Germany defender Jerome Boateng is nursing a stiff calf muscle ahead of Germany’s last 16 match at Euro 2016, the nation’s football federation DFB said. Boateng sustained the injury in his right leg during Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Northern Ireland and was taken out of the game in the 76th minute. Coach Joachim Loew said afterwards he was hopeful Boateng could return for Sunday’s game against a yet to be determined opponent, and the DFB said in a tweet the stiffness was subsiding.
Boateng suffered a similar injury during the 2014 World Cup group match against Ghana but was able to play in the next game against the United States five days later.

Benzema can return into France team, federation boss says
Karim Benzema could return into the French national team in the future after not being picked for Euro 2016 in connection with a criminal investigation, French football supremo Noel de Great said yesterday.
“I can confirm he is not banned for life,” de Graet said at the team’s case camp in Clairefontaine near Paris. The 81-times capped Benzema is France’s most successful active forward with 27 goals and won the Champions League with Real Madrid last month.
But his last France game dates back to October 2015 as he was suspended in December after being charged with conspiracy to blackmail - relating to an investigation into an attempt to extort money from his France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena using a sex tape. France coach Didier Deschamps decided not to pick him for the Euro home event which would have been Benzema’s biggest tournament. Benzema, who has Algerian roots, reacted upset and accused Deschamps of racism.
De Graet said that the authorities will likely soon clear up the case but didn’t want to talk too much about Benzema who is on holiday at an undisclosed location. France have qualified for the last 16 with two wins and a draw, with Dimitri Payet scoring two of their four goals. Benzema congratulated the team via social media after the opening 2-1 win over Romania.

Czechs face identity crisis after Euro exit
The days of the Czech Republic team having familiar faces from the top European leagues could be about to come to an end after their sorry exit from Euro 2016 on Tuesday.
A 2-0 defeat to Turkey meant they finished bottom of Group D with one point and were eliminated with a whimper. Czech sides of old had names which all European football fans would recognize such as Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky or Patrick Berger.
Now only goalkeeper Petr Cech, 34, and captain Tomas Rosicky, 35, remain with the rest of the squad barely household names in Prague. Coach Pavel Vrba said Cech and Rosicky had said nothing to him about international retirement but media reports have said announcements could come soon.
“Jaroslav Plasil said he wants to quit, I don’t know about anyone else,” the coach said. Media reports also said forward David Lafata, 34, was quitting the national team. As for Vrba’s own position after crashing out following two years in the job, he gave an ambiguous answer.
“I don’t have any other contract, only the contract with the national team. If you know anything, you can tell me,” he said as he looked ahead to the World Cup qualifiers for Russia 2018. “International football is very different from the Czech league. Players in international football are on another level. It has been a good learning experience for our young players,” he added.