Hudson quits as US men’s football team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan

Hudson quits as US men’s football team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan
U Anthony Hudson has quit as interim head coach of the US men's soccer team on Tuesday, just two weeks before he was to lead the Americans in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals. (File/AP)
Short Url
Updated 31 May 2023
Follow

Hudson quits as US men’s football team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan

Hudson quits as US men’s football team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan
  • Hudson was appointed interim coach on Jan. 4, four days after Berhalter’s contract expired
  • Callaghan figures to have the full player pool available for the CONCACAF Nations League final four

NEW YORK: Anthony Hudson quit as interim head coach of the US men’s football team on Tuesday, just two weeks before he was to lead the Americans in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals.

He was replaced by B.J. Callaghan, another holdover from former coach Gregg Berhalter’s staff.

Hudson’s departure was announced just six days after the US Soccer Federation said he was remaining as coach of the Americans through the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. The USSF said Hudson was taking a job with a club but did not identify the team or the role.

The USSF said the decision to elevate Callaghan, a 41-year-old from Ventnor, New Jersey, was made by Matt Crocker, who is leaving relegated Southampton to become USSF sporting director on Aug. 2. Crocker is leading the search for a permanent coach to guide the team through the 2026 World Cup, which the Americans will co-host.

Neither Callaghan nor Crocker was made available to media by the USSF to discuss the change.

Hudson was appointed interim coach on Jan. 4, four days after Berhalter’s contract expired. Hudson led the Americans to two wins, one loss and two draws. His five games were the fewest for a US coach since John Kowalski led the team against Canada and Mexico in March 1991 between the terms of Bob Gansler and Bora Milutinovic.

Callaghan figures to have the full player pool available for the CONCACAF Nations League final four. The defending champion Americans play Mexico on June 15 and Canada or Panama three days later.

Most Europe-based players are expected to skip the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which starts June 24 and runs through July 16.

Callaghan played at Ursinus and spent six seasons at Villanova, becoming associate head coach. He worked in the youth academy of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, then became an assistant coach in 2014.

He was hired by the USSF as strategy analyst and assistant coach in January 2019, a month after Berhalter became head coach. He had been an assistant to Hudson this year.

Notes: The USSF also announced exhibitions on Oct. 14 against Germany at East Hartford, Connecticut, and on Oct. 17 against Ghana at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The games are on FIFA fixture dates, meaning Europe-based players will be available.


Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola Man City off the Carabao Cup hook

Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola Man City off the Carabao Cup hook
Updated 7 sec ago
Follow

Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola Man City off the Carabao Cup hook

Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola Man City off the Carabao Cup hook
  • Though his rival intends to rest key players in their third-round clash on Wednesday, Howe will not follow suit as he aims to end Newcastle United’s long trophy drought
  • ‘We will give it every importance and try as hard as we can to progress because we want to try and compete in every competition,’ says Howe

NEWCASTLE: It’s about time Newcastle United finally won another trophy — few fans are old enough to remember the last time they hoisted anything of merit.

By the time the Carabao Cup final comes around next year, it will have been nearly 69 years since Newcastle United claimed a domestic honor: the FA Cup in 1955. In fact it will have been 55 years since the Magpies won a trophy of any sort, the last one being the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, a forerunner of the Europa League, in 1969.

There is some beautiful symmetry about all this. It feels to many as if this is finally Newcastle’s time to shine, with Eddie Howe in charge of a Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed, “new money” Premier League Goliath.

However, now is not the time for the Magpies to take their foot off the pedal, as so many top-end, top-flight clubs are guilty of doing around this time of year.

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has promised to rest most of the key men from his history-making, treble-winning side when they visit St James’ Park in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. It was the only honor his side did not win last year.

Meanwhile, Newcastle will want to forget their forgettable history in the competition in which they have twice been bridesmaids (finalists in 1976 and 2023) but never the bride.

Therefore, despite far greater battles to come in the Champions League (Paris Saint-Germain will be in town next week) and the Premier League (in which Newcastle got back on track with an overwhelming 8-0 win at Sheffield United on Sunday), Howe cannot rest too many players in his bid to lift the only domestic cup the club has never won.

