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Kaizer Chiefs head coach Stuart Baxter says Njabulo Ngcobo's inclusion in the Bafana Bafana squad doesn’t mean he’ll get an 'automatic passport' into his starting line-up.

The talented defender's cameo appearance for Bafana in their impressive 1-0 victory over Ghana in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifier earlier this month sent tongues wagging with many asking why Ngcobo is not playing regularly for Chiefs.

Former Bafana defender Andrew Rabutla has called for Ngcobo to get some game time at Amakhosi in order for him to keep his place in the national team squad  with the player yet to make his official debut for the Soweto giants.

“When he’s selected in the national team, that means he’s selected in the national team. I can’t be put in the national team because some of the coaches think that he’s doing well,” Baxter told the media. 

“I’ve got to work with Njabulo and see how he is with our players. I believe he’s a very talented player but I’ve got to judge whether he is ready to go into our team - based on his experience with us. It may be easy for him to go into the national squad.

“This is also due to the fact that he is a player that the coach doesn’t know. Whether the national coach selects him - or not - is great for Njabulo and us, but that doesn’t give him an automatic passport into the team here.”

Ngcobo is widely considered to be one of the best centre-backs in the country having won the 2020/21 PSL Defender of the Season and he was among the most sought-after players in the last transfer window until Chiefs beat Mamelodi Sundowns to his signature.

Aging centre-backs Erick Mathoho and Daniel Cardoso have enjoyed regular game time ahead of Ngcobo, 27, and Baxter indicated that the former Swallows FC player will have to impress him in training before he can get game time. 

“Fundamental reason being I haven’t seen him before. You talk about last season. I didn’t see him one-minute last season. So the first minute I saw him was when I went through the gates of Naturena," the British tactician continued.

“Njabulo was, obviously, going to have to make himself known to me. Me to him. Do some work together and see how quickly we were going to get him in. We virtually had no pre-season. So, we had one practice game [in the off-season].”

"We have to bring him to a stable environment where everybody knows their roles. And not just shoot him from the hip."

Chiefs are set to take on Royal AM in a PSL game at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

The government of Kerala has announced plans to set up residential football academies across the state with the help of the Indian Super League (ISL) club Kerala Blasters and I-League club Gokulam Kerala.

According to the sources close to the developments, the clubs have won a government tender which sets in motion the plan to set up the government football academies.

The institutions, which will have opportunities for the U-14, U-17 and U-20 categories of both boys and girls. will be based out of Kannur, Ernakulam and Trivandrum. It has been learnt that the Malabarians will operate the academy for girls in Kannur and Blasters will run the academies in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam as part of a five-year deal. 

The scouting for these government academies will be done across Kerala and the project was announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijaya via video conference on Thursday. "Not so long ago, Kerala had good women's teams in football. We aim to return to the glory days. The government also plans to promote girls' football at school and college levels,” said Vijayan.

He further added, "It is encouraging that several private football academies are sprouting out throughout the state. But, it has been found that some are not doing justice, their greed is destroying the careers of players and that must not be encouraged."

The Kerala CM has also revealed that the government is planning to ready playgrounds under all local bodies. He said, "The process of developing basic sports infrastructure is ongoing in the state. Once complete, the state will have 40 new football grounds."

Kerala Blasters are currently preparing for the eighth season of ISL which will be held behind closed doors and inside a bio-secure bubble in Goa.

Gokulam Kerala will have their men's and women's teams play in Asian tournaments this season. Both the men's teams of the two Kerala clubs are currently in West Bengal to take part in the Durand Cup. 

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has rubbished reports suggesting Bernd Leno has reacted badly to losing his starting spot to £24 million ($33m) summer signing Aaron Ramsdale.

The Germany international goalkeeper started the 2021-22 campaign between the sticks for the Gunners, but conceded nine goals in their winless three-game opening.

Ramsdale was drafted in for the 1-0 victory over Norwich, with speculation surfacing since then regarding a supposed display of anger in training from Leno.

What has been said?

Arteta insists that is not the case, telling reporters ahead of the trip to Burnley on Saturday: "No, that's not true. He responded, you can be frustrated, but you he was top with his team-mates in training with everything so that is not true."

Pressed on whether he has had to give Leno any assurances over his future, Arteta added: "No, that's what I said to them and I said to the goalkeepers in the last two or three years - that we don't want to do that.

