Game 1: Elizabeth Province group stage match at King Charles Stadium. A 2-1 defeat for Cromwell on the sandy pitch in Westchester.

Also in the Elizabeth Province Cup, Broadhaven Hawks win at the Hawkery against Lake Ford.

One of the big derbies in the East. The Spiders from Celestehaven overcome Leopoldsburg City in the final of the Big4 Pre-season cup.

In the first round of the Independence Cup, one of the big names, Leopold Petrol win 2-1 at Young Elephants.

Also in the Independence Cup, Port Banacor from the Spanish Province, win 5-4 in extra time against Leopoldsburg Collegiate team Princes College.

Tontuga

Teams in the top division in Tontuga

Map of Tontuga showing the four provinces and names of the towns and cities.

Nation Focus: Somalia

The rising trajectory of the white star continues.

Somalia have booked a place at their second World Cup finals with two games to spare in their final qualifying group. Gabon, DR Congo and Mali (twice) have all been brushed aside with consumate ease by the sky blues, whose mix of extraordinary pace and muscle have left their opponents bruised and battered.

One wonders whether this side may yet be the best national side yet that Africa has produced? Ghana might have knocked Somalia over in the last Nations Cup final but the sheer talent coursing through this side makes them a serious contender at next summers finals. Playing in the extreme heat of Qatar should be no problem for this East African powerhouse.

In Ayub Yonis, Somalia has a striker on a par with Samuel Eto'o and Eusebio as a shout for the greatest African striker of all time. Aside from half a season with Gayher FC, Yonis has spent his entire career in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. He has scored over 200 goals for Les Gones whilst helping them firmly establish themselves as not only the all time leaders France, but also as a genuine contender year-in, year-out in Europe. His contribution to their second Champions League win in 2016 was invaluable - he scored two superb individual efforts in a come from behind win over Napoli at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.

Strike partner Hagi Omar Farah (Sunderland) and midfielders Ahmed Essa (Liverpool) and Ayub Ali (Inter) all possess serious quality that all of the other African sides would appreciate adding to their squads. But no one possesses a left sided combination quite like the relationship that has been struck between Badri Moallim Abdulkadir and Mukhtar Siyad.

Badri can play anywhere down the left hand side of the pitch, happy to galavant forwards from left back, or to provide a more obvious threat from midfield. The current Spanish player of the year has a wonderful football brain, a right foot that could open a can plus the teamwork that exemplifies the pressing style of Barcelona.

Playing in front of Badri for Somalia is Mukhtar Siyad, a right footed left winger. Happy to play anywhere across the midfield, Siyad has proved himself to be at his most effective when cutting inside onto his right foot. This strategy allows him to either shoot across the goalkeeper or to slip a neat through ball onto the path of his strikers. In the national team, his tendency to drift infield allows Badri to race into his space on the left hand side of the pitch.

Manager Hussain Abdulla has a wealth of riches on his hands. One wonders whether he has the tactical nous though to lead this stellar team onwards to greatness. He has delivered one African Nations title, but in losing to Ghana in the last final he revealed weaknesses in his strategies. The question on many lips is whether he is anything more than just a father figure.

The events of the next twelve months will go some way to proving just how good this team and manager is.

One to watch: Mohammed Al-Thunaiyan

In the wake of the qualification of Saudi Arabia for the 2022 World Cup, much focus has rightly been focussed upon two factors:

1) The first is the replacement of the existing manager, who had overseen the unbeaten qualification for the finals.

2) The second is the nationalisation of members of the domestic league to make them eligible for the Saudi national team. This has seen Mexican, Brazilian and Serbian players represent the national team as a result of playing for team in the national league.

These negatives have taken the focus off a number of talented younger Saudi players, who have played their way into the national squad. One such play is Mohammed Al-Thunaiyan, who has been granted the right to continue his career in Europe.

The talented defender has taken an indirect route to Europe, following a not particularly impressive start in the Saudi league. Six appearances for Al-Ittihad in four seasons were accompanied by loans spells playing in Kuwait and Qatar. It was whilst playing for Al-Lekhwiya in Qatar that his talented was recognised by a visiting Norwegian delegation.

