International Football
WHICH THREE TEAMS COULD NIGERIA DRAW AT WORLD CUP?
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The 32 coaches whose teams made it among the 209 that went through the qualifying series must have heaved sigh of relief the moment their teams secured the qualification for Russia 2018.
Now other sets of worries come in. Before the thought of teams’ compositions, the thoughts are now focused on which teams are potential opponents.
The riddle will be solved at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow when the Final Draw ceremony will hold.
Some of the coaches are new comers to the grand event. One of such is Nigeria’s manager, Gernot Rohr. This is his first World Cup and will be attending the December 1 Draw thinking more of the Super Eagles’ potential opponents.
He carries a lot of burden. Sports Village Square recalls that in an interview he granted last month to French popular sports publications, L’Equipe, he told his interviewers that his target was to take Nigeria to the semi-finals, a point no African team had reached in the past 21 competitions.What goes on in Gernot Rohr’s mind as the World Cup Final Draw beckons?
Only Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana moved as far as quarterfinals in 1990, 2002 and 2010 respectively.
Realizing the lofty objective of reaching the semi-finals begins with getting favourable group draw.
Getting to the semi-finals is not a weird dream as the trio of Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana were within seconds of reaching the stage before mother luck went against them. Take Cameroon for instance in 1990.
Facing England, Cameroon almost caused upset. David Platt had put England ahead midway into the first half. Cameroon levelled up through an Emmanuel Kunde penalty kick. Before England realized what has happened, Cameroon had turned the form books upside down.
Eugene Ekeke put Cameroon ahead off a flick of a pass from ageless Roger Milla. Cameroon were at the brink of semi finals before two penalty kick awards to England changed the tide.
In 2002, Senegal stretched their quarterfinals opponents, Turkey, almost to a breaking point until after extra time when İlhan Mansız of Turkey broke the deadlock by scoring the match’s sole goal in the 94th minute.
Ghana were even more daring but unlucky. Missing a possible match winning penalty kick award and eventually crashed out to Uruguay in a penalty shootout.
With Nigeria expectedly in Pot 4, it means the Super Eagles will not draw opponents from the weaklings as sporting consideration was the sole determinant of the allocations to the pots.
It means Nigeria will not face any of Serbia, Australia, Japan, Panama, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Being in Pot 4 means that Nigeria will be drawn into a group with one team from each of Pots 1, 2 and 3.
In Pot 3, the choice is limited as geographical consideration will ensure that Nigeria is not drawn with any of Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal. Therefore, the scope is narrowed down to Denmark, Iceland Costa Rica, Sweden and Iran.
Here, a repeat of past fixtures of Nigeria in the World Cup looms large. Nigeria faced Denmark at France ’98, Sweden in 2002 World Cup and Iran at Brazil 2014.
The two teams Nigeria had never faced in the World Cup finals are Iceland and Costa Rica, even though the then Green Eagles played a friendly match with Iceland in 1981.
In Pot 2, Nigeria has history of past encounters will seven of the eight teams. Croatia is the only team Nigeria had never met before. But drawing teams like England, Uruguay, Spain or Mexico could be challenging.
Not easy too are possible match up with Colombia or Peru. In Pot 1, the possibility of Nigeria playing the opening match exists if drawn with Russia.
That way, it will be fourth time an African team will be playing the opening match after that of Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and South Africa in 2010.
Incidentally, none of those African teams lost the opening games. Argentina is in Pot 1. A Nigeria versus Argentina match has been a recurring fixture in the World Cup since 1994. The only exception to such recurring fixture was France ’98 where Nigeria drew Paraguay.
The alternative South American team Nigeria could draw is Brazil. A typical group involving Nigeria often has a South American side, one or two European teams or an Asian opponent.
For regional consideration, if Nigeria draws either Uruguay or Colombia from Pot 2, a fixture with any of Brazil or Argentina will not be possible. But if Uruguay and Colombia do not fall into Nigeria’s group, then Argentina or Brazil will come knocking.
Hypothetically, Nigeria’s group will have Argentina/Brazil from Pot 1, any of England, Switzerland and Croatia from Pot 2 and from Pot 3, Iran/Costa Rica or any of the following European teams – Denmark, Iceland and Sweden.
The permutation continues until the draw of December 1.
International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
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.
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
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.
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.
“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 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.
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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International Football
From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro
“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.
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.”
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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