"What we want to do is empower performance and ask them to train behave and play the best possible way. How can I guarantee somebody something? It wouldn't make sense with what we are demanding them to do. 

"So it is on a daily basis, what you did three months ago in football, it doesn't count. So is what you're going to do today and tomorrow, and that's it."

Why did Arsenal make a change?

Leno's contract at Emirates Stadium is only due to run until 2023 and there have been rumours of him running that deal down before moving on. Arsenal have moved to ensure that they have a long-term successor in place, with considerable faith and funds being invested in England hopeful Ramsdale.

He is just 23 years of age, but Arteta says he has been given a chance after proving himself deserving.

The Spaniard said when asked why he made a change in his No 1 spot: "That we have to change something and Aaron has come here to try to make us better. We needed a result on that day and I decided to play him. That’s all."

Will Leno come back in?

Ramsdale kept a clean sheet on his Premier League bow for the Gunners and will expect to keep his place at Turf Moor, but there are already murmurings of the more experienced Leno stepping back in for the north London derby with Tottenham on September 26.

Arteta has also refuted that gossip, saying: "I don’t know where they are coming from but they are ahead of me! I think I am the one who picks the team at the weekend and sometimes I read things that I haven’t decided yet. 

"They give me ideas at the most, but nothing else because I haven’t made a decision for Saturday - so imagine [if I had] for the north London derby."

Further reading

Reece James has appealed for help from the football community in identifying the individuals involved in stealing a safe from his home that contained his Champions League and Euro 2020 medals.

The Chelsea full-back has posted an update on his Instagram account confirming that his house was burgled on September 14, while the defender was on away with the Blues for their fixture against Zenit.

Four CCTV clips were also released with the social media post, with James calling for help to identify those involved.

More to follow...

Even though they are well into their thirties now, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continue to compete at the highest levels of the game.

Both players have found new clubs - Ronaldo returning to Manchester United, Messi joining Paris Saint-Germain - and fans will be able to pit them head-to-head on FIFA 22 from October 2021.

Which of them is better on the new EA Sports game? Goal takes a look at their ratings and how they compare.

On this page

What is Cristiano Ronaldo's FIFA 22 rating?

Cristiano Ronaldo has an overall rating on FIFA 22 of 91. The Manchester United forward has gone down one point from FIFA 21, when he had a rating of 92.

It is the third successive decline for Ronaldo in the EA Sports series, with the Portugal captain having previously boasted a rating of 93 on FIFA 20 and 94 on FIFA 19.

Nevertheless, Ronaldo remains the best player in the Premier League - sharing that title with Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne - and among the top stars in the game overall.

The closest player on the Manchester United team is Bruno Fernandes, who has an overall rating of 88, while Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba are 87.

Ronaldo's pace attribute has gone down two points but continues to be high at 87, while his physical has also reduced slightly to 75 from 77 in FIFA 21.

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What is Lionel Messi's FIFA 22 rating?

Lionel Messi's FIFA 22 rating is 93 and that makes him the best player on the game. His overall rating has remained unchanged from FIFA 21.

The new Paris Saint-Germain signing's FIFA ratings have actually been 90-plus since FIFA 09 and since being given a 94 in FIFA 12, he has not dropped below 93 in any of the 10 subsequent titles.

Interestingly, Messi's Pace, Shooting, Passing, Dribbling and Physical attributes all remain unchanged from FIFA 21, but his Defence attribute has gone down from 38 to 34 in FIFA 22.

Messi is the best PSG player on FIFA 22, with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe coming closest to him with ratings of 91.

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How do Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi compare on FIFA 22?

Messi's overall rating on FIFA 22 is two higher (93) than that of Ronaldo (91), but how do they compare when the attributes are broken down?

As the table illustrates, Messi is considered better than Ronaldo in a number of areas, with his passing and dribbling abilities deemed much better than the Manchester United forward.

Messi's passing is rated 91 to Ronaldo's 82 - a reflection the Argentina international's greater assists contribution - and his dribbling is 95 compared to Ronaldo's 88.

Ronaldo edges Messi when it comes to Pace, Shooting and Physical attributes, but only slightly. Ronaldo's shooting skill is rated 93, one higher than Messi's 92, and his pace is 87, just two higher than his Argentine counterpart.

The only area where Ronaldo is undoubtedly far superior to Messi is the physical attributes, with a rating of 75 - 10 better than the PSG star.

Both players have the same rating for Defence, with both given a 34 by the Ratings Collective.

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Who are the best players on FIFA 22?