The advanced scouting team for the NFA were observing the fine touches that were being applied to the stadia for the World Cup. One of the party, a member of the board at Viking Stavanger noticed a trio of players who he felt could make a difference in the Tippeligaen. After a trial, Al-Thunaiyan was offered a contract, whilst his compatriots were sent home.

In 26 appearances so far, Al-Thunayain has made an impression with his natural fitness and heading ability. Four impressive headed goals secured important victories as his new team pushed for European Football. They were ultimately unsuccessful, but Al-Thunaiyan has gained a great deal in the last calendar year from his transfer.

He has five international caps to his name and is a good chance to anchor the defence in Qatar next summer. He must hope that new coach Ramon Diaz notices his good work from afar.

One to watch: Yamato Kawano

Yamato Kawano might be plying his trade at one of the Eredivisie's smaller clubs, but he is certainly making an impact in both domestic and international football.

The former Grampus Eight wingman arrived in the Netherlands at NEC Nijmegen for the 2018-19 season with a reputation for pacy wingplay and great teamwork.

In his first season of European football though he flattered to deceive. He certainly had energy and pace, but the brains trust at NEC wanted much more. Consequently he was sold, but somewhat surprisingly he moved sideways to another mid ranking side in the Eredivisie.

Manager Franky Vercauteren was impressed by the raw athletic ability of Kawano, and also by his desire to prove himself after a tricky rookie season in the Netherlands.

Season 2019-20 would prove to be more profitable for the speedster from Nagoya. He impressed at the Abe Lenstra stadium, particularly under the floodlights in Europa League fixtures against Manchester United and Hoffenheim.

Following these successes he has added international caps to his CV. To date national team selector Masaki Higa has selected Kawano on 18 occasions for the SuperNippon. Somewhat surprisingly, his good form has prompted Higa to station Kazuya Watanabe, national team captain and previous left winger, across on the right flank. The Lazio man has a wide repetoire of tricks and flicks, but simply does not have the pace to match up with Kawano.

The Japanese Football Association expects that it's players will reach the quarter finals at least in this tournament. You would have to bet upon Yamato Kawano playing a large part in them getting there.

Asia leads the way

August 2011

Host nation Qatar have received confirmation of two of their guests for next summers World Cup tournament. The Gulf nation have been eagerly counting down the days until the start of the tournament, and the announcement of the first qualifiers is another milestone on the way to staging the World Cup.

Confirmed as travelling to the oil rich state will be neighbours Saudi Arabia and Japan, who both secured their qualification from the Asian Zone A last week. The two powerhouses of Asian football topped a five team group that also featured group favourites South Korea, unheralded Syria and the 1990 World Cup qualifiers United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia had secured their qualification with a game to spare. Inspite of this, they still continued their common practice of dispensing with the services of their national selector in favour of a more experienced foreign manager. Saad Al-Haabi departs the position of national coach despite leading his side undefeated through the final phase of qualification. His replacement is the respected, and much travelled Argentine, Ramon Diaz, who until his appointment, had been coaching local side Al-Ahli.

Japan meanwhile secured their qualification on the final match day of the group. Their position was strong heading into the final round, they knew a draw with South Korea would be enough to secure qualification. Ultimately, they beat their East Asian neighbours comfortably. The 3-0 scoreline in Osaka was significant not just for South Korea and Japan though. The UAE, level with Korea on points, having completed their schedule of games, qualified for a play-off on the back of the goals the Koreans conceded. Somewhat surprisingly, the defeat to rivals Japan has not cost Korean coach Hwang his position.

The UAE must wait for confirmation of their opponent for September's play-off series, whilst Japan and Saudi Arabia can begin preparations in earnest for next summer's big event.

Introduction

August 2021 - Welcome to World Football Report(FM). The purpose of this blog is to keep fans of (FM) football informed of current events in the world game.