International Football
SUPER EAGLES CAMP IN MOROCCO FOR ALGERIA, ARGENTINA MATCHES
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Super Eagles’ players are to assemble in Morocco on Monday ahead of Friday’s World Cup qualifying duel with Algeria. The choice of Morocco, apart from sharing the same climatic condition with Algeria and also being a neighbouring country, could have been hinged on the sporting relations Nigeria is forging with the country.
In May this year, football authorities of both Nigeria and Kingdom of Morocco consummated a multi-faceted strategic agreement in general football development.
According to a media release from the NFF, the Nigerian delegation will leave the unnamed city in Morocco on Thursday for the match in Constantine the next day.
On Friday, the team will then leave aboard a 45-seater chartered flight from Constantine to Krasnodar, Russia for a friendly duel with Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Towards, the two matches, Gernot Rohr has invited largely the same set of players he had employed in the past four matches. The glaring absentee is Chelsea’s Victor Moses who is down with hamstring injury.
There are however new inclusions. The notable one is the Spanish Deportivo La Coruna’s goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho who will join the two regular invitees, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Daniel Akpeyi.
Another new comer is Brian Oladapo Idowu who is placed on standby at his Russia base for the encounter with Argentina.
He is of Nigerian decent, having a full blooded Nigerian father and half Nigerian, half Russian mother.
Idowu plays for FC Amkar Perm in the Russian Premier League. He was born and raised in Russia except for the period he was aged three to six when he lived in Owerri, Nigeria.
- New invitee, Brian Oladapo Idowu
THE FULL LIST
Goalkeepers: Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United, South Africa); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (FC IfeanyiUbah); Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain)
Defenders: William Ekong (Bursaspor FC, Turkey); Abdullahi Shehu (Anorthosis Famagusta, Cyprus); Tyronne Ebuehi (ADO Den Haag, The Netherlands); Leon Balogun (FSV Mainz 05, Germany); Uche Agbo (Standard Liege, Belgium); Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC, France); Olaoluwa Aina (Hull City, England)
Midfielders: Mikel John Obi (Tianjin Teda, China); Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor FC, Turkey); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (CD Feirense, Portugal); John Ogu (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel); Mikel Agu (Bursaspor FC, Turkey); Chidiebere Nwakali (Sogndal FC, Norway)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Leicester City, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Moses Simon (KAA Gent, Belgium); Alex Iwobi (Arsenal FC, England); Odion Ighalo (Chang Chun-Yatai, China); Henry Onyekuru (RSC Anderlecht, Belgium); Anthony Nwakaeme (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel)
STANDBY: Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa FC, Turkey); Alhassan Ibrahim (FK Austria Wien, Austria); Brian Idowu (FC Amkar Perm, Russia)
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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