International Football
ALL SET FOR EUROPE’S WORLD CUP PLAY-OFF DRAW
With the release of the FIFA monthly ranking this Monday, all is now set for the draw for the play-off in Europe for additional four places in the 2018 World Cup.
Already, nine of the European places at the global event have been decided, remaining four to be filled.
The four are to emerge among the best eight runners up in the nine European groups. Slovakia, as the worst-ranked second-placed team, miss out.
The remaining eight are to be seeded according to their October ranking.
The best four will be put in Pot 1 while the others will be in Pot 2. Teams in the same pot will not clash.
Based on the ranking released this Monday, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Denmark will be in Pot 1, while Northern Ireland, Sweden, Republic of Ireland and Greece will be in Pot 2.
The draw will hold this Tuesday at the Zurich headquarters of FIFA with Fernando Hierro carrying out the draw. The coaches of the eight teams are expected to be in attendance.
The order of the home and away legs will also be decided by the draw. This is determined as follows:
- One ball is taken from Pot 1 and one from Pot 2 and are placed in a central pot.
- The balls are then mixed and drawn one-by-one.
- The first ball drawn determines which team plays the first leg at home, and the second one decides who’ll host the return leg.
The first leg matches are to hold between November 9 and 12 while the return legs are slated for between November 12 and 14.
The team that scores the greater number of goals in both matches qualifies for Russia 2018. In the event of the teams being level on aggregate, the away goals rule will come into play.
If the winner is still not decided at the end of normal time in the second leg, the match will go to extra time with two periods of 15 minutes and the away goals rule still applied. If the scores are still level at the end of extra time, the tie will go to penalties.
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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