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Ghana tipped to progress to the quaterfinal in Qatar after multiply nationality switches

2022-07-07T23:47:00.002-07:00

Ghana has been tipped to progress in Qatar to the quarterfinals stage of the upcoming FIFA world cup 2022 which will be held in November to December due to multiple nationality switches this week as confirmed by the GFA.

The Ghanaian young players who are involved in the nationality switches are Inãki Williams of Athletic Blibao, Tariq Lamptey of Brighton, Stephen Ambrosius of Hamburg, Patrick Pfeiffer of Darmstadt and Mohammed Salisu of southampton .

Ghana is attracting players who are born to Ghanaian parents but playing for other countries in Europe to represent the motherland to compete with the World best players in Qatar looking at the group which Ghana has been placed.

Ghana 60th in FIFA ranking is tied in Group H together with Uruguay ranked 13th, South Korea ranked 29th and Portugal ranked 8th in the World Cup. With only the top two teams getting to the next stage ie round of 16, it’s likely that Ghana the lowest team ranked in the group will progress to the next stage of the World Cup.

Iñaki Williams confirmed he will play for Ghana

2022-07-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

Athletic Bilbao forward Iñaki Williams says he will “defend the Ghana shirt” as he confirmed in a video published on social media that he will represent Ghana’s Black Stars henceforth.

The 28-year-old has been linked with a nationality switch to Ghana in the past few months.

Iñaki was born in Spain to Ghanaian parents and is eligible to play for the West African country. He made his Spain debut on May 29, 2016. However, the striker had no further competitive appearance with Spain to tie him to the European nation. As a result, he was eligible for a nationality switch due to FIFA’s rules.

Iñaki and his younger brother Nico Williams spent their summer holidays in Ghana in attempt to “connect with their roots”.

It is believed officials of the GFA finalised the paperwork for Iñaki during their vacation in Ghana,

He will now be eligible to represent Ghana at all FIFA recognised tournaments and could wear the Black Star jersey as early as September this year to represent the motherland in the upcoming world cup tournament.

Meanwhile the president of the Ghana football association President Kurt Okraku has listed the following young talents to be available to play for the Ghana black stars in the coming months

Mohammed Salisu

Stephan Ambrosius

Patrick Pfeffer

Ransford Yeboah-Konigsdorffer

Tariq Lamptey

We as man city needs two exceptional games to be at the finals-Pep

2022-04-25T13:01:00.002-07:00

Manchester City need “two exceptional games” to overcome Real Madrid and reach the Champions League final, said City boss Pep Guardiola.

Premier League leaders City take on La Liga leaders Real in the first leg of the semi-final at home on Tuesday.

Guardiola’s side lost 1-0 to Chelsea in their first Champions League final last season, while Real have been European champions 13 times.

“It is not necessary to say how good Real Madrid are,” said Guardiola.

“If we have to compete with their history, we don’t have any chance. The history is there, we can’t change it, but it’s 11 against 11 with one ball moving.

“We will try to be ourselves, compete well. We need to play two exceptional games to reach the final.”

Guardiola will make late decisions on the fitness of England defenders John Stones and Kyle Walker, who are both doubts because of injuries.

This is the third time in seven seasons that City have reached the last four, while Real are in the semi-finals for the 10th occasion in 12 years and aiming to win the tournament for the first time since they beat Liverpool 3-1 in the 2018 final.

“It’s an honour to be here in the semi-finals against Real Madrid,” added Guardiola. “They’ve been here many times, we have in recent years.”

City, who beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 on aggregate over two legs in the quarter-final, are one point ahead of Liverpool with five Premier League games to go, while Real have a 15-point La Liga advantage over Barcelona and only need one more point to be Spanish champions.

The second leg of this semi-final will be played at the Bernabeu on 4 May with the final in Paris on 28 May. Liverpool and Spanish side Villarreal contest the other semi-final, with the first leg at Anfield on Wednesday.

Source: BBC

Man United announce appointment of Erik ten Hag as their new manager

2022-04-21T04:05:00.003-07:00

Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Erick ten Hag as their new first-team manager.

The 52-year-old Dutchman had been in charge of Ajax since 2017.

Erik ten Hag has been appointed from the end of this season until June 2025, with the option to extend for a further year.

Manchester United said that the appointment is subject to work visa requirements.

The club’s football director John Murtough said: “During the past four years at Ajax, Erik has proved himself to be one of the most exciting and successful coaches in Europe, renowned for his team’s attractive, attacking football and commitment to youth.

“In our conversations with Erik leading up to this appointment, we were deeply impressed with his long-term vision for returning Manchester United to the level we want to be competing at, and his drive and determination to achieve that for the club and the world at large.

“We wish Erik the best of luck as he focuses on achieving a successful end to the season at Ajax and look forward to welcoming him to Manchester United this summer.

It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” said Erik ten Hag.

“I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve in bringing back the love and passion from the side of the fans.

Man City boss Guardiola refuses to talk about Haaland rumours

2022-04-20T00:52:00.003-07:00

Pep Guardiola refused to talk about Manchester City’s prospects of signing Erling Braut Haaland but the feeling is he will end up joining the club.

Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland has a 75m euros (£62.3m) release clause.

City and Real Madrid have been viewed as the likely destinations for the Norwegian.

But with Real Madrid trying to secure Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain, City have made Haaland a priority.

Blues officials have refused to comment on the situation and Guardiola followed suit when he was asked about fresh reports of a deal being agreed between City and Haaland.

“I have no answer to your question,” he said on Tuesday. “I have no concern about what will happen in this club next season.

“We are playing with good strikers and for many years I never talk about transfers, especially when we are playing for this season.”

However, Guardiola has spoken repeatedly this season about wanting a number nine after his failure to lure Harry Kane from Tottenham last summer.

And, while the City boss remains a huge admirer of Kane, the fact the 28-year-old still has two years left on his contract with Spurs means, financially, signing Haaland now makes more sense to the team.

The 21-year-old has enhanced his reputation this term with 25 goals in 26 appearances for Dortmund this season, including a double in Saturday’s 6-1 win over Wolfsburg.

He has scored 82 goals in 85 games since joining the Bundesliga (Dortmund) side from Red Bull Salzburg in December 2019.

Haaland is keen to test himself at a higher level and Dortmund have always known they were vulnerable to an approach from one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

It is anticipated Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola will pocket a sizeable fee for his part in the transfer if it does go through and there is understandable caution around the direction of talks until they have reached a successful conclusion.

However, within the game, it would now be seen as a surprise if a deal with Man City was not finally agreed.

SOURCES: BBC