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Oliseh Eager To Prove His Ability

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New Nigeria coach Sun
day Oliseh is determined to show he has the managerial ability to disprove the critics who say he lacks the experience needed for the job.
The 40-year-old former Borussia Dortmund and Juventus midfielder signed a three-year deal last month and succeeded Stephen Keshi, who was sacked at the start of July.
Oliseh coached the Belgian lower league side Vervietois between 2008 and 2009 and since then has been working as a pundit, sport consultant and Fifa Technical committee member.
“People are saying say I’ve never coached at this level before,” Oliseh told newsmen.
“The only answer I can give is, can they name to me one African former player that has been able to coach any first division team in Europe?
“It’s not a question of lack of effort, I got my coaching badge from the English Football Association more than five years ago, I’ve been working with the FIFA technical study group so it’s not through lack of trying.
“It’s a question of the fact that at this moment there doesn’t seem to be opening for African coaches in Europe.
“Eventually we will get there, I am very optimistic. We will break the barriers someday.”
How Tough Will The Job Be?
“The football in our nation has never been so low.
“Even in the early 1990s when players were just leaving the country we had players playing in major leagues and even playing in the European Cup games.
“Now we virtually have nobody so relying on individual players at the level that they are to win games for you is something we have to forget and something that isn’t a reality.
“The only philosophy I think I can have now is to try to get the players to get results as a team and not individuals.
“The potential is there.”
How Worrying Is It To See Victor  Moses and John Obi Mikel OnThe Bench At Chelsea?
“Players not playing regularly at their clubs is a huge problem because they might struggle with the rhythm.
“I’ve spoken to the majority of the players that may come into the reckoning to play, to be in the first pool of players that we are building. But they have to do something about it
“They are still young they need to think about playing now and it might not be bad for them to go out on loan and play and maybe get to a level where Chelsea will have them back to play and not just sit and watch.
“The player will decide his fate, it’s not for the national team to impose but I would advise them to play as much as possible.
“They will have to try and play as much as possible.”
Trying To Widen The Pool Of Talent For The Nigeria Team
“You can bet your money that I’m looking at players with Nigerian heritage who have been born or brought up in other countries, I have no choice.
“Out of  these players, let’s be honest, very few of them get to play in other nations for a long time, whereas with Nigeria, these players have the chance of regularly, if they are good, to play in the World Cup.
“It’s definitely something we are looking at and we’ve started making moves.
“They are welcome with open arms and we’ll do all we can to put them in the best situation if they decide to play for Nigeria because Nigeria needs them and they also need Nigeria to become top, world class players.”

 

John Bennett

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Gyokeres Situation, Transfer Under Cloud At Sporting

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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.’”

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Concacaf Opposes 64-Team W’Cup Plans

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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.”

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Brazil Edge Paraguay, Book W’Cup Spot

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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.

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