International Football
SUPER FALCONS RELIVE OLD MEMORY IN 9-0 MASSACRE OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Nigeria’s women’s football national team, the Super Falcons Tuesday morning brought back old memories as they walloped one of African women football powerhouses, Equatorial Guinea by 9-0 in their third and final match of the Turkish Women’s Cup competition played at the Emir Sports Complex in Antalya.
Sports Village Square recalls that one has to go back to over 20 years ago to get such wide margin results as the Nigerian sides were overwhelming powerhouses in Africa in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The last time they recorded a 9-0 win was on 6 November 1994 against Sierra Leone in Ibadan although lately they beat Niger Republic 15-0 in 2019.
In form skipper, Asisat Oshoala, four-time African woman footballer of the year scored four goals to stand out.
Her goals came in the 11th, 13th (penalties), 26th and 85th minute, while defender Gloria Ogbonna (8th minute), Uchenna Kanu (36th), Charity Adule (38th), new-girl Toni Oyedupe Payne (43rd) and Gift Monday (69th) also weighed in to condemn the two-time African champions, Equatorial Guinea to a humiliating defeat.
Overall, the Nzalang National of Equatorial Guinea scored no goal at the tournament, lost all three matches and conceded a total of 16 goals.
The Super Falcons have much to brag about having won all three matches, scoring 11 goals and refusing to allow any goal into their net as goalkeepers Tochukwu Oluehi (against CSKA Moscow and Uzbekistan) and Christy Ohiaeriaku kept things absolutely tight at the rear.
Defender Gloria Ogbonna opened the floodgates as early as the 8th minute, before Oshoala, four-time African Woman Player of the Year, netted twice from six yards as the Guineans conceded penalties within two minutes.
Oshoala, who was Player of the Tournament and Top Scorer at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2014, made it four in the 26th minute, before former junior international Uchenna Kanu, Charity Adule and Oyedupe Payne ensured a 7-0 half-time lead.
The Falcons simply cruised in the second half with Gift Monday, in the 69th and Oshoala with another goal five minutes to the end.
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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