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

2015 AFRICA CUP QUALIFIERS - GROUP STAGE - 3RD MATCHES - SIERRA LEONE ASK TO PLAY IN CAMEROON

AFRICA CUP 2015 QUALIFIERS GROUP D SIERRA LEONE

DID YOU KNOW?
According the World Health Organisation on 22 September almost 2,800 people have died in this latest outbreak of Ebola across parts of West Africa. More than 560 of those deaths have been in Sierra Leone.

The two nations are due to meet in Group D of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The request comes after the Confederation of African football announced it was keeping in place a ban on Sierra Leone hosting matches because of the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the country.

"We have approached the Cameroonian FA to allow us to host their national team in Yaounde and from our discussions so far things are looking good," Sorie Ibrahim Sesay, head of competitions of the SLFA told BBC Sport.

"So far Cameroon are the only country we have contacted."

If Cameroon agree that the match can go ahead in Yaounde, the Indomitable Lions will host Sierra Leone twice in Yaounde within the space of four days.

They are already set to host the Leone Stars on 15 October.

Moving the match to the Cameroonian city would also mean that Sierra Leone are once again having to play a designated home match on opposition soil.

Last month, they were forced to move their home fixture against DR Congo to the Congolese city Lubumbashi.

Leone Stars lost that match 2:0 following a two-day journey travelling from Ivory Coast, where they had lost 2:1 four days earlier.

The defeats left Leone Stars bottom of Group D and also cost Johnny McKinstry his job as coach.

He was replaced by ex-Sierra Leone international Atto Mensah last week, when Fifa's latest world rankings showed the Leone Stars to have dropped from 50 to 75.

The SLFA had already suspended all football activities before CAF ordered their matches to be relocated.

24 Sep 2014
(BBC Sport, Freetown by Mohamed Fajah Barrie)

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