Sports
U-20 World Cup: Fans Caution Nigerians Against High Expectation
Football fans in Ebonyi have cautioned against high expectations from the Flying Eagles in spite of their 4-0 mauling of North Korea at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
The Tidesport source reports that the Eagles beat the Koreans yesterday to record its first win of the tournament after losing 2-4 to Brazil on Monday.
The fans in separate interviews yesterday in Abakaliki said though the Eagles performed better in the match, Nigerians should not put the team under undue pressure as the competition progress.
, a former Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Football Association (NFA), Chief Obinna Ogba congratulated the team on the victory, saying it would restore the team’s confidence.
Ogba, who is also a Senator-elect for Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zone, however, noted that the team had not attained its full potentials as some lapses were still noticed in their play.
“No one should assume that the team is now efficient because of the 4-0 win over the Koreans.
“This is because the Korean team which had earlier been beaten by Hungary 5-1 on Monday were not the sort of opposition to truly test the Eagles full abilities,” he said.
A Member of the Ebonyi House of AssemblyMr Chike Ogiji, said that the Eagles true test would be against Hungary in the last group match on Sunday.
Ogiji urged the Eagles not to allow the victory over the North Koreans to get into their heads but to prepare adequately for the Hungarian challenge.
“The coaches should critically review the matches against Brazil and North Korea to effectively map-out the appropriate players’ selection and tactics to ensure victory against Hungary,” he said.
former Enugu Rangers International defender, Vincent Okplaka, advised Coach Manu Garba to work on the team’s tactical discipline on the pitch.
“The players loose concentration easily thereby losing the ball incessantly to opponents as evidenced in the matches against Brazil and North Korea.
“This trend was first noticed during the African Youth Championship in Senegal where even the defenders toss the ball carelessly in their eighteen yard box losing possession in the process,” he said.
A Sports Psychologist, Dr Felix Onuoha said the lapses noticed in Eagles so far in the competition were due to the level of opponents it played during its training tour of Germany.
“The Eagles played U-23 teams of average German clubs such as Nuremberg, Freiburg and Hoffenheim.
“These teams did not provide the quality opposition needed by a world cup-bound team.
“The other countries engaged fellow national teams in its preparation but the Eagles were revelling in their 5-0 and 5-2 demolition of opponents that were in the real sense, part-time footballers,” he said.
A teacher, Mrs Nkechi Ibe,said Nigerians should celebrate the team’s victory, “as recording such emphatic win in a world cup was no fluke.
“The team needs encouragement and prayers as this win is the much needed tonic for it to bounce back to winning ways.
Sporting have not received an offer for striker Viktor Gyokeres and there is no gentleman’s agreement for him to leave for £59million, says club president Frederico Varandas.
Sweden international Gyokeres, 27, has been heavily linked with Manchester United and Arsenal after scoring 97 goals in 102 matches during two seasons in Portugal.
He has a 100m euro (£85m) release clause in his contract.
It has been widely reported that, after staying at Sporting last summer, Gyokeres and Sporting agreed he could leave for 70m euros (£59m) this summer.
However, Varandas said the club’s only promise to Gyokeres was that they would not demand his full release clause.
“I can guarantee that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for 60m euros plus 10m euros because I never promised that,” Varandas said.
“To this day Sporting has not had an offer for Gyokeres, neither today nor last season.”
Gyokeres spent three seasons with Coventry City in the Championship before joining Sporting under Ruben Amorim.
Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana was sporting director at Sporting last summer, when Gyokeres’ agent sought assurances about his leaving if a suitable offer arrived.
“One of the agent’s biggest concerns was whether we would demand the termination clause,” said Varandas.
“He wanted to guarantee certain things. And what was agreed? That Sporting would not demand a release clause now.
“For one reason: he was going to be 27 years old and no player leaves Portugal at 27 for 100m eurors or 90m euros.
“In that same meeting the agent wanted to anchor the exit to a value. I said this sentence: ‘It’s not worth us setting a value because I don’t know what will happen in a year’s time. I don’t know if it will be 40m euros, 60m euros or 80m euros. What I can guarantee is that I will not demand 100 million euros.’”
Concacaf President Victor Montagliani has criticised a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup to 64 teams.
The plans, put forward by South American governing body Conmebol, have also drawn opposition from Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The tournament will be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, after the opening matches are held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Mexico and Canada, has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.
But Conmebol said it wanted to add more participants to mark the competition’s 100-year anniversary.
“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told Tidesports source
“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.”
Concacaf is the governing body of football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The decision to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams was taken in 2017 following a unanimous vote at a Fifa congress.
Fifa’s 75th congress will be held in Paraguay on 15 May, when Conmebol’s proposal could be discussed.
If the proposal is accepted, the 2030 edition would consist of 128 matches, double the number played under the 64-game format used from 1998 and 2022.
In March, Ceferin described the proposal as a “bad idea” while AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said it would cause “chaos”.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams,” said Salman.
“But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
Brazil qualified for the 2026 World Cup this week with a 1-0 win against Paraguay in South American qualifying to give Carlo Ancelotti his first win as manager.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jnr scored from close range in the second half, finishing after fine work from Manchester United-bound playmaker Matheus Cunha.
The victory, Ancelotti’s first after a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on his debut last week, means Brazil has now qualified for every edition of the World Cup.
“We needed to win and qualify for the World Cup,” said Vinicius Jr.
“Now the coach will have more time to work. Of course today wasn’t one of our best performances, but the important thing is always to win.
“Now it’s time to celebrate qualifying.”
Elsewhere, World Cup holders Argentina played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Colombia in Buenos Aires.
Liverpool winger Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a fine individual goal, dancing through three defenders before finishing past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina was reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining when Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a high-boot challenge on Colombia’s Kevin Castano.
But Lionel Messi’s side found an equaliser nine minutes from the end through Lyon’s Thiago Almada, leaving Colombia four points clear of seventh-placed Venezuela.
Ecuador, Argentina’s nearest challengers, booked their spot at next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States after a 0-0 draw away at Peru.