Messi is the best player on FIFA 22, retaining a title he has held for a number of editions.

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is the second-highest rated player on the new game with an overall rating of 92.

Ronaldo is now the joint-third best player in FIFA, sharing the space with Man City's De Bruyne, and Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak, as well as PSG duo Mbappe and Neymar.

Tottenham and England captain Harry Kane and Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante follow with ratings of 90, as do Germany goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

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More FIFA 22 ratings & news

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Kenya and Tanzania have moved up in the recent Fifa rankings released on Friday, September 16 while South Africa are unmoved and Uganda have dropped. 

Since August, Harambee Stars have played in two matches; both 2022 World Cup qualifiers. They hosted neighbours Uganda on September 2 at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi and settled for a goalless draw. 

Their next assignment was away to Rwanda where they were held to a 1-1 draw. Michael Olunga struck for the visitors, but the hosts fought back and managed to equalise courtesy of Abdul Rwatubyaye.

As a result, the then Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee led charges have moved from position 104 to 102 with 1205 points.

Uganda drop by two positions

While Harambee Stars have gained, Cranes have dropped two positions. Uganda, under Milutin Sredojevic, played three matches in the last month and went on to lose one, drawing the remaining two.

They lost 2-1 to Ethiopia in an international friendly before back-to-back 0-0 draws away to Kenya and at home to Mali respectively in World Cup qualifiers. Cranes are now down to 86th position from 84th with 1279 points from the initial 1282.

They will hope to collect maximum points against Rwanda in their next World Cup qualifier. The latter are in position 128, which is a position lower, with 1129 points after a loss away to Mali and a draw versus Kenya respectively.

Tanzania make the biggest jump in East Africa

Taifa Stars have been rewarded for their good run last month after moving three places up.

They defeated Malawi 2-0 in an international friendly which built toward their World Cup qualifiers. Away to the Democratic Republic of Congo, they came from a goal down to force a 1-1 draw.

Stars then went on to defeat Madagascar 3-2 in their second Group J match to ensure they went to the summit of their pool. Currently, they have 1115 points from 1093. They will be hosting Benin in their next competitive assignment.

Belgium, Brazil, England, France, and Italy occupy the first five positions globally while Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Nigeria take the first five positions on the continent. 

Bafana unmoved despite Ghana win 

South Africa's Bafana Bafana remain 73rd in the world as they find themselves between Iraq (72nd) and North Macedonia (74th).

Bafana made a good start to their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign earlier this month as they drew 0-0 with Zimbabwe away, before securing a 1-0 home win over the Black Stars of Ghana, who are now ranked 53rd in the world - dropping from 49th place.

Bafana have slipped down from 12th spot to 13th place on the Caf rankings, while the Black Stars remain seventh on the African continent. 

The two teams will be in action next month as the World Cup qualifiers continue with South Africa facing Ethiopia in a doubleheader, while Ghana will face Zimbabwe twice. 

Nigeria retain their position

Super Eagles retained their 34th position in the world despite claiming 2-0 and 2-1 wins over Liberia and Cape Verde respectively.

They are on 1492 points, up from 1479. 

Arsenal and Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema has been confirmed as one of the best female players on FIFA 22 with a rating of 92, but who joins her at the top of the game?

Star turns from Arsenal, Manchester City, Lyon and Chelsea make up the top four, with Lucy Bronze, Wendie Renard and Sam Kerr figuring prominently, while six members of the United States Women's National Team (USWNT) side are in the highest-rated 22.

Who else makes that list? Goal brings you the full rundown.

FIFA 22: Who are the best female players?

Why did these players top the charts?

FA Women's Super League star Miedema sits joint-top of the charts, with the Dutch forward having hit more than 100 goals for Arsenal during her time in England.

Renard and Bronze are more concerned with defensive duties, but Chelsea star Kerr is another notable goal-getter.

Outside of that elite group at the summit, it comes as no surprise to find that the USWNT is well represented.

Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath are among the U.S. World Cup winners to get impressive ratings in FIFA 22.

Talented performers from 10 different nationalities are included in the top 22 players on the game, with experienced forward Christine Sinclair making the cut for 2020 Olympic gold medal winners Canada.

More FIFA 22 ratings & news

It hasn’t been the bright start to the season for Leicester City that was imagined following their 2020/21 exploits and Community Shield defeat of Manchester City in the traditional curtain-raiser in August.

