The Nation Newspaper

Tag: France

  • Russia 2018: A World Cup of Surprises

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    The 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup, hosted in Russia and won by France, which beat hard-fighting Croatia 4-2, will remain in the hearts of football lovers all over the world as one tournament filled with surprises from the beginning to the end. The football world was treated to one-month of suspense from Eastern Europe, where every prediction made turned out wrong.

    The surprises started right from the first kick of the ball on 14th June. The opening matches of the World Cup over the years have recorded low score lines of a draw, or a slim win, but nobody expected what the 2018 opening fixture had to offer. Russia, the lowest ranked team, going into the World Cup, stunned the whole world by beating Saudi Arabia 5-0 at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.

    Yuri Gazinsky scored the first goal of the tournament with a fine header, after 12 minutes, before Denis Cheryshev, Artyom Dzyuba and Aleksandr Golovin all found the back of the net four different times, to break the Asian hearts.

    The hosts would go on to reach the quarter-finals stage, for the first time in their World Cup history, triumphing over 2010 FIFA World Cup winners Spain in the round of sixteen, before Croatia got the better of them in the last eight.

    At the Spartak stadium Moscow, two days after the opener, Argentina, two-time champions and a hot favourite to win the World Cup, were forced to a draw by new comers, Iceland.  Sergio Aguero had opened scoring for the La Albiceleste, and four minutes later, Alfreo Finnbogason equalized, scoring Iceland’s first ever World up goal.

    But the shock of the day came at the 63rd minute, when superstar Lionel Messi was awarded a penalty to win the game for Argentina. Iceland goalkeeper, Hannes Halldorsson saved it, leaving Messi and the world stunned.

    Argentina would go on to lose scandalously 3-0 to Croatia, and needed a last minute victory against Nigeria to advance to the round of sixteen, where they lost 4-2 to France.

    Read Also: Russia 2018: Brazil beat Mexico to reach quarter-finals

    Lionel Messi would love to forget Russia 2018 in a hurry, as it turned out a nightmare for him. Where his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo got four goal for Portugal in the tournament (which included a hat-trick against Spain on his first match day), the Argentine could only manage one goal, in the match against Nigeria.

    Germany was tipped to defend their title the won at the last edition, on the last day of this year’s fiesta. But they recorded a shock 1-0 loss to Mexico on the opening day, Hirving Lozano scoring on the counter attack after 35 minutes.

    Germany recovered with a last minute victory in the second match against Sweden, needing a draw in the last match against South Korea, but they lost 2-0, finishing last in the group, and thus, the tradition of a World Cup defending champion crashing out at the group stage, which began in 2002 with France (Brazil the only exemption in 2006), continued.

    Spain, 2010 winners, as well as Portugal crashed out at the round of sixteen, after failing to get the better of Russia and Uruguay respectively. Brazil lost in the quarter-finals against dark-horses Belgium, Uruguay fell to France in the last eight, and England broke the voodoo of losing penalty shootouts, when they sent Colombia home in the round of sixteen.

    Since 1982, Africa always had a representative at the knockout stage of the World Cup. That was not to be in 2018, as the five African representatives; Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia and Senegal all crashed out at the group stages.

    The Teranga lions had a close shave with qualification, having secured the same point and goal difference with Japan, but lost the place in the knock-out round with the introduction of the fair-play rule, that saw Senegal  receive six yellow cards in three group games, as against Japan been issued four.

    Belgium, a team tagged the dark horses of the show ended up as the highest scoring team of the competition with 16 goals. They finished the World Cup as bronze medalist, Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard getting the job done for the Red Devils against England in Saint Petersburg.

    The new world champions, France, was not given a chance to shine in the showpiece. The Les Blues, 1998 World Cup winners, kicked off their campaign with two victories against Australia and Peru, securing a draw against Denmark in the group stages. They went on to beat South-American opponents, Argentina and Uruguay in the knockout stages and came out winner against Belgium in the semi-finals.

    Croatia on their part, with massive support from their president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who was in the stands watching the players, and in the dressing room to celebrate with them, came out group winners with maximum nine points in the “group of death” that included Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland. They survived two penalty shoot-outs against Denmark and Russia in the knockouts, before needing extra-time to beat England.

  • Macron: AFRIFF announces Lagos campus for French film school

    THE visit by President Emmanuel Macron of France to Lagos on July 3, 2018 holds memories of a series of new partnerships between the French and Nigerian creative sectors.

    One of the initiatives, as announced by the Founder/CEO of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), Ms. Chioma Ude, during the historic cultural event and hosting of Macron at the Afrikan Shrine, Agidingbi, Lagos, was her festival’s partnership with Cinéfabrique, a film school in Lyon, France to establish a Nigerian campus in Lagos.

    The philosophy behind the Nigerian branch of Cinéfabrique, according to Ude, “is to marry art with the commercial nature of Nollywood, and taking our film global… taking our expertise global too, and equipping our film students to work anywhere in the world.”

    She described the institution as a private commercial elite school which will also have scholarship for very talented students that can’t afford it.

    “There is no film school of this kind in Nigeria currently. Two years will be done in Nigeria and the last academic year in France. There will also be summer programs for young secondary school students and master classes for the professionals to constantly upgrade their skills,” she said.

