International Football
Unlucky Super Eagles look ahead for another clash with Cameroon
‘He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.’ That seems to be the thinking in the camp of the Super Eagles in Vienna, Austria as they prepare for another clash with Cameroon on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles created a hat-full of chances but were undone by lack of precision in the final third as Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions ran away with a 1-0 win in an international friendly in the Austrian capital, Vienna on Friday evening.
Andre Zambo Anguissa caught goalkeeper Maduka Okoye napping with a ferocious grounder after latching on to William Ekong’s interception nine minutes before the break at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt.
Before the goal, Moses Simon had seen his shot blocked by Anguissa as he broke down the left; Paul Onuachu’s close-range header had been thwarted by goalkeeper Simon Medjo’s reflected save; Okoye had saved from Karl Toko Ekambi and; Onuachu had lifted the ball too high when it appeared easier to score, all within the first six minutes of action.
Cameroon arrived the venue with their well-known power and grit, and added workmanship and vigour. The Eagles, who edged the two teams’ last encounter 3-2 in the Round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt two years ago, were quick on the counter and balanced on the turn but the absence of some players, particularly of Victor Osimhen and Zaidu Sanusi, undoubtedly told.
Ekong and Abdullahi Shehu had to spirit the ball away from danger before Simon’s shot flew inches away from goal in the 35th minute. A minute later, Cameroon scored and the momentum naturally swung in the Lions’ favour.
Despite this, Nigeria dominated a fiercely –contested second half. England –based midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was a pillar in the middle of the pack as always, and Alex Iwobi and Etebo also upped their game. An Iwobi, Simon and Onuachu orchestra in the 51st minute ended with Onuachu lifting the ball too high. Ndidi and Iheanacho also wasted chances. But the most painful was Simon blasting over from inside the six-yard box after a flurry of shots had been blocked by the Lions.
Medjo did a great job to accomplish a doube save as Ekong and Etebo unleashed shots in the 64th minute.
The introduction of Ahmed Musa in the 66th minute added even more urgency to Nigeria’s game, but there was still no way past the Indomitable Lions’ defence, with Musa’s own shot diverted from goal with 14 minutes left. Iwobi also blasted over the woodwork with three minutes left.
Both teams will clash again also in Vienna on Tuesday.
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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