Ya Konan goes to Brazil!

Didier Ya Konan wasn’t on the pitch due to his injury, but he was still with the team in Casablanca to support them in their victory. Despite a 1-1 draw in the second leg, it was the Ivoirians who were celebrating at the final whistle. A 3-1 win in the first leg meant the Elephants secured their ticket for the 2014 World Cup. Salif Sané, who played the entire game, and Mame Diouf, was brought on late in the game, had little reason to celebrate as the 96-duo missed out on a chance to travel to South America.

Hoffmann and Leo on course

Leonardo Bittencourt and Andre Hoffmann are on course to qualify with the Germany U21 team in their 2015 European Championship qualifying. A 1-1 draw with Montenegro sees Germany now with 13 points at the top of the table. Bittencourt played the entire second half and changed the tempo of the game. Club teammate Hoffmann was an unused substitute. The squad has also expanded ahead of the game against Romania on Tuesday, with 96-teammate Christopher Avevor also being called up.

Two on the pitch, two on the bench

The other games including four other 96-players were friendlies but not without excitement. On Thursday, Belgium lost 2-0 against Colombia. Sébastien Pocognoli was on the bench for the entire evening. Leon Andreasen was also involved for his country, as Denmark beat local rivals Norway by two goals to one. Ali Gökdemir also picked up international expierence, coming on in the 76th minute in Azerbaijan’s 2-1 defeat to Estonia. Japan drew 2-2 with the Netherlands, battling back from a 2-0 deficit. 96-defender Hiroki Sakai came on for the last 17 minutes. Artur Sobiech was not involved in the international fixtures as the Polish striker continues to recover from his Achilles injury in Hanover.

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Upcoming fixtures:

Tuesday, November 19th, 2013:

·             Romania - Germany (U21, European Championship qualifier, 18:00 kick off)

·             Kyrgyzstan – Azerbaijan (friendly, 11:00 kick off)

·             Belgium - Japan (friendly, 21:00 kick off)