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

NATIONAL TEAMS - CONGO DR - AFRICA CUP 2019 - Mulumbu tips DR Congo for success

Day 2   
2nd match
 
 
Congo DR vs Uganda -:-
 
 

Youssouf Mulumbu believes Congo DR can go all the way.Embed from Getty Images

 

The two-time champions finished third in 2015, but went out of the 2017 edition in the quarter-finals.

As the Leopards prepare to face Uganda in their opening match on 22 June, Mulumbu is confident his side can reach the final.

"We missed a bit of what it takes at the last tournament in 2017 and we've worked hard on some of it during qualification," Mulumbu told BBC Sport.

"If we can correct a little bit of what is missing we can go all the way to the final and even win it.

"I sound very confident because we've been together as a group for a while now.

"In tournaments like this, all the little details matter and we have a highly experienced coach [Florent Ibenge] on our side."

Seven-time champions Egypt are favourites for the title and DR Congo will face the Pharaohs in their second Group A match.

However, Celtic's Mulumbu insists there are bigger challenges beyond the hosts at the continental showpiece.

"We've seen teams beat top sides like Ghana, it tells you there are no weaker teams in Africa," he added.

"You can't focus on teams like Egypt because they are very successful and leave out others.

"There are no guarantees and you don't want to get into permutations to qualify.

"Right now we only take it game by game, because our target is first to finish in the top two from our group."

The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on Friday with hosts Egypt playing Zimbabwe in the opening match in Cairo.

19 Jun 2019
(Football Writer, Cairo By Oluwashina Okeleji)

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