The coach does plan to make a few alterations but wholesale changes to the squad are unlikely as he is clearly taking the game very seriously.

“It’s an important competition for us,” Howe said. “Last year was amazing for us. We started it against Tranmere, which was an incredibly difficult game. It seems a long time ago now but you have to go to some tough places in the early rounds.

“We’ve got the ultimate test coming up, so a totally different tie to last year, but we will give it every importance and try as hard as we can to progress because we want to try and compete in every competition. We’re certainly not dismissing it as anything other than an important game.”

Pushed on whether he might take the Guardiola approach — the Spaniard said he would not be wasting any energy on the competition — Howe said: “I think we will use the squad. I say ‘think’ because it’s not finalized in my brain what we’re going to do yet.

“I need to assess everybody physically first, from the game we’ve just had. There have been players carrying certain things so we’ll need to manage them but we do have players who are really keen to play.

“I think I have to utilize the squad, especially with what we have coming up, not just at the weekend but midweek next week. As I’ve said many times, we want the players to enter the pitch in the best physical condition to showcase their skills.

“There’s no priority list (of competitions). There’s no one tournament more important than the other, as I’ve said to the players many times. The most important game is our next game, whoever that is or whatever competition that is. We’ll focus all our energies in trying to win that match.”

It is the blue half of Manchester that will be visiting Tyneside on Wednesday but it was their red rivals, Manchester United, who dished out the biggest reality check of Howe’s largely successful reign so far at St James’ Park.

In February, coach Erik ten Hag’s men spoiled Geordie Carabao Cup dreams with a 2-0 win in the final at Wembley. Has that shaped Howe’s thinking about the competition this time around?

“That experience has driven us all forward because the experience of the run to get to the final was something we really enjoyed,” he said. “The final, itself, we didn’t (enjoy) because we didn’t get the outcome we wanted but it’s there in the back of our minds.

“We know the Premier League is intense and very difficult and, of course, we have got European competition. But this, with the FA Cup, which our recent performances haven’t been strong in, are competitions we take seriously.

“We are well aware of our hunt for a trophy here. It is pushing us all. This is a competition we take very seriously. We would love that to be a trophy, that we want to win, so we will do everything we can to try and do it.”


Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’

Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’
Updated 26 September 2023
Follow

Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’

Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’
  • The Blues, European champions just two years ago, are a lowly 14th in the Premier League table
  • But new manager Pochettino, speaking on the eve of their League Cup third-round match against Brighton, struck a positive note, saying his team were still a work in progress

LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino has urged his struggling Chelsea team to keep believing in themselves but admitted they had to “fix” their crippling goalscoring problem.
The Blues, European champions just two years ago, are a lowly 14th in the Premier League table, just four points above the relegation zone, after one win in their first six matches.
Big-spending Chelsea have mustered just five goals in the league — and three of those came in the 3-0 win against newly-promoted Luton.
But new manager Pochettino, speaking on the eve of their League Cup third-round match against Brighton, struck a positive note, saying his team were still a work in progress.
“(It is) a very short time that we are together,” said the Argentine. “Realistically, we only started after the transfer window closed. Before, it was a little bit of an unstable situation.”
He said injury-hit Chelsea were full of ideas and dominating games but struggling to find the net — Raheem Sterling is the top-scorer with just two goals.
“Every single football person in this country sees Chelsea deserve more but we have missed (scoring) goals, the most important thing in football — we cannot forget that,” said the former Tottenham boss.
“We need to get criticized, of course, because we are not winning games but we need to keep being strong in the belief.
“The team is very well-organized, the effort is massive. You can see against Aston Villa (a match Chelsea lost 1-0) how the players fight with 10 men.”
He added: “We are playing well, it’s only we are not clinical in front of the goal. That is what we need to fix and try to give more confidence to our offensive players.”


Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16

Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16
Updated 26 September 2023
Follow

Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16

Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16
  • Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr comprehensively overcome Ohod 5-1

Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal safely booked their spots in the round of 16 of the King’s Cup after away victories over lower-tier opposition on Monday night.

But while Al-Nassr cruised to a comfortable 5-1 win over Ohod, Al-Hilal struggled to overcome Al-Jabalain 1-0.