A pair of wins and defeats after four games already sees Brendan Rodgers’ team trail the leading pack of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool by four points, while Manchester City — the side they suffered a 1-0 defeat to on Saturday — sit on nine points.

Admittedly, we’re still only four matches into the season and there are scores of fixtures to be played, but the last thing the Foxes will want is playing catch-up. While the current top four comprises Everton now, there’s a feeling the aforementioned clubs (who finished in the Champions League spots last season) are the favourites to end in those positions in 2021/22.

Leicester’s ambition is to return to Europe’s elite competition, and they can’t afford a chasm of points opening up.

Two positive facets of the East Midlands club in pre-season haven’t had things go their way in the opening month of the new campaign.

Kelechi Iheanacho, Rodgers’ main man since the turn of the year and the match-winner in the Community Shield, has had to make do with appearances off the bench so far and is currently averaging 17 minutes per game in the league.

Patson Daka, the scorer of 51 league goals in his final two years in Austria, is still to start a game either. The former Red Bull Salzburg marksman hasn’t added to the 26 minutes he got off the bench in that harrowing 4-1 hammering by West Ham United, leaving the Zambian far from making his mark in England.

The African frontmen’s budding connection had been praised in pre-season, but there hasn’t been a chance since August to watch them both in tandem up front.

Having said that, there are extenuating circumstances.

The returns of Harvey Barnes and James Maddison to full fitness has meant Rodgers has reverted to his preferred 4-2-3-1 system in the opening weeks of the season, with Jamie Vardy leading the line. This has yielded mixed results with the English frontman netting two times already, but the creative pair have understandably struggled to sparkle so far.

Iheanacho’s extended run in the side in the second half of 20/21 was helped by Barnes and Maddison suffering injuries at the turn of the year, meaning the Leicester boss had to alter his approach.

The unexpected success of the Nigerian prompted some to proclaim ‘Senior man’ Rodgers’ most important attacker, yet the West African can’t even buy a start.

In truth, a deluge of injuries at the back meant the former Liverpool boss couldn’t switch to the 3-4-1-2 system that brought the best out of Iheanacho. Wesley Fofana’s long-term layoff, Johnny Evans’ continued struggles with a foot injury and Jannik Vestergaard’s ill-timed knee injury shortly after joining left the Foxes rather thin in defence.

The dearth of options has invariably affected Daka and, especially Iheanacho, as the Northern Irish manager has been unable to utilise any variation of a back three.

Rodgers explained the tactics and psychology of the Nigerian’s form in April, highlighting why the system suited the in-form striker, so it won’t be surprising if a tactical alteration is imminent as they look to arrest an indifferent start to the season.

The returns of the aforementioned defenders from injury, as well as Ryan Bertrand’s recovery from coronavirus, has opened the door for the ex-Celtic boss to switch and it’ll be interesting to see whether he plays Daka and Iheanacho against Napoli on Thursday.

Luciano Spalletti’s troops are fresh from a dominant comeback 2-1 win against Juventus on Saturday, which continued their unblemished start to the new Serie A season and extended their winning run against the Old Lady in Naples to three games on the trot.

Kalidou Koulibaly was somewhat fittingly the match-winner, capitalising on Moise Kean’s near-inadvertent own-goal to score the 85th-minute winner.

The Senegal superstar has been one of the Partenopei’s top performers early doors under Spalletti and is expected to start at the King Power Stadium.

Without a doubt, Iheanacho squaring up with K2 for 90 minutes will be one of the smaller sub-plots in the Europa League opener.

Perhaps a more intriguing storyline is the battle of the Nigerian frontmen, with Victor Osimhen now likely to feature against the Foxes. The tenacious Azzurri frontman was back training with the group on Wednesday having undergone individual training the day before, thus allaying fears of missing out against Rodgers’ men.

Nevertheless, and despite a perceived willingness to get the forward back among the goals again following an incredible pre-season, the logical decision may be to give him a breather on Thursday night.

Osimhen featured heavily in the last international break for Nigeria — playing for 78 and 84 minutes against Liberia and Cape Verde respectively — and looked fatigued in the moments leading up to his withdrawal through injury against Juve.

He may desire a start against his countrymen Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi but keeping him fresh for Napoli’s next domestic game at Udinese looks like the smarter call.

Rodgers reasonably seemed pleased on Wednesday to finally have a larger pool of options after their injury nightmare at the start of the season.

