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

2014 World Cup - warm up - Nigeria vs Greece 0:0

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has said that his side will have to improve if they are to make an impact at the World Cup in Brazil. He was talking after they drew 0:0 with fellow World Cup finalists Greece in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Both sides created chances but lacked a clinical edge to find the target. "We will always have very difficult games but the motivation will be to do a lot better than we managed in our last couple of games." Keshi said.

"The truth is we didn't play our game. The importance of a friendly game is to know your weakness and what needs improvement. "What I found out is that we were not able to keep the ball in our possession.

The whole idea was to control the game." Nigeria's best chances fell to Stoke City's Peter Odemwingie, Michael Babatunde (Volyn Lutsk), Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio) and Chelsea's Victor Moses late on but all of them failed to find the back of the net.

The Nigerians also drew 2:2 with Scotland last week and Keshi feels these games have given him and his players an insight into what lies ahead. "All I need is the mentality and discipline to dominate the game and take chances," he added. "In friendlies you can correct your mistakes but in a tournament it can cost us dearly. "So we'll see how it goes in the next game because that is another chance to improve on this performance."

The next friendly for the African champions will come against the USA on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. The team depart for Brazil on 8 June to prepare for their first match of the tournament against Iran in Curitiba eight days later. They then play Bosnia-Hercegovina and finish their Group F campaign against Argentina as they attempt to reach the Last 16, as they did in 1994 and 1998.

 

Did you know?
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi is still searching for a first win against European opposition since he took charge in 2011.

 

Greece

 

5 Jun 2014
(BBC Sport by Oluwashina Okeleji)

Related countries

Related articles