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

WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFIERS - AFRICA - 1st ROUND - 2nd leg - all results

WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFIERS
1st round / 2nd leg
Region: Africa
Date: 2015

 

Tuesday's African 2018 World Cup qualifying:

Niger vs Somalia 4:0 
• (Niger 6:0 agg)

Swaziland vs Djibouti (6:0) 
• postponed

Mauritania vs South Sudan 4:0 
• (Mauritania 5:1 agg)

Botswana vs Eritrea 3:1 
• (Botswana 5:1 agg)

Namibia vs The Gambia 2:1 
(Namibia 3:2 agg)

Burundi vs Seychelles 2:0 
• (Burundi 3:0 agg)

Sierra Leone vs Chad 2:1 
• (2:2 agg Chad win on away goals)

Guinea-Bissau vs Liberia 1:3 
• (Liberia 2:4 agg)

Lesotho vs Comoros 1:1 
• (1:1 agg Comoros win on away goals)

Madagascar vs CAR 2:2 
• (Madagascar 5:2 agg)


Chad and Comoros both earned away-goal victories on Tuesday to progress to the next round of 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Comoros are ranked 193rd in the latest Fifa World Rankings and managed a 1:1 draw in Lesotho and that was the same score on aggregate.

Mohamed M'Changama's 71st minute goal in Maseru was enough to earn the tiny island nation a tie against Ghana next month.

Chad lost 2:1 to Sierra Leone in the second leg of their tie but progressed thanks to that away goal.

Leger Djimrangar gave Chad the lead in injury time at the end of the first half of the match, played in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt because Sierra Leone are still not able to host matches due to the Ebola outbreak.

The Leone Stars fought back after the break with Alhaji Kamara scoring in the 70th and 79th minutes but they were unable to find the all-important third goal.

The visitors ended the game with 10 men as Constant Madtoingue was shown a straight red card in the final minutes of the match.

Chad, who are currently ranked 175th, will now play seven-time African champions Egypt in the next round.

William Jebor, who is on loan at Spanish second division side SD Ponferradina, was the hero for Liberia as he scored a hat-trick to help his side beat Guinea-Bissau 3:1.

The made the score 4:2 on aggregate for Lone Star who will now play African champions Ivory Coast.

Jebor, who had also scored Liberia's goal in the first leg, scored twice in the opening 12 minutes and added the third deep into added time at the end of the match.

William Jebor's hat-trick helped Liberia beat Guinea-Bissau 3:1 and 4:2 overall

Ibraime Cassama was on target for Guinea-Bissau moments before the half-time whistle.

Niger easily beat visitors Somalia 4:0 to complete a 6:0 aggregate victory.

Mahamane Cisse and China-based Moussa Maazou both scoring twice to put their side through to face Cameroon.

Mauritania were also 4:0 winners on Tuesday to end South Sudan's first ever World Cup campaign 5:1 on aggregate.

Moulaye Khalil found the net after just four minutes for the hosts in Nouackchott before Boubacar Bagili, Moussa Samba Moussa and Ismail Diakite completed the scoring.

South Sudan played the last 11 minutes with 10 players after the dismissal of Aluck Akeuch Deng.

The reward for Mauritania is a tie against Tunisia in the next round.

Botswana progressed to face Mali with a 5:1 aggregate win over Eritrea following a 2:1 victory in Francistown

Henok Goitom, who is the second highest scorer in the Swedish top flight for AIK, gave Eritrea hope with a goal after just six minutes.

The Zebras then fought back to take the lead before half-time with goals from Mogakolodi Ngele and Joel Mogorosi.

Ngele made sure of the victory with his second goal 10 minutes from time.

Madagascar held Central African Republic to a 2:2 draw to complete a 5:2 aggregate win.


2018 World Cup first round qualifiers - preview

• Niger vs Cameroon -:-
• Comoros vs Ghana -:-
• Madagascar vs Senegal -:-
• Morocco vs Equatorial Guinea -:-
• Mauritania vs Tunisia -:-
• Djibouti/Swaziland vs Nigeria -:-
• Kenya vs Cape Verde -:-
• Mozambique vs Gabon -:-
• Namibia vs Guinea -:-
• Botswana vs Mali -:-
• Tanzania vs Algeria -:-
• Benin vs Burkina Faso -:-
• Ethiopia vs Congo -:-
• Burundi vs DR Congo -:-
• Sudan vs Zambia -:-
• Togo vs Uganda -:-
• Chad vs Egypt -:-
• Liberia vs Ivory Coast -:-
• Libya vs Rwanda -:-
• Angola vs South Africa -:-

 

Junior Gourrier put visitors CAR ahead after only seven minutes but Madagascar recovered from the shaky start to turn things around before half-time.

Falimery Ramanamahefa and Charles Andriamahitsinoro scored a goal to give Madagascar a 2:1 lead with 10 minutes of the opening period remaining.

They were pegged back by a Demba Malick goal just before the break and neither side were able to break through again after the interval.

Madagascar will face Senegal in the next round.

Burundi are also through after a 2:0 win over Seychelles in Bujumbura, which gave them a 3:0 aggregate victory.

Fiston Abdul Razak scored both goals, the first from the penalty spot on 71 minutes and his second came seven minutes later.

Burundi will face DR Congo in the next round.

Namibia came from behind to beat The Gambia, winning the second leg 2:1 to go through 3:2 overall.

With the tie finely poised after the first leg, visitors The Gambia edged ahead after only 10 minutes on Tuesday when Pa Amat Dibba struck the opener.

But Willy Stephanus scored for Namibia on 45 minutes to make the tie all square and Hendrik Somaeb prevented the tie going to extra time when he struck the winner on 63 minutes.

Swaziland look particularly strong, with a 6:0 advantage over Djibouti but will have to wait to confirm their place in the next round - where Nigeria await - after the second leg was postponed for logistical reasons.

The first round proper of World Cup qualifying for Africa will take place over two legs between 9 and 17 November, the overall winners advancing to the final group phase to decide Africa's five representatives in Russia.

 

 

15 Oct 2015
(BBC Sport UK)

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