Duro Ikhazuagbe
Former Super Eagles forward, Emmanuel Amuneke, is one of the six ex-internationals appointed to join FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) to provide technical and tactical insights into the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Amuneke who coached Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets to win the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile in 2015, is the third Nigeria to be so appointed into the TSG. Former Eagles coaches, Adegboye Onigbinde and Sunday Oliseh had previously served in the elite group of football technocrats.
Other football greats in the 2018 TSG include former Super Eagles handler Bora Milutinovic who led the three-time African champions to a second round finish at France ’98.
Others include; Carlos Alberto Parreira, Alessandro Nesta, Andy Roxburgh and Marco van Basten.
The group will be headed by Parreira, a FIFA World Cup-winning coach, who, along with Milutinović, holds the record for coaching the highest number of five different teams at FIFA’s showpiece event.
Asked about the upcoming World Cup, Parreira said: “I’m expecting to see football where teams play as teams and defend with as many players as possible, pressing and then breaking forward at speed. Very compact teams, with lots of players behind the ball, closing down space and playing at pace on the attack.”
As indicated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Regulations, the TSG will be responsible for deciding on the following awards:
· adidas Golden, Silver and Bronze Boots for the leading goal-scorers (if two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists, as determined by the TSG members, will be decisive)
· adidas Golden, Silver and Bronze Balls for the best players
· adidas Golden Glove Award for the best goalkeeper
· Young Player Award for the best player born on or after 1 January 1997
· Fair Play Award (the TSG will determine the ranking at the end of the final competition)
At the conclusion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the TSG will produce a comprehensive technical report, including detailed statistics, which will be distributed among FIFA’s member associations.
The TSG has been analysing FIFA’s competitions since the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
