Gianni Infantino has been reelected president of FIFA after running unopposed. He said that the organization has been transformed into being "synonymous with credibility."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Tarantino
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Gianni Infantino was reelected president of FIFA, global football's governing body, in Paris on Wednesday.
The 49-year-old took over the reins of FIFA in February 2016, after a corruption scandal rocked the organization and ousted disgraced former President Sepp Blatter.
Infantino, a Swiss-Italian lawyer, now has at least until 2023 to carry out his big plans for football, which were partly frustrated in his first term.
At the FIFA conference in Paris, Infantino told the organization's 211 members that the FIFA had gone from "being toxic, almost criminal, to what it should be."
"It is only thanks to you that we have been able to transform FIFA, to transform it into a new FIFA, an organization that is synonymous with credibility, confidence, integrity, equality, human rights, social engagement, modernity, professionalism and equality," he said.
Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg thinks her 23-woman squad has a "good mix" ahead of the World Cup in France. The tournament starts on June 7 and ends with the final on July 7. Germany last won it in 2007.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Goalkeeper: Almuth Schult
The 28-year-old has been first-choice goalkeeper at Germany's most successful women's team, Wolfsburg, for the past six seasons. Since 2015 she has also been wearing the No. 1 shirt for the national team. In 2016 she was part of the team that won gold at the Rio Olympics. With 58 caps she is one of the most experienced players on the German team.
Image: picture-alliance/Gladys Chai von der Laage
Goalkeeper: Merle Frohms
Frohms, 24,plays her club football for SC Freiburg and is the backup to Schult in the national team setup. For years she tried unsuccessfully to emerge from Schult's shadow in Wolfsburg, before moving to Freiburg in 2018. She has made four appearances forher country.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Goalkeeper: Laura Benkarth
The 26-year-old Bayern Munich shot stopper is another who already has a gold medal in her collection, though Benkarth wasn't used in Rio 2016, with Schult preffered for all six games. Benkarth missed a huge chunk of the season just gone with a cruciate ligament injury, only making her first appearance in April.
Image: picture-alliance/Sven Simon
Defender: Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh
Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh was born in Cologne to an Iranian father and a Turkish mother and forms part of the backline at the current winners of the women's double in Germany, Wolfsburg. Since making her debut for the black, red and gold in March 2016, the 27-year-old has made 24 international appearances.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Defender: Johanna Elsig
Elsig has been playing for Turbine Potsdam since 2012, who she joined from Bayer Leverkusen. Elsig's career has been plagued by injuries, particularly two cruciate ligament tears which both resulted in long spells on the sidelines. Despite those, the 26-year-old has been part of the German setup since 2017, and has won 12 caps.
At 33, Goessling is the oldest and most experienced played in the Germany squad. Also capable of playing in midfield, she has already won 104 caps for her country though missed the cut on two major tournaments early in her career. Another Rio Olympic champion, Goessling has won just about every honor in the club game with Wolfsburg.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Defender: Marina Hegering
A late bloomer, Hegering only won her first Germany cap in April, at the age of 28. Another versatile player most comfortbale in more defensive roles, Hegering won plys her trade for SGS Essen in the women's Bundesliga and has done well to largely overcome a stubborn heel injury.
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Defender: Leonie Maier
Despite her relatively tender age of 26, Maier has been part of the national set up for more than six years and became a European champion at 19. Though defensively-minded, Maier has racked up 10 goals in her 68 caps. After six successful years with Bayern Munich, Maier will be on the hunt for a new club after the World Cup.
Image: picture-alliance/GES/T. Eisenhuth
Defender: Kathrin Hendrich
Born in Eupen, in the German-speaking part of Belgium, 27-year-old Hendrich is another vastly experienced defender. She made her international debut in 2014 and made the move from FFC Frankfurt to Bayern Munich last year. She has made 29 appearances on the international stage.
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Defender: Carolin Simon
With six clubs already under her belt, Simon should be at home at the World Cup as she currently plays in France for all-conquering Lyon. The 26-year-old made her bow for Germany three years ago and has won 15 caps. But before she can concentrate on international affairs, she has the small matter of a Champions League final against Barcelona, in Budapest on May 18, to contend with.
