France look to Benzema for World Cup boost

Real Madrid striker proves merit in past six months

PARIS: Twelve months ago, Karim Benzema was France coach Didier Deschamps' biggest problem, but now the hope is that the in-form striker will be the solution for Les Bleus in Brazil.

The 26-year-old Real Madrid striker comes into what will be his first World Cup after enjoying a liberating last six months, both on the field and off.

Benzema endured a shocking international goal drought of 1,222 minutes before coming good just in the nick of time, finally getting back among the goals in a 6-0 friendly win against Australia in October. He then scored in the crucial 3-0 play-off second-leg victory over Ukraine in November that took France to the World Cup.

The former Lyon player has now scored four times in his last five international appearances, boosting his overall record for his country to 19 goals from 65 caps.

"When he plays at that level it is great for us," said Deschamps after Benzema scored one and helped set up another in a 2-0 defeat of the Netherlands in March.

"Let's hope he can keep it up. You can see it on his face. He is beaming and that is because he is feeling confident."

Swiss young guns seek big farewell for Hitzfeld

Switzerland's veteran boss Ottmar Hitzfeld retires after the World Cup finals and his young squad aim to give him a farewell to remember in Brazil.

In their third consecutive World Cup, the ‘Nati’ are out to prove that their seventh place in Fifa's global rankings is not a statistical fluke.

The 65-year-old German Hitzfeld has set his sights on at least clearing Group E, where Switzerland face France, Ecuador and Honduras.

Reaching the last 16 would erase Switzerland's bad memories of 2010 in South Africa, during which they were the only team to beat eventual champions Spain, but failed to reach the knockout stage.

Now, former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich boss Hitzfeld has said the looming tournament will bring down the curtain on his three-decade coaching career.

On another note, Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara has been ruled out of next month's World Cup in Brazil after suffering a fresh knee injury, confirmed his club Bayern Munich on Thursday.