International Football
Qatar 2022 Final Battle: Musa says Eagles fully focused on “crucial 90 minutes”
Nigeria’s Super Eagles are fully concentrated on Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 playoff duel with Ghana’s Black Stars, with the players determined to put up a performance that will earn Nigeria a seventh appearance at football’s biggest houseparty since her 1994 debut.
Captain Ahmed Musa told thenff.com on Sunday: “All the players, including myself, want to go to the World Cup.
“For me, it is very important because it could be my last World Cup. I enjoyed the last two finals that I participated in, Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018.
“I want to experience it again. Most of the players in the present squad have not been to the World Cup and they desire to be there.
“We all know it won’t be easy. Ghana will come here to do battle but we are ready for whatever they turn up with. I will not say more than that.”
Ghana paced the pitch but Nigeria created more chances in a high-octane first leg at a paroxysmic Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Friday. Both teams failed to score in a 0-0 scoreline.
Joseph Ayodele-Aribo, Emmanuel Dennis and Moses Simon came close and Moroccan referee Rédouane Jiyed only annulled his own decision for a penalty kick in favour of Nigeria after a VAR review indicated an earlier infringement.
Nigeria has the distinct advantage to pull through to Qatar at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, with the Eagles to play in front of a capacity 60,000 fans after the Nigeria Football Federation secured a go-ahead from the Confederation of African Football for maximum capacity.
There is strength in depth for Coach Augustine Eguavoen’s team, as the squad is able to pick a capable second 11 if the need arises. Goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, defenders Abdullahi Shehu, Kenneth Omeruo, Semi Ajayi and Calvin Bassey, midfielders Frank Onyeka and Akinkunmi Amoo and forwards Emmanuel Dennis, Sadiq Umar, Odion Ighalo and Ademola Lookman are capable of starting in place of the usual suspects.
Onyeka came into the second half in Kumasi but could start alongside Oghenekaro Etebo and Innocent Bonke on Tuesday as the Eagles look to tackle the menace of Ghana’s pace in the middle.
Nigeria has been at every FIFA World Cup finals since 1994, bar the 2006 edition in Germany, and reached the Round of 16 in USA 1994, France 1998 and Brazil 2014.
The last time both countries were involved in a FIFA World Cup qualifying was in 2001, when they finished 0-0 in Accra and Nigeria swept aside their visitors 3-0 in Port Harcourt in July 2001 to qualify for Korea/Japan.
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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