NATIONAL TEAM - SWITZERLAND - 2014 WORLD CUP - Goodbye, Ottmar Hitzfeld. All the best and take care.

Hitzfeld has made a positive impression wherever he has been stationed and his name is still regularly chanted in the stands at Bayern Munich.

“He put together a really good team that will last for many years to come,” Granit Xhaka told FIFA.com, before Josip Drmic added: “He’s done a great job.” 

2 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - ARGENTINA VS SWITZERLAND 1:0

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Argentina vs Switzerland 1:0

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 19 - LAST SIXTEEN - BELGIUM VS USA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
1st July 2014

Belgium vs USA 2:1

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - ARGENTINA - KEY PLAYER - ‪LIONEL MESSI - PROFILE

Lionel Andrés Messi; born 24 June 1987, is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. 

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - USA - KEY PLAYER - ‪JERMAINE JONES - PROFILE

Jermaine Junior Jones, born 3 November 1981, is a German-American footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Turkish club Beşiktaş. He has previously played for Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen, Blackburn Rovers and Schalke 04. He was born in Germany and represented them at U21 and senior level.

1 Jul 2014
NATIONAL TEAM - NIGERIA - COACH - STEPHEN KESHI RESIGNS AFTER EXIT

He becomes the sixth manager to leave his job during the World Cup, following the departures of Honduras's Luis Suarez, Iran's Carlos Queiroz, Japan's Alberto Zaccheroni, Italy's Cesare Prandelli and Ivory Coast's Sabri Lamouchi.

Keshi, who captained Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup finals, was previously in charge of Mali and Togo.

1 Jul 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - FRANCE vs NIGERIA 2:0

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

France vs Nigeria 2:0

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - DAY 18 - LAST SIXTEEN - GERMANY vs ALGERIA 2:1

LAST SIXTEEN
30th June 2014

Germany vs Algeria 2:1

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - GERMANY - KEY PLAYER - THOMAS MUELLER‬ - PROFILE

Müller's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder, a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. He can play in any of the attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the center for Bayern Munich, and on the right for Germany.

He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion. Müller has been praised for his maturity, pace, technique, awareness and positioning.

30 Jun 2014
2014 WORLD CUP - FRANCE - KEY PLAYER - ‪KARIM BENZEMA - PROFILE

He has been named French Player of the Year twice for his performances in 2011 and 2012. Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. 

Benzema has earned over 65 caps and represented France at three major international tournaments; the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

30 Jun 2014

African Champions League 2014 - group stage - 1st matches - results

DR Congo's AS Vita Club beat Egypt's Zamalek 2:1 in the African Champions League on Sunday in Kinshasa. The match was played a week after 15 fans were killed in a stampede at the Tata Raphael Stadium in Kinshasa. The incident happened after disgruntled Vita fans hurled missiles on the pitch after a 1:0 home defeat by arch-rivals TP Mazembe. That victory had ensured Mazembe retained the league title and relegated Vita to third place on the final DR Congo Super League table.

Ndombe Mubele put Vita Club ahead in the 19th minute against the five-time African Champions. With 15 minutes left to play the Egyptians drew level through Momen Zakaria but the hosts sealed the win just a few minutes later with a goal from Emmanuel Ngudikana.

In the other Group A game Vita Club's local rivals TP Mazembe lost 1:0 to Sudan's Al Hilal on Friday evening. Midfielder Salah Al Jizoli headed home the only goal of the game after 51 minutes, played out in front of a capacity crowd at the Khartoum Stadium.

The TP Mazembe duo of Mbwana Samata and Thomas Ulimwengu were both part of squad for the game but then immediately flew to Dar es Salaam. The duo were then part of Tanzania's 1:0 win over Zimbabwe in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Sunday.


In Group B, CS Sfaxien of Tunisia beat Libya's Al Ahly Benghazi 3:1 on Sunday in Sfax. Taha Yassine Kheniss gave Sfaxien the lead after just 15 minutes. An own-goal from Bassem Boulaabi made it 1:1 to put the Libyans back in the match 13 minutes later. In an eventful first-half, Sfaxien's Ben Salah scored on 34 minutes to give the hosts the advantage. Chellouf struck three minutes from time to seal Sfaxien's win.

On Saturday, there was disappointment for 2011 African Champions Esperance of Tunisia who lost to visitors Entente Setif from Algeria. Setif took the lead after 24 minutes through Rachid Nadji, who managed to force his way between two defenders before firing across the goal to score. El Hedi Balameiri doubled the lead for the 1988 African Champions just after half-time. The goal came after Nadji barged Esperance defender Mohamed Ben Mansour off the ball, his shot that was parried back to him by the goalkeeper allowing him to set Balameiri for a tap in. The hosts gave themselves a chance with a goal a few minutes later through Driss Mhirsi, whose shot somehow beat goalkeeper Abdelwahab Khedaira as he tried to save with his feet.

 

Champions League fixtures & results

Group A

16.05.2014: Al Hilal vs TP Mazembe 1:0 

18.05.2014: AS Vita Club vs Zamalek 2:1 


Group B

17.05.2014: Esperance vs Entente Setif 1:2 

18.05.2014: CS Sfaxien vs Al Ahli Benghazi 3:1 

 

 

19 May 2014
(BBC Sport UK)

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