“Whichever team we play, I’ll always feel confident,” the tactician explained in his pre-match press conference. “Now with players coming back to fitness, we brought in some players to help with depth and hopefully we can see that between now and Christmas.

“It’s such an important period because of the proximity of games. You're going to need your players.”

The concluding sentence may be music to Iheanacho and Daka’s ears, particularly owing to their underutilisation in the opening weeks of the campaign.

While Rodgers may be tempted to go with his preferred league XI on Thursday due to a guaranteed Round of 16 place for the group winners, starting either or both frontmen against Napoli must be strongly considered.

Whichever decision the Leicester boss makes, though, the African marksmen are due to be beneficiaries of a reduced injury list sooner rather than later.

England will welcome Germany and Spain for a new women’s international invitational tournament in February 2022, with a fourth participating nation to be confirmed.

The Lionesses have regularly competed in the SheBelieves Cup in the February international window, hosted by the U.S. women’s national team, even winning the competition in 2019.

However, they skipped the trip to the States this year with then-coach Phil Neville citing plans of their own. This tournament provides competition against some of the best teams in the world just months before the European Championships, to be hosted by England.

How will the tournament work?

The invitational, which will run every year up to and including 2025, will see four nations compete in a round-robin format with the winner sitting at the top of a four-team table after three matches.

The fixtures will take place as double-headers across seven days, providing all participants with preparation for the summer’s major tournament against some of the best teams in the world.

“This exciting new addition to the international calendar promises to further accelerate the rapid growth we are already seeing in women’s football,” Baroness Sue Campbell, director of women’s football at the Football Association, said.

“Giving England fans the opportunity to see their team take on some of the best opposition in the world on an annual basis will create substantial interest, leading to a broader fanbase and strengthening grassroots participation. It will also provide the England team with the best preparation heading into the major tournaments over the next four years.”

Who are the participants?

Sitting at third and tenth in the FIFA world rankings respectively, Germany and Spain are two of the best international teams in the world.

Germany have won the Euros eight times, as well as two World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal back in 2016. With names like Dzsenifer Marozsan in their ranks, as well as exciting youngsters like Lena Oberdorf, Goal’s 2020 Women’s NXGN winner, they are a well-established force in the women’s game.

Spain, meanwhile, are a nation on the up. After qualifying for their first ever Women’s World Cup in 2015, they reached the knockout rounds four years later where they gave the USWNT a difficult round of 16 tie.

Barcelona’s triumph in last season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League only further underlined the growth of the game in the country, with many of the stars of their treble-winning campaign starring in Spain’s rise.

A fourth participating nation is to be confirmed in the coming weeks, as are venues and ticket information.

Further reading

Mauricio Pochettino says his fearsome attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe failed to fire against Club Brugge because Paris Saint-Germain are still looking to "create a team".

The Ligue 1 giants have assembled a star-studded cast of individuals at Parc des Princes, but getting them to perform in harmony as a collective may prove trickier than expected.

Pochettino admits that is already proving to be the case, with a trio that boast over 1,100 club goals between them misfiring in the Champions League on Wednesday as they drew a blank in a 1-1 draw with Brugge.

What has been said?

Quizzed as to why a World Cup winner, a man with six Ballons d'Or to his name and an iconic Brazil international struggled to sparkle, Pochettino told reporters: "We know we have to improve. That's not the problem for me.

"I'm happy with the defensive effort of the attackers. We have to be stronger in other areas of the game. 

"[We] need to compete, to know each other, to understand each other, to play together to succeed with all three but that was not the problem.

"We weren't strong enough in a Champions League match. We are not happy with the result and the performance, we know we have to do better.

"We have a magnificent group of players, we now have to find a defensive and offensive organisation. We need time."

Pressed again on the lack of connection between three modern-day greats, Pochettino added: "We need time to work for them to build an understanding. That’s been clear and we’ve said that in recent days. We still have to create a team."

Will PSG's front three come good?

Teething issues were always going to be a problem for PSG early on this season as they try and fit a collection of world-class performers into the same starting XI.

Messi was making his first start for the club against Brugge, having only taken in 24 minutes of action for his new employers on the back of a stunning summer switch from Barcelona.

Neymar and Mbappe have also faced questions of their fitness since the 2021-22 campaign got underway, with even the very best having to play their way into peak form.

The expectation is that PSG will click at some stage, which is a frightening prospect for their domestic and continental rivals - with sights in the French capital being firmly locked on more major silverware at home and abroad.

