Sports
Ancelotti to coach Brazil from 2024 — Report
Real Madrid’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti will take over as head coach of Brazil’s national team for the 2024 Copa America, a source at the Brazilian Football Federation told AFP on Tuesday.
The federation had announced earlier that Fluminense’s Fernando Diniz would take charge of the team in the interim period.
Ancelotti has a season remaining on his contract with Real and will take over Brazil in time for the Copa America which will be held in the United States from June 2024.
The former AC Milan and Chelsea coach will become the first foreigner to coach Brazil in almost sixty years.
The last foreign coach of Brazil was Argentine Filpo Nunez who was in charge for one game in 1965.
Among his many successes, the 64-year-old Ancelotti has won the Champions League twice with both AC Milan and Real Madrid.
He has also won domestic league titles in England with Chelsea, Germany with Bayern Munich and France with Paris Saint-Germain as well as with Real and Milan.
Brazil were coached by Tite at last year’s World Cup, but he stood down from the role after their elimination at the quarter-final stage to Croatia.
Ramon Menezes has been in charge of the team since on a caretaker basis.
The CBF had earlier issued a statement saying that Diniz would be in charge of the team for the coming year.
“Fernando Diniz will lead the Brazilian team for a year, and I’m sure he will do it with great competence, as always during his professional career,” said CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues in a video statement.
“It is a dream, an honor, and a huge pride to serve the national team,” Diniz said.
The 49-year-old will be in charge of the six South American qualifying games for the 2026 World Cup that will be played this year, including the clashes with Argentina and Uruguay.
Brazil will start their qualifying campaign in September at home against Bolivia and then away against Peru.
AFP
Sports
EPL: Salah makes history, surpasses Lampard’s goal record after Liverpool’s latest win
Liverpool winger, Mohamed Salah, on Saturday, surpassed Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard’s goal record in the Premier League.
The Egyptian international achieved the feat after scoring a brace in Liverpool’s away Premier League 2-0 win against Bournemouth.
The match was played at the Vitality Stadium as Salah netted a penalty in the first half and another goal in the second half.
Salah’s two goals means, the former Chelsea and AS Roma star has now surpassed Lampard as 6th all time goal scorer in Premier League history.
The 32-year-old now has 178 Premier League goals with a goal ahead of Lampard, who now sit in 7th position on the all-time Premier League goal scorers chat.
He is, however, behind the likes of Alan Shearer, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Andrew Cole and Sergio Aguero in the goal chat.
Salah has scored 21 goals for the Reds so far this season.
He could leave Liverpool in the summer as he is yet to sign a new deal.
His contract with Arne Slot’s side will expire at the end of the season.
Sports
CAF unveils match schedule for AFCON 2025
The Confederation of African Football, CAF, on Friday announced the full match schedule for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nine venues will be used across six cities for the continent’s flagship soccer event.
Hosts Morocco will will take on Comoros in the competition’s opening game at the newly-built 69,500-seater Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat on Sunday, December 21.
The country’s capital, Rabat, will have four match venues.
Other host cities are Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech, Fes and Tangier, which will have one match each.
The four quarter-final fixtures will be played at the Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, as well as in Tangier, Marrakech and Agadir.
The semi-finals will be in Rabat and Tangier, with the third-place play-off set for the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.
52 matches will be played during the biennial competition.
The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire are the defending champions of the competition.
Sports
BREAKING: UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw confirmed [Full list]
The draw for this season’s UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw has been conducted on Friday.
Eight teams have progressed straight to the round of 16 following the completion of the league phase.
They are Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.
They will all return to the competition in March, but others have more football to play before then.
The teams that finished between 9th and 24th, have a two-legged play-off to navigate in February.
FULL KNOCKOUT PHASE PLAY-OFF DRAW
Brest vs Paris-Saint Germain
Feyenoord vs AC Milan
Juventus vs PSV
Monaco vs Benfica
Man City vs Real Madrid
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge vs Atalanta
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