Germany to start FIFA World Cup campaign vs Mexico
Moscow, June 16: Defending champions Germany will kick-off their title defence when they take on Mexico in a Group F match of the FIFA 2018 World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium here on Sunday.
In their previous 11 meetings, Germany have won six times while the South Americans managed just a single win.
Germany passed the qualification stage with ease as they won all their ten games, thus becoming the first team to win all their qualification matches.
The Manuel Neuer-led side however, haven't been at their best this year as Germany managed to win just one of their four international friendlies in 2018. While they defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1, they suffered losses against Brazil and Austria.
The biggest concern for Germany was the fitness of their star players Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng. Later, Neuer recovered from a serious foot injury to be fit for the mega event.
Germany's defence will witness Boateng and Mats Hummels as the duo's role will be crucial on Sunday. On the other hand, Jonas Hector and Joshua Kimmich will form the full backs while Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos will feature in the midfield.
The attacking lineup will be formed by striker Timo Werner, Thomas Muller on the right flank and Mesut Ozil.
On the other side, Mexico too, have a settled squad.
Jesus Gallardo and Miguel Layun are likely to be the full-backs on the left and right sides, respectively. Mexico's defence will feature Hector Moreno and Hugo Ayala, who form a formidable partnership.
With the likes of Hector Herrera and Andres Guardado, Mexico's biggest strength lies in the midfield. The duo will be supported by either Jonathan dos Santos or Marco Fabian, who ever gets a chance in Sunday's game.
Hirving Lozano, Carlos Vela, Giovani dos Santos and Oribe Peralta will lead the Mexican attack. Also, Javier Hernandez and Raul Jimenez are the other two contenders for the striker's slot.
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UP govt to build protective walls around Ambedkar statues: Adityanath
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the state government will build protective boundary walls around statues of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar to safeguard them from vandalism.
Adityanath made the remarks while addressing the 'Mahaparinirvaan Diwas' (death anniversary) programme of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in Lucknow on Saturday.
"Today, our government is going to take another important decision, and that decision is that wherever statues of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar are installed in Uttar Pradesh, some mischievous elements often come and vandalize these statues.
"They make malicious attempts to damage them. Now, our government will create a system to protect these statues by constructing a boundary wall around them," Adityanath said.
"If a statue does not have a roof over it, a canopy will be installed to ensure the safe and respectful protection of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar's statue," Adityanath said.
He also said that the government will complete connecting every slum, every Dalit settlement, Scheduled Caste settlement, and every tribal settlement with proper connectivity, if any areas are still left unconnected.
Although the Rural Development Department and the Urban Development Department have worked to complete these, if any areas remain unconnected, "we will ensure that they are fully connected", he said.
