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France striker, Giroud hints at retirement from Les Bleus

Published

1 year ago

May 24, 2024

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Olivier Giroud has announced that he will retire from international football after next month’s European Championship. In an interview with L’Equipe, the 37-year-old French striker emphasized his desire to avoid overstaying his welcome on the international stage, saying he does not want to play “one season too many.”

Giroud recently transferred from AC Milan to Major League Soccer side LAFC. He has had a distinguished international career with France, making 131 appearances and scoring more goals for Les Bleus than any other player, surpassing Thierry Henry’s record. A key highlight of his career was winning the World Cup in 2018.

Reflecting on his decision, Giroud expressed a sense of fulfillment and readiness to step aside for the next generation of players. He acknowledged that he will miss playing for the national team but believes it is the right time to retire from international football.

“To be honest, this will be my last competition with Les Bleus. Obviously, I’m going to miss it a lot. But I think the French team will be over after the Euros. We need to make way for the youngsters. You also have to be careful not to have too many. You have to find the right balance. I’ve always said that I was going to stop when my body asked me to,” Giroud stated.

Related Topics:France Striker Giroud Les Bleus

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Super Eagles vs Rwandan FIFA World Cup qualifying match on Saturday

Saturday’s showdown at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium comes five months and two weeks after the Super Eagles defeated the Amavubi 2-0 in the latter’s home ground in Kigali in a Matchday 5 encounter.

Published

3 days ago

September 1, 2025

OCHEFA

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• Super Eagles coach, Stanley Nwabali

Rwanda’s delegation to Saturday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria will arrive in Lagos on Tuesday afternoon.

This is even as injured Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has assured top officials of both the NFF and the National Sports Commission (NSC) that he will be fully fit for Saturday’s 2026 World Cup showdown against Rwanda in Uyo.

Nigeria Football Federation’s Director of Communication, Dr Ademola Olajire, disclosed that a one-man Rwanda advance party will be in Lagos today but the full delegation will make landfall in the commercial capital on Tuesday aboard a Rwandair Airline flight at 1.15pm, and will proceed to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State by 4pm of the same day.

Last week, Super Eagles No 1 goalkeeper Nwabali was stretchered off after he was injured while playing for his South African club Chippa United.

“He (Nwabali) has assured us he will be fit for the World Cup qualifiers against both Rwanda and South Africa,” a source told SCORENigeria.

“He spoke to NFF President (Ibrahim Gusau) and some other top officials in this regard,” the top football source said yesterday

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Fenerbahce sacks head coach Mourinho

We have parted ways with Jose Mourinho, who served as head coach of our professional A team since the 2024-2025 season.

Published

6 days ago

August 29, 2025

OCHEFA

50 Views

•Jose Mourinho

Fenerbahce on Friday sacked Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, two days after elimination from the Champions League playoffs by Benfica, the Turkish club said in a statement.

“We have parted ways with Jose Mourinho, who served as head coach of our professional A team since the 2024-2025 season.

We thank him for his efforts for our team and wish him success in his future career,” it said.

The former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma coach who arrived at the Istanbul club in June 2024, led Istanbul’s Yellow Canaries to second place in the league last season behind Galatasaray, failing to end their title drought.

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BREAKING: Champions League draw for 2025/2026 season confirmed [Full fixtures]

Published

1 week ago

August 28, 2025

Charles Flames

66 Views

The draw for the league phase for the 2025/2026 Champions League have been conducted on Thursday.

This year, the competition will continue to use the ‘Swiss-style’ league phase rather than the group stage to which fans had become accustomed.

That means that 36 teams will again take part in the competition.

Then the top eight sides will then qualify automatically for the knockout stages, while the teams that finish in ninth to 24th place will be drawn in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16 of the competition.

Teams ranked 25-36 are eliminated from all competitions.Here are some of the fixtures:

Bayern Munich will face Chelsea (H), PSG (A), Club Brugge (H), Arsenal (A), Sporting CP (H), PSV (A), Union SG (H), Pafos (A)Chelsea will play Barcelona (H), Bayern Munich (A), Benfica (H), Atalanta (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Pafos (H), Qarabag (A)Real Madrid take on Manchester City (H), Liverpool (A), Juventus (H), Benfica (A), Marseille (H), Olympiacos (A), Monaco (H), Kairat Almaty (A).

Inter Milan have been drawn against Liverpool (H), Dortmund (A), Arsenal (H), Atletico Madrid (A), Salavia Praha (H), Ajax (A), Kairat Almaty, Union SGBorussia Dortmund will face Inter Milan (H), Manchester City, Villarreal, Juventus, Bodo/Glimt, Tottenham, Athletic Club, Copenhagen (A)Liverpool play Real Madrid (H), Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Frankfurt, PSV, Marseille, Qarabag, Galatasaray (A)

Barcelona take on PSG (H), Chelsea, Frankfurt, Club Brugge, Olympiacos, Slavia Praha, Copenhage, Newcastle (A).