well-being, warning that failing to act could lead to performance issues, heat-related illnesses, or worse.
FIFA has yet to publicly comment on any proposed changes to match schedules, but as temperatures continue to rise, pressure is mounting for the governing body to take decisive action ahead of football’s biggest tournament.
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FIFA’s Global Football Development chief Arsene Wenger acknowledged that the quality of pitches hosting Club World Cup matches in the U.S. was not good enough, but insisted it would be better when the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.
The pitches, often very dry and sprinkled with water during cooling breaks or at halftime, have been widely criticised, mainly by coaches and players of the European teams taking part.
“I’ve been personally on the pitch at Orlando,” former Arsenal manager Wenger said on Saturday. “It’s not at the level that the European clubs are used to because it’s not perfect, but that will be rectified for the World Cup next year.”
Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique raised the issue early in the expanded Club World Cup tournament.
“The ball bounces like a rabbit,” Luis Enrique said after his team’s opening 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.
“Today, for example, the field used to be artificial turf, and now it’s natural grass laid over it, which means it has to be watered manually. It’s a big problem for the way we play.”
“FIFA really needs to take this seriously. Not just the stadium fields but also the training pitches. If we’re calling this the best club tournament in the world, it should have world‑class facilities. I can’t imagine an NBA game played on a court full of holes.”
-Reuters
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Congo will be allowed to continue participating in the World Cup qualifiers despite missing two fixtures in March when they were banned, world football’s governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.
Congo were suspended from February to May because of government interference in the running of their football association (FECOFOOT) but the ban was lifted when officials returned to their positions and were handed back access to their headquarters and technical training centre.
Sports minister Hugues Ngouelondele had appointed an ad-hoc committee last year to run the association, claiming it needed to sort out disputes among association office bearers, but FIFA suspended FECOFOOT due to third-party interference, which violates its statutes.
During the ban, Congo were not allowed to participate in any international competition, which meant they did not honour 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Niger in March.
A FIFA spokesman told Reuters the points from those fixtures were forfeited and a 3-0 victory awarded to their opponents.
But they will continue in the qualifiers when they resume in September, even if they have no chance of qualifying.
Congo are scheduled to play Tanzania at home in September and conclude their fixtures in October with matches at Niger and Morocco.
Congo have no points in the group, which Morocco lead with 15 points, six more than Tanzania in second place.
The group winner qualifies for next year’s World Cup in North America while the runner-up has a possibility to participate in playoffs if they are among the four best second-placed teams in the nine African qualifying groups.
FIFA has taken a hard line on government interference in football matters with the likes of Chad, Kenya, Pakistan and Zimbabwe among those banned in recent years.
Congo were African champions in 1972 but have never been to a World Cup.
-Reuters
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