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Defender/midfielder: Giulia Gwinn
The 19-year-old is one of three Freiburg players to have made the World Cup squad. Gwinn made her Germany debut in November 2017 and has since won a further six caps, scoring her first, and so far only, international goal against Italy in a friendly last November.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Midfielder: Linda Dallmann
After more than 150 games for SGS Essen, Dallman will soon move to Bundesliga runners-up Bayern Munich. "I have been playing the Bundesliga for eight years now," she said. "And now I want to win the title and hold the trophy up." Since her international bow in 2016, she's won 20 caps and scored five goals.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Midfielder: Turid Knaak
The creative midfielder didn't enjoy the best of starts to her international career. Just five days after her first call up in 2015, Knaak broke her shin and fibula in training. She had to wait until April 2018 to finally win her first cap and will be hoping to make up for lost time in France.
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Midfield: Melanie Leupolz
Another of the Bayern contingent, Leupolz joined the Bavarian club from Freiburg in 2014. A year before that, she made her international debut in a 1-0 win over Canada and has since become a regular fixture in the Germany squad, winning 57 caps and scoring eight goals along the way.
Image: picture-alliance/GES/T. Eisenhuth
Midfield: Lina Magull
Yet another German player to have followed the well trodden path from Freiburg to Bayern. The Dortmund-born midfielder won a number of caps at various youth levels before making her debut for the senior side in 2015. Her 30 caps since have brought seven goals while an earlier spell at Wolfsburg saw Magull win two Champions League titles.
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Midfielder: Dzsenifer Marozsan
Born in Hungary, Marozsan and her parents moved to Germany when she was just four-years-old and the gifted playmaker has become one of the country's standout players. The 27-year-old has won a staggering amount, both in terms of individual awards and team trophies, including Olympic gold and two Champions Leagues with current club Lyon.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Midfielder: Lena Sophie Oberdorf
A precocious talent, Oberdorf will be one of the tournament's youngest players at just 17. She's the youngest in the Germany squad by some distance. After making a debut last April, the SGS Essen starlet will be hoping to translate her impressive scoring record from midfield at club level on to the world stage.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
Midfield: Verena Schweers
By comparison to her predececssor on this list, Schweers is a seasoned veteran at just shy of 30. Another to have played for Freiburg and Wolfsburg before joining current club Bayern, Schweers is a holding midfielder also capable of playing further back.
Image: picture-alliance/Gladys Chai von der Laage
Midfielder: Sarah Däbritz
Däbritz may be keener than most to pick up a bit of French during the World Cup, as the 24-year-old will be moving to Paris Saint-Germain from Bayern Munich after the tournament. The attack-minded player has scored ten goals in her 59 Germany appearances.
Another of the young guns hoping to make their mark in France, Bühl currently has just a couple of minutes of international experience, having debuted as a late substitute against France in February. Bühl came through the ranks at Freiburg, where she still plays her club football.
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Forward: Alexandra Popp
One of the key figures for coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, the Wolfsburg striker has twice been named German Footballer of the Year and has 45 international goals in just 95 games. Popp has just completed another domestic double with the Wolves, taking her to five Bundesliga titles and six German Cups. She also won the Champions League in 2010, 2013 and 2014. A World Cup still eludes her though.
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Forward: Lea Schüller
The SGS Essen striker has made a bright start to her international career with eight goals in 12 games since making her debut in 2017. That includes an impressive four goal haul against the Czech Republic in qualifying. Can she take that form in to the tournament?
Another member of the Germany squad who'll be playing for a new club next season, Huth, 28, will soon join several of her national team colleagues at Bayern, ending four years at traditional powerhouses Turbine Potsdam. Since making her debut eight years ago, Huth has won 43 caps and scored 11 goals.
Image: picture-alliance/GES/T. Eisenhuth
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Infantino's plans for football
Plans to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, have been hampered by political crisis in the Gulf, along with labor and human rights issues. Still, during his first term, Infantino was able to enlarge the men's World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, albeit not in time for the Qatar tournament.
The 48-team World Cup will kick off in 2026 and is planned to be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.
Infantino is also pressing ahead with plans for a new Club World Cup, comprising 24 teams, from 2021. The existing format involves just seven clubs.
In 2016, soccer leaders in North and South America were ousted after American and Swiss prosecutors
uncovered financial corruption linked to the game's governing bodies.