Ancelotti ready to make World Cup history with Brazil

Published

2 weeks ago

October 13, 2025

No country has ever won the World Cup with a foreign-born coach, but Carlo Ancelotti said Monday that there was “always a first time” as he eyes glory with Brazil.

The Italian became Brazil’s first overseas coach in six decades when he took over in May and he helped the five-times champions punch their ticket for next summer’s World Cup.

Brazil face Japan in a friendly in Tokyo on Tuesday, fresh from a 5-0 hammering of South Korea in Seoul last week.

Ancelotti said he is aiming to create history for himself and his team at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“My goal is to give my best for the Brazil national team, to try to get them to perform at their best and to win the World Cup,” he said.

“Of course, no foreign-born coach has ever won the World Cup, but there is always a first time in life.”

Brazil made hard work of qualifying, finishing fifth in the South American table.

Ancelotti is their fourth coach since Tite stepped down following the quarter-final loss to Croatia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Brazil sparkled against South Korea, with 18-year-old starlet Estevao scoring twice and Real Madrid pair Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. also among the goals.

‘Jogo bonito’

Brazilian fans hailed the win as a return to “jogo bonito”, but Ancelotti said there was more to his team than that.

“Brazilian players have the quality to play beautiful football, but you have to think about what you mean by beautiful football,” he said.

“Brazilian players have individual quality, but that is combined with teamwork and movement off the ball, and that’s very important in football.”

Brazil travelled to Asia without forward Neymar, 33, who was ruled out of action until at least November with a thigh injury.

Time is running out for Brazil’s record goalscorer to force his way back into the squad before the World Cup.

Ancelotti said there were no questions over Neymar’s quality.

“If Neymar is in good condition, then of course he can fit into the national team,” he said.

“If Neymar is fit, then he can play in any team in the world.”

Brazil have kept four clean sheets in their five games since Ancelotti took over, having been porous at the back before then.

“He’s Italian, so he likes his team to defend well,” said their Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

“Especially at the World Cup, the teams that don’t concede goals win the title, so it’s essential that we defend well.”

Japan were the first team to book their place at next year’s tournament after cruising through Asian qualifying.

They have never beaten Brazil in 13 attempts and are without several injured players, including Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma and Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo.

Coach Hajime Moriyasu said defeating Brazil would give them the confidence to make an impact in North America.

“We want to win and to grow as a team and give everything for this challenge,” he said.

“Brazil are one of the top teams in the world and we respect them, but we have players who are playing in Europe and getting experience there.”

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Babar Azam picked as Fakhar Zaman’s replacement for South Africa T20Is, says Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson

Published

48 minutes ago

October 26, 2025

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After staying out of favour in the Twenty20 International format for Pakistan’s last five assignments, former skipper Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after Fakhar Zaman’s decided to skip it, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday.

Since Hesson took over the role in June, Babar hasn’t featured for Pakistan in T20Is with the national side playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-nation series followed by the Asia Cup during that period.

Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike-rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday raised suggested a change of mind for the coach before the New Zealander clarified it.

“I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We’ve sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation with him.

“He wanted to focus on improving his technique for one-day cricket, so we gave him a bit of a break from T20s. That’s created an opportunity for another top-order player.”

Hesson confirmed that Babar will take the number three spot instead of the batter’s preferred opening position, where he flourished for Pakistan for a substantial period before eventually falling in form and then out of favour.

The coach, however, has expectations from Babar to make a strong comeback and suggested he saw him in Pakistan’s plans for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in February-March next year in India and Sri Lanka.

“It’s a great chance to have Babar back,” said the coach. “He’s likely to bat at number three, a role I’m confident he’ll perform well in.

“It also gives our squad some flexibility ahead of the [T20] World Cup.”

‘Haris needs to work’

Babar’s unexpected return also coincided with the axing of wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris from the Pakistan squad even after he received ample backing from the team management across Hesson’s tenure so far.

The 24-year-old proved his mettle with a century against Bangladesh back in June but gradually lost form amid frequent change of batting positions.

Hesson believed Haris needed to go back to the drawing board to fix his issues.

“Haris has had a number of opportunities recently, and he’d be the first to admit he hasn’t made the most of them,” he said. “But he’s still young and developing, so I wouldn’t say his career is over.

“He needs to work on his decision-making with the bat. Even in domestic T20s, he averages around 17, similar to international cricket, so that’s an area for improvement.”

Haris has been replaced by Usman Khan — who last year gave up on a career in the United Arab Emirates to play for Pakistan before being eventually dropped. He emerged out of nowhere and Hesson said he sees the right-hander, who keeps wickets as well, as a good player of spin.

“We see our wicket-keeper batting more through the middle rather than at the top, especially with spin being such a big factor in Sri Lanka during the World Cup. That’s why Usman has been given this opportunity.”

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Sports

FIFA announces new ASEAN Cup for Southeast Asia

Published

3 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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A new tournament, the FIFA ASEAN Cup, will be launched as part of an agreement between FIFA and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), aimed at boosting the development of football across the region.

The announcement was made during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding.

The tournament will bring together national teams from all ASEAN member states in a format inspired by the Arab Cup, which was first organised by FIFA in 2021.

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“This will be a great addition to the regional football calendar,” Infantino said.

“Through the FIFA ASEAN Cup, we are uniting countries together, and this competition will be a huge success as it will help boost national team football in the ASEAN region and support the development of our sport across all of Southeast Asia.”

World football’s governing body will work with regional stakeholders including the Asian Football Confederation, the ASEAN Football Federation, and the relevant FIFA member associations to finalise the tournament’s format.

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