Illness, injury hinder Germany for Messi-less Argentina
Germany are set to hand out several debuts with Joachim Loew missing a host of first-choice names for Wednesday's friendly against an Argentina without Lionel Messi.
Like the Germans, Argentina must do without some big names in Dortmund, where only two thirds of tickets have been sold for the friendly.
The match is a repeat of the 2014 World Cup final, but Argentina's Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is set to be the only survivor.
Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero have been left out of the Argentina squad while playmaker and captain Messi is suspended.
The 32-year-old superstar is serving a three-month ban after accusing governing body CONMEBOL of "corruption" at the Copa America, where his team finished third.
The German camp has been forced into a reshuffle with 13 players dropping out for illness or injury. Andy Murray has wanted matches against the best in the world - and on Tuesday he came up just short in his biggest test so far, losing to world No 12 Fabio Fognini in a second-round epic at the Shanghai Masters.
Less than 24 hours after beating Juan Ignacio Londero, Murray was back in action for a tough-looking test against the Italian, and so it proved in a titanic struggle that The Secretary General, Nigeria Customs Service sports unit, Samuel Onikeku is basking in euphoria of the female basketball team’s qualification for the final 8 of the eventually proved just too much for the Scot.
After losing the first set, Murray had fought back to level the contest but with a statement win looking on the cards he faltered in the closing stages. Twice he served for the match, but a faltering first serve gave Fognini an opportunity that he did not turn down and he ran away with the tie-break against a visibly tiring Murray. ongoing Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League.
The Custom ladies qualified from the Savannah Conference which ended yesterday in Abuja.
Speaking with Daily Trust Onikeku expressed satisfaction with the excellent performances of his girls despite losing to Air Warriors.
“I’m impressed with the team as we have lost just a match. We lost to a team that was better on the day of the match not a team that was better prepared.
“I can tell you that we are best prepared team anytime except we are not going to attend any competition.“