Pochettino's side will be back in Ligue 1 action on Sunday when playing host to Lyon.

Further reading

The Indian national football team are ranked 107th in the world in the latest FIFA men's rankings released on Thursday.

The Blue Tigers remained unbeaten in their two international friendlies against Nepal at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, having held to a 1-1 draw in the first tie and picking a 2-1 win in the second game as they prepare for the 2021 SAFF Championship where also they are set to meet Nepal in the group stage.

Besides Nepal, who remain on the 168th spot, India's other SAFF Cup group rivals in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and host Maldives are ranked 189th (-1), 205th and 158th respectively.

Among the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) teams, Iran (22, +4) have switched places with Japan (26, -2) at the summit.

Globally, Belgium stay put at top, followed by Brazil. England (3, +1) and Portugal (7, +1) have traded places with France and Spain in the top 10.

Njabulo Ngcobo’s agent King Ngubane has revealed a fear that lack of playtime at the Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs may cost the defender a place in the Bafana Bafana squad.

He has also discussed how a failure to use his player is contributing to Amakhosi conceding goals.

The star was initially called up for South Africa's World Cup qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Ghana before he was dropped when the squad was trimmed to 23 players. But injury concerns on Mosa Lebusa, Sphephelo Sithole and Mothobi Mvala saw Ngcobo recalled to the national side.

Ngubane claims the defender's lack of happiness should be understood and he also wondered why Amakhosi are conceding goals when they have him in the team.

"Every player wants to play, so automatically when he’s not playing he can’t be happy. He’s the defender of the season… he wants to play for Bafana, so if he doesn’t get a chance to play for Chiefs, it is going to be difficult to get Bafana call-ups going forward," Ngubane told Sowetan Live.

"If you know football, you understand why Njabulo can’t be happy. Even I am not happy because Bafana coach [Hugo Broos] trusted him against Ghana [where he was introduced in the 77th minute to play as a midfielder in the World Cup qualifier Bafana won 1-0 last week], meaning he knows he’s talented.
 
"You can’t change how coaches do their things, but we are hopeful the boy will crack it soon, especially that the team has been conceding goals. The coach already has pressure because people are asking ‘how you can keep on conceding when you have the defender of the season on the bench?'"

Head coach Stuart Baxter has always preferred a defensive partnership of Erick Mathoho and Daniel Cardoso as Ngcobo - who was signed from Swallows FC before the season began - and is always a member of the bench.

Former Bafana Bafana international Andrew Rabutla recently claimed Ngcobo would have done better against Mamelodi Sundowns last Sunday had he featured.

"I watched Chiefs’ match against [Mamelodi] Sundowns at the weekend and there were a few incidents where Mathoho was caught in one-on-one situations with attackers threatening them in the box," said Rabutla.

"I am not saying Mathoho is the one who must be sacrificed for Ngcobo but what I am saying is that if it was Ngcobo, he was possibly going to handle those situations better."

Zedekiah Otieno, commonly referred to as Zico, is set to take over from Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee as the new Harambee Stars coach, Goal can reveal.

The position fell vacant after the latter and the Football Kenya Federation parted ways on mutual consent. The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) FC coach has been identified as the one to take over.

What has been said?

"'Zico' is an experienced coach who has what it takes to help Kenya qualify for the 2022 World Cup," a senior source from the Federation told Goal on Thursday.

"He will be confirmed soon as the man to take over from Mulee. We want to go for someone who is experienced and understands the players well. We are not ruling out hiring a foreign-based coach but as it is, 'Zico' is the front runner.

"The good thing with him is that he already knows the setting and the structure of the national team."

How many coaches have served Kenya under Nick Mwendwa?

If Zico will be confirmed, he will be the sixth coach to serve under FKF President Nick Mwendwa.

It started with Stanley Okumbi, then Paul Put took over. Sebastien Migne succeeded the Belgian and later Francis Kimanzi. Mulee is the immediate former coach.

His exit was confirmed on Wednesday by the Federation who stated the change was on mutual consent. 

"Football Kenya Federation and Harambee Stars head coach Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee, his assistant [Twahir] Muhiddin, and the goalkeeping coach, [Haggai] Azande have reached a decision to part ways on mutual consent, effective immediately," a letter from FKF obtained by Goal read. 

"Assistant coaches Ken Odhiambo and William Muluya will remain in the team as the federation works out to restructure the Harambee Stars technical bench ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifier against Mali scheduled for October 6, 2021, and October 12, 2021 home and away respectively. 