Al-Nassr, playing without the rested Cristiano Ronaldo, took the lead on 15 minutes through a penalty by Sadio Mane, but the home team responded with a fine chipped equalizer from Konrad Michalak deep into first-half stoppage time.

Second-half strikes from Seko Fofana (62 minutes), Talisca (75), Ayman Yahya (81) and Sami Al-Najei (86) saw the Yellows safely through to the next round.

In contrast, Al-Hilal could only manage a solitary goal from Reuben Neves on 64 minutes as they labored to beat stubborn first-division outfit Al-Jabalain.

Elsewhere on Monday night, there was shock as Saudi Pro League team Al-Raed were beaten by first-division Al-Najmah 2-1, while Damac progressed after a 2-1 victory over Al-Qaisumah.


FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets

FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets
Updated 25 September 2023
Follow

FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets

FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets
  • Seven clubs, including Saudi’s Al-Ittihad, will contest the continental championship from Dec. 12th to Dec. 22nd
  • 20th edition of the global club tournament will feature a debut appearance from European champions Man. City

RIYADH: Club World Cup 2023 match tickets will be available for purchase from Tuesday Sept. 26th at FIFA.com/tickets.

Seven clubs will contest the continental championship in Saudi Arabia from Dec. 12th to Dec. 22nd.

Al-Ittihad, winners of the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) 2022-2023, will represent hosts Saudi Arabia.

The 20th edition of the global club tournament will feature a debut appearance from European champions Manchester City.

It will also feature Concacaf champions Club Leon of Mexico, Japan’s Urawa Reds, Egypt’s Al Ahly and New Zealand’s Auckland City.

The line-up will be completed by the yet-to-be determined Copa Libertadores winners.


Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games

Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games
Updated 25 September 2023
Follow

Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games

Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games
  • The Greens will face the Indian team in the qualifying rounds on Thursday

HANGZHOU, China: The Saudi under-23 football team qualified for the second round of the event in the Asian Games after defeating Vietnam 3-1 on Sunday.
Scoring for the Green Falcons were Mohammed Al-Yami in the 43rd minute, Mohammed Maran in the 87th minute, and Zakaria Hawsawi in the 90th minute.
The Greens will face the Indian team in the qualifying rounds on Thursday.
In tennis, Ammar Al-Haqbani of the Saudi team qualified for the round of 32 in the men's singles competitions, after defeating Qatar'sRashid Naif, 2-0, in the round of 64.

Ammar will next meet on Monday the 60th ranked player in the world, Zhizhen Zhang of China's.
His sister, Yara, lost to Mongolia's Maraljo Shumjav in the round of 64 of the women’s singles tennis competition in two sets to zero.
Ammar and Yara will open the tennis doubles competition at 3 p.m. Monday, facing the Indonesian national team. 

In Taekwondo, the Saudi Arabia's Wahid Mughais was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the individual poomsae competition, after losing to Vietnam's Tran with a score of 7230 against 7490 points.
Wahid had qualified for this round by defeating the Bangladeshi Hussein Noureddine with a score of 7400 against 6460 points.
His colleague Abrar Bukhari dropped out of the competition after losing to Pakistan's Naila with a score of 7340 against 7180 points.

The Saudi under-23 football team qualified for the second round of the event in the Asian Games after defeating Vietnam 3-1 on Sunday. (Supplied)

In e-sports, Saudi Arabia's Ahmed Mujahid retired from competitions early after losing to Vietnam's Duc Hieu Trong with a score of 2-0, and losing to (Non Martinez) from Macau with the same score.
In boxing, the Kingdom's Musa Al-Hawsawi lost his match to Kyrgyzstan's Azat Usenaliev by knockout in the second round of the round of 32 competitions in the over 63-kilogram category.
Saudi rowers Sultan Al-Shali and Turki Al-Aarif ended their participation in the tournament after finishing 12th in the overall standings of the doubles competition in the (LM2x) category. The duo finished the race with a time of 6.56.63 minutes.
In handball, the Saudi handball team lost its first match to Japan with a score of 29 against 37 points. The first half of the match ended with a Japanese lead of 20-14 points.
The Greens Hand will play their second match in the tournament, when they meet the  Mongolian team at 4 p.m. on Monday.