FIFA WORLD CUP 2018
OZIL, GUNDOGAN MEET GERMAN PRESIDENT AFTER ERDOGAN CONTROVERSY
Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan met Germany president Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Saturday in a series of clear the air talks following their controversial photos alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Ilkay Gundogan and Mesut Ozil expressed a desire to visit me," Steinmeier posted on Facebook alongside a picture of him with the Germany stars in Berlin. "It was important to both of them to clear up any misunderstandings that came up."
Steinmeier said the players affirmed their loyalty to Germany during the meeting.
"I grew up here and I'm faithful to my country," Ozil was quoted as saying, while Gundogan added, "Germany is clearly my country and my team".
The duo found themselves at the centre of a political storm for meeting Erdogan last Sunday. The pair each presented Erdogan with a signed Arsenal and City jersey respectively, but were criticised by both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German FA (DFB) for their actions.
World Cup snub irks Payet's mom
France coach Didier Deschamps has faced criticism for not personally informing Marseille forward Dimitri Payet he would not be going to the World Cup -- from the player's mother.
Asked on TF1's Telefoot show if her son had been personally informed by Deschamps that he was not part of the plans for Russia 2018, she replied: "No. He found out watching on television like everyone else, with the family."
Deschamps said the failure to call the forward, who had been prominent in the Euro 2016 campaign, had been a logistical one. "I had a list of 23 players to deliver and many things to do so with the limited time I had, unhappily for Dimitri Payet I didn't get round to it," the coach explained.
SOUTH KOREA SUFFER CHANG-HOON SETBACK
South Korea's World Cup hopes suffered a major blow on Saturday as star midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon sustained an Achilles injury that is set to rule the 23 year-old out of the tournament.
With 14 minutes remaining in the final game of the French campaign, Kwon, Korea's most in-form player with 11 goals for Dijon FCO this season, limped off the pitch against Angers.
The exact nature of the injury has yet to be determined but in a statement released by Dijon, the club said it is "probably a rupture of the Achilles tendon, even if it is necessary to wait for the results of the examination.
"One thing is certain, he will miss the World Cup in Russia."
It is the latest and most serious in a series of injury worries for coach Shin Tae-yong. Defender Kim Min-jae and midfielder Yeom Ki-hun were ruled out of the 28-man preliminary squad named on May 14.
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