"FKF is immensely grateful to coach Mulee and his departing members of the staff for their dedicated service and workmanship. This federation wishes them all the best in their future endeavours."

Mulee's latest assignments were the World Cup qualifiers where Kenya settled for 0-0 and 1-1 draws against Uganda and Rwanda respectively.

AmaZulu FC boss Sandile Zungu has claimed the Premier Soccer League side has been a victim of poor refereeing decisions and that coach Benni McCarthy was right to feel agitated during Tuesday's game against SuperSport United.

McCarthy was caught on camera while in a tense argument with his SuperSport United counterpart Kaitano Tembo in a game that ended in a goalless draw and saw Tercious Malepe sent off.

"AmaZulu have been the victims of terrible refereeing lately," Zungu told Kick.Off.com. "Particularly in our Caf Champions League match against the Malawian team.

"So, you can understand why the coach feels agitated because he puts so much effort into preparing the team to compete. I think that he's got no control over how referees officiate and he's human as well, so he gets agitated."

Zungu said he is in full support of the former Bafana Bafana star, who added they are concerned with the level of refereeing in the league.

"I'm in full support of him. We've always known that he does get animated, and we've got no problem with that whatsoever," he added.

"If the officials feel his actions are worthy of yellow cards and red cards, they will take action at the time. But we are not dealing with yellow cards or red cards for Benni McCarthy. So it's all in the game.

"But we are deeply concerned with the quality of refereeing. We've been the victim of bad refereeing decisions. I saw that game because, unfortunately, I was not at the stadium but I was watching it on TV. I don't think that there's anything wrong with what Benni did."

Although he admits he was not at the stadium to witness the actions first-hand, Zungu said he does not expect to see PSL charge his coach for Tuesday's actions.

"Why would they charge him?" asked Zungu.

"What I know is that the game we played against Nyasa Big Bullets was terrible. Benni was much closer to the situation yesterday, I was not at the stadium. But what I saw on TV Benni had some justification for being animated.

"So, as far as AmaZulu are concerned, we had a string of misfortunes, and things that are under our control we will correct. But for things that are out of our control, we will express alarm, such as poor refereeing."

Usuthu will face Nyasa Big Bullets in the return leg of the Caf Champions League game on September 18 after going down 1-0 away from home.

Club Brugge boss Philippe Clement has praised the performance of Ghanaian attacker Kamal Sowah in their 1-1 home stalemate with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The winger saw 92 minutes of action as the Belgian giants came from behind to hold a Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Kylian Mbappe-led side to a stalemate.

Ander Herrera shot PSG in front in the 15th minute before captain Hans Vanaken responded for the hosts in the 27th minute in the Group A matchday one tie at Jan Breydel Stadium.

"Lang, De Ketelaere, Vanaken, Sowah, ... I really should name every player. You can only get a result like tonight's if everyone is fully focused and committed and that was the case,” Clement said after the game, his club’s official website reported.

“They've played a wonderful game, both physically and mentally. We started off well but conceded a goal after 15 minutes play. But then, the reaction from my players is what really satisfies me as a coach.

"This is our football philosophy. This is how we want to play every game. If I have to be critical, then I would say that we need a bit more efficiency.

"The other teams in the group will not be taken by surprise by us, we still have five finals to play and we need to be ready. I don't think we should limit the dreams of the players. Let them dream of what could be and we'll see where we end in this group. But this was a brilliant performance from our part."

The result has left Brugge third on the table behind leaders Manchester City, who beat German side RB Leipzig 6-3 in the other group game, and PSG.

Sowah joined the Belgian side on a four-year contract from English outfit Leicester City last month.

Last weekend, he made his debut for the Blue-Black, marking the outing with an assist as the club beat Oostende 3-0 in the Belgian First Division A.

The 21-year-old is yet to be capped by Ghana at international level, having turned down call-ups in the past.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has sought to explain why he was caught screaming at Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez during Manchester City's 6-3 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.

A thrilling contest at the Etihad Stadium delivered nine goals, a hat-trick in a losing cause for Christopher Nkunku, a red card for former Blues star Angelino and three welcome points for the hosts.

England international Grealish, who is now the most expensive player in British football following a £100 million ($139m) move over the summer, scored and provided an assist on his European debut, while Mahrez also got in on the act, but Guardiola was not entirely happy.

What has been said?

