International Football
Titanic battle! Group D now a two-horse race by Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon
Wins for Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire mean that both are the only two left in the race for the lone World Cup play-off place from Group D of African qualifying.
Cameroon shrugged off a delayed arrival in Morocco to beat Mozambique 1-0 with Centre-back Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui netting the winner in the 68th minute.
Logistical issues had caused delays leaving Douala, which meant the Cameroon squad only landed in Tangier less than 12 hours before kick-off.
However it was Ivory Coast who retained top place in the group with a 2-1 win over Malawi in Cotonou, Benin.
The Elephants opened the scoring after just two minutes through Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe, with South Africa-based Khuda Muyaba equalised 18 minutes later for the Flames.
AC Milan’s Franck Kessie secured the three points for Ivory Coast when he scored from the penalty spot in the 66th minute.
The defeats for Mozambique and Malawi mean neither side can qualify for the World Cup.
Ivory Coast top the group on 10 points just one ahead of the Indomitable Lions going into the final two qualifiers in November, with the final tie a potential winner takes all between the two in Cameroon.
Only the group winners will reach next March’s play-offs, where Africa’s five representatives in Qatar will be decided.
Mozambique and Ivory Coast are among 11 countries who have been ordered by the Caf to play home games on neutral soil because local stadia are unfit for use.
Burkina Faso kept up the pressure on Algeria in Group A with a 2-0 win over Djibouti, who are now another side who cannot reach the play-offs.
Issoufou Dayo and then Adboul Tapsoba, with his fourth goal in his last three internationals, ensured the win for the Stallions in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, with Burkina Faso another nation unable to host international matches.
Djibouti played the 23 minutes of the match with 10 men after Aptidon Daher was shown a straight red card.
The win moves Burkina Faso to the top of the group with 10 points but African champions Algeria will regain top spot on goal difference if they can beat hosts Niger on Tuesday.
Niger, who lost 6-1 in Algeria on Friday, must beat the Desert Foxes to have any chance of progressing to the play-offs.
Gabon off mark as Bettamer backs Libya to pip Egypt
Elsewhere, captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored as Gabon beat Angola 2-0 in Franceville to register their first win in Group F.
The Arsenal striker lashed in a back-post volley in the 74th minute and To Carneiro’s own goal doubled the Panthers’ lead six minutes from time.
Gabon move on to four points in the table and leapfrog Angola, who have three points.
Egypt top the group on seven points – one ahead of Libya, who host the Pharaohs in a crucial tie in Benghazi on Monday (19:00 GMT).
Striker Mo Bettamer believes Libya are capable of pipping Carlos Quieroz’s side to top spot in Group F.
“We still have our destiny in our own hands,” Bettamer told Sportshour on the BBC World Service.
“The players from the Libyan league have stepped up and it’s been a good campaign so far.
“When we first saw the group there were good teams in it, with Gabon with [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang and Egypt with Mohamed Salah.
“We have got the players to do well and get a result.”
Libya lost 1-0 to Egypt in Alexandria on Friday, but Bettamer hopes home advantage will come into play when the two sides meet again.
“Football is a big thing in Libya, especially with what is happening politically over there,” the 28-year-old added.
“Football is keeping people on the edge of their seats, and everyone is excited about what can happen in these World Cup qualifiers.”
Elsewhere in African World Cup qualifying, Burkina Faso can move ahead of Group A leaders Algeria if the Stallions avoid defeat against Djibouti in Marrakech.
-BBC
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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