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Former Green Eagles player, United States-based, Paul Okoku, says if the Super Eagles fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the response by Nigerians must be constructive, particularly, in examining both technical and administrative factors.
ZURICH: World Cup -bound Iraq have two new players for possible selection after FIFA approved eligibility for Nashville SC midfielder Ahmed Qasem and Dundee United defender Dario Naamo. Both comply with FIFA rules for a binding change of national eligibility because of family ties to Iraq. The national team qualified in March for their first World Cup in 40 years despite travel problems during the Middle East conflict. It’s in a tough World Cup group that includes France, Norway and Senegal, who all feature stellar forward in Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Sadio Mané. Iraq coach Graham Arnold previously led his native Australia at the 2022 World Cup and now can pick two more players nurtured in Europe. The 22-year-old Qasem was born in Sweden and represented that country at youth level through the Under-21s. He moved to Major League Soccer team Nashville last year from Elfsborg. The 20-year-old Naamo was born in Finland and was still playing for its Under-21 team in March.
LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles is famous for its sun, sand and surf, celebrity sightings, and an endless variety of food and entertainment. It’s set to become a World Cup site again. The 1994 men’s final was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which also hosted the 1999 women’s final. Los Angeles is hosting eight matches, including the US opener vs. Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which is being called Los Angeles Stadium during the World Cup. Los Angeles County has the largest foreign-born population of any US county.
MUNICH: Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies will be sidelined for “several weeks” after injuring his left hamstring during their Champions League semifinal second leg against Paris St. Germain, dealing a potential blow to Canada’s World Cup preparations. Davies, who was a second-half substitute against PSG on Wednesday, has struggled with muscle injuries this season and Bayern’s medical team confirmed on Friday that the fullback’s club season was practically over. Davies has made just six Bundesliga starts this season while he has not completed 90 minutes in a match since February. With Bayern knocked out in the Champions League semifinals, the German champions have only three matches left this season, including a Cup final against Stuttgart on May 23. But the timing could hardly be worse for Canada, who are set to co-host the World Cup from June 11.
ALGIERS: Algeria face a goalkeeping crisis for the World Cup that they are hoping to alleviate with the return of a player from retirement. Oussama Benbot, retired from the national team after being an unused substitute at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco at the end of the year, could prove the solution to a dilemma that has befallen the side after injuries left Melvin Mastil and Luca Zidane doubtful and Anthony Mandrea ruled out. The 31-year-old Benbot’s form played a large part in his club USM Alger reaching the African Confederation Cup final, where they host Egypt’s Zamalek in the first leg on Saturday. Algerian media reports said he had provoked the ire of Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic with outbursts over his lack of playing time with the Algerian side. However, the need for a goalkeeper for the World Cup has seen him return to contention for a place in the squad that will be named later this month. Luca Zidane, son of French World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, was Algeria’s first-choice goalkeeper at the Cup of Nations but turned in several undistinguished performances and then last month suffered fractures to his jaw and chin in a Spanish second-tier match with his club Granada. Mastil, who plays in Switzerland and won a first cap in March, has since undergone hernia surgery, while Mandrea dislocated his shoulder in training with his French club Caen and will miss the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the US Mandrea had been Algeria’s first choice over the past five years but when Caen were relegated to the French third tier last year, Petkovic said he would not consider selecting a player from as low a league level. The 27-year-old Zidane, who, like his three brothers, won caps for France at
DUBAI: Kylian Mbappé is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Lamine Yamal is out for the rest of the season and so is Brazil star Estêvão. There was also a scare when Mohamed Salah hurt his hamstring recently. Injuries to some of soccer’s biggest names are mounting ahead of the World Cup which starts in five weeks. Mbappé is expected to play again for Real Madrid this month and there is no suggestion his issue will rule him out of the World Cup.
OTTAWA: Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday it was her “understanding” that Iranian soccer officials were denied entry into her country ahead of the FIFA Congress meeting in Vancouver just weeks before the start of the World Cup. Anand appeared to confirm a report from Tasnim, an Iranian news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but she said the denial was “unintentional.” Tasnim reported that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and two other Iranian officials were denied entry due to “inappropriate behavior of immigration officials” at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. “It’s not my personal lead, but my understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission. It was unintentional, but I’ll leave it to the minister to indicate,” Anand said, apparently referring to Immigration Minister Lena Diab. The online news outlet Iran International first reported that Taj had been granted a visa Monday and had been removed from Canada late Tuesday evening due to his connections to the IRGC, a listed terrorist entity in Canada. An emailed response from Diab’s office said all visa applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by trained officials. “While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” said Taous Ait, Diab’s press secretary. The FIFA Congress gathering comes weeks before the start of a World Cup that is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
VANCOUVER: FIFA on Tuesday announced a sharp increase in overall financial distributions for this year’s World Cup, boosting cash payments to nearly $900 million following concerns over the spiraling costs for teams taking part in the tournament. FIFA said in a statement that money shared from the tournament — being staged in Mexico, Canada and the United States — would now total $871 million, up from an initial figure of $727 million announced in December. Tuesday’s announcement followed a meeting of FIFA’s ruling council ahead of the body’s Congress in Vancouver taking place on Thursday. The hefty increase comes after several FIFA members reportedly raised concerns that the high cost of travel, tax and overall operations could result in them losing money from taking part in the tournament. FIFA has now moved to alleviate those concerns, increasing an award of $1.5 million for preparation costs to $2.5 million for each of the 48 qualified teams. A payment of $9 million for qualifying for the tournament has also been increased to $10 million. Further contributions for team delegation costs and increased team ticketing allocations are also part of the overall increase. “FIFA is proud to be in its most solid financial position ever, enabling us to help all our member associations in an unprecedented way,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “This is one more example of how FIFA’s resources are reinvested back into the game.” FIFA is projected to earn around $13 billion from the current four-year World Cup cycle, which concludes with this year’s tournament, the largest World Cup in history. FIFA’s prize money for the 2026 tournament announced last year had already shattered the cash handed out at the 2022
MADRID: Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane is a doubt for the World Cup after suffering a jaw and chin fracture while playing for his club Granada in Spain’s second tier. The son of former France great Zinedine Zidane was taken off with a concussion after colliding with an opponent during his team’s 4-2 home defeat by Almeria on Sunday. The 27-year-old is expected to miss the rest of the season and could be out for even longer if he needs surgery. “The player, in consultation with the club’s medical staff, will decide in the coming hours on the course of treatment to be followed,” said the club in a statement late Monday. Luca Zidane is Algeria’s first-choice goalkeeper and their back-up options Anthony Mandrea and Melvin Mastil are also currently out injured. Algeria’s World Cup campaign begins on June 16 against reigning champions Argentina.