Quizzed by BT Sport on the animated message he was trying to get across to two of his forwards in the second-half against Leipzig, Guardiola said: "We spoke in half-time about the way we have to do it and they didn't do it. Fights happen.

"They are so good, they make four players in the build up to attract you behind the holding midfielders where there aren't a lot of players, where the ball goes outside and they are so fast when they attack in behind.

"It's not easy to control it but when you regain that ball there are many players in front of the ball and in the transition to make one or two passes in behind you have a chance to attack."

What did Grealish have to say?

Guardiola's demands are still new to Grealish, who is looking to justify a record-breaking transfer fee in Manchester.

He is, however, prepared to accept that a Catalan coach expects nothing less than perfection from those at his disposal, with the odd argument to be expected.

The 26-year-old playmaker said of the heated discussions with Guardiola: "That was just defensive work, I won’t go too much into it because he might want the same tactics at the weekend.

"That’s what the manager is like, he’s always wanting more defensively and offensively, and he’s obviously someone that I’m going to listen to after everything he’s done in the game. He’s just giving out useful information."

Defending Premier League champions City will be back in domestic action on Saturday when playing host to Southampton.

Further reading

Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane has addressed rumours Rhulani Mokwena could become his new assistant at Al Ahly.

This comes after one of Mosimane's two assistants at the Egyptian giants, Cavin Johnson was linked with PSL giants Orlando Pirates in recent weeks. 

The 62-year-old tactician is reportedly keen to return home in South Africa after attracting interest from Pirates, who are said to be looking to replace Josef Zinnbauer with the German mentor having resigned as the club's head coach last month. 

A football journalist reported through his Twitter account that Mosimane has identified Mokwena as a replacement for Johnson.

However, Mosimane, who worked with Mokwena at Mamelodi Sundowns, took to social media to dismiss the report as fake news. 

“MickyJnr, this time around your reliable sources threw you out," Mosimane wrote on his official Twitter account.

"I normally don’t respond to weak stories like these, but you are really compromising everybody (clubs and coaches) here.

"Please let’s try and remain decent at times and avoid creating unnecessary tensions with fake news."

Mosimane was responding to Ghana-based journalist, who also indicated that the Cairo giants were looking to replace Johnson with a local coach. 

The coach's other assistant at the Red Devils is Samy Komsan, who is a retired Egyptian footballer. 

Mokwena had two spells as one of Mosimane's two assistants at Sundowns along with Manqoba Mnqgithi as the Tshwane giants dominated South African football.

Mosimane left Sundowns for Al Ahly in September 2020 and Masandawana appointed Mokwena and Mnqgithi as co-head coaches.

Johnson's departure from Al Ahly is yet to be officially confirmed by the club having joined the North African club at the same time as Mosimane.

Chippa United attacking midfielder Thabiso Lebitso says they will stand a good chance of defeating Orlando Pirates if they show character on Saturday.

The Chilli Boys are set to welcome the Buccaneers at the 2010 Fifa World Cup third-place play-off match venue, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in a PSL encounter.

Lebitso and his teammates managed to frustrate reigning PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns in a league game that ended in a 0-0 draw at the same venue on August 24.

The 29-year-old stressed that they need to show a similar fighting spirit when they face a confident Pirates side which is coming off a win over Swallows FC in the Soweto Derby clash on Saturday.

“If we can have the same character we showed against Sundowns, the same way that we played, I think we can do well against Pirates as well,” Lebitso told Sowetan.

“We have to work hard because we are playing against a big team which I believe we can win against them."

The Chilli Boys are still licking their wounds after succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to Royal AM in their third league game of the season which was played on Saturday.

“We really have to put in more effort to win this game. We also have to fix whatever that went wrong [in their last game against Royal AM]," Lebitso continued.

"And we just have to go there with the same approach we have been showing before, the only thing we need to change is the character.”

The Chilli Boys have netted just once in three league games this term and Lebitso feels that they have to improve in front of goal. 

“The most important thing for us is to score goals. We have already netted one goal against Sekhukhune. We have to score more goals to win matches,” he said.

“Also, against Royal, we didn’t do well compared to games that we played against Sundowns and Sekhukhune, but I still believe that we can do more if there are things we did wrong in that game.

“I can’t be specific on what went wrong because the approach was the same. I think it might be decision-making.”

The last time Chippa defeated Pirates in a competitive game was in May 2016 with Joseph Molangoane and Buyani Sali scoring in a 2-0 win for the Chilli Boys in a league clash.