    Speaking at the Afrika Shrine, Ude disclosed how AFRIFF has, in the last eight year, focused on training the youths in motion picture production:

    “I am humbled to be recognized for doing what I love to do best. My team and I have run the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) for eight years and have trained over 2,000 students; sending the best 200 abroad at no cost to these students. This has been made possible by Access Bank and Ford Foundation.”

    On partnership with Cinéfabrique, she said: “Two years ago, we partnered the French Embassy here in Lagos. I went back to my team members and I said, we’ve partnered with the French, and, going forward, our students will be going to France and they said why France? What is so special about France? And I said two things come to mind; the country is very rich in culture – just like Nigeria – just like Lagos. It’s a country that started something phenomenal in motion picture. Also, two brothers; Auguste Lumière and Louis Lumière were among the first filmmakers in history. They held their first private screening of projected motion pictures in 1895 in Paris. They moved to Lyon in 1870 where, incidentally, the school we partnered with is located.

    “The school we partnered with in France happens to be in Lyon. It is called Cinéfabrique. Upon sending our students to Cinéfabrique in Lyon, they came back very enriched and ahead of their peers. It was an eye-opening experience for our students, AFRIFF and Cinéfabrique. So I want to share this experience with many more students with the help of Yoann Talhouarne, Olivier Follin, Claude Mouriéras, my partner, Olugbenga Obadina, team members and my very supportive family for establishing Cinéfabrique here in Lagos. AFRIFF Foundation will like to thank everyone that has been part of this successful process.”

    Recently, AFRIFF initiated Nigeria’s participation in the popular Cine Nomad film exchange programme – a film collaboration initiative that connects film crews from different nationalities. In the programme, involving graduates from five different film schools: the ISIS-SE and IMAGINE in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; the ISMA in Cotonou, Benin Republic; Lodz Film School, Poland; CinéFabrique in Lyon, France, and AFRIFF from Nigeria, 15 students are represented Nigeria in the other four countries, just as select young filmmakers from each of the four countries shot their film projects in Nigeria.

    Anchored on the belief that diversity makes the world move forward, the Cine Nomad programme has burgeoning filmmakers travelling through borders, exploring creative freedom, cultural exchanges, and ability to create together as values to stand up for.

    For the programme which kicked off on May 22nd, the projects were picked by an international jury from the participating countries which included Nigeria’s Mildred Okwo of Audrey Silva Productions and  Laurent Cantet, the 2008 winner of Palme d’Or in Cannes for Entre les murs.

    The Nigerian AFRIFF participants were sponsored by Envivo Communications and Arise Aliga Foundation.

  • France dominate Belgium to advance to Russia 2018 final match

    France smoothly dominated Belgium on Tuesday in St Petersburg for a commanding 1-0 win to advance to Sunday’s final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    It was a match of high expectations, judging from both sides’ run-up to the semi-finals and the quality of their players.

    But the 64,286 crowd did not have much to cheer once France took charge, as Belgium’s much-touted high-scoring forwardline were kept in check.

    And it was even a sign of the fact that the France backline had not much to worry about when Samuel Umtiti outjumped Marouane Fellaini in the 51stminute to score.

    The game’s opening moments were unexpectedly dull, with both sides showing some cautiousness, limiting the goalkeepers to just a few loose balls to pick up.

    But then, solid defending by Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen for Belgium, and France’s Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Umtiti and Lucas Hernandez also helped to keep the game goalless.

    However, the French’s adventurous efforts upfront yielded some results when Olivier Giroud’s shot on the turn was blocked for a corner kick by Kompany, and Umtiti scored from Antoine Griezmann’s effort.

    With Ngolo Kante, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi and Kylian Mbappe holding the advantage ikn the middle, Belgium had no chance to initiate good offensive moves.

    Romelu Lukaku failed to find his range in spite of good efforts by Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Fellaini, while Moussa Dembele, Nacer Chadli and Axel Witsel just ran around.

    Dries Mertens’ entry in the 60th minute did bolstered the Belgian attack, with Fellaini’s header missing target by inches in the 65th minute, but by then the game was already won.

    It only wore on to a dull end, with both sides chalking up yellow cards, three for Belgium and two for France who even looked to be doubling their lead.

    France will now head to Moscow to meet on Sunday the winners of Wednesday’s other semi-final pairing, between England and Croatia.

    Belgium on the other hand will stay back in St Petersburg to face Wednesday’s match losers in the third-place match on Saturday.(NAN)

  • Umtiti Sends FRANCE into FINAL

    France on Tuesday reached  World Cup final after beating Belgium 1-0 in Saint Petersburg.

    France will play either England or Croatia in Sunday’s final.

    • France 1-0 Belgium (FULL TIME)
    • Umtiti heads in from corner (51)
    • France into World Cup final
    • They face England or Croatia
    • Second semi-final on Wednesday

    PLAYER RATINGS

    France: Lloris (8), Pavard (6), Varane (8), Umtiti (8), Hernandez (6), Pogba (8), Kante (7), Matuidi (7), Mbappe (7), Griezmann (7), Giroud (6).

    Subs: N’Zonzi (5), Tolisso (5).

    Belgium: Courtois (7), Alderweireld (6), Kompany (6), Vertonghen (6), Chadli (5), Fellaini (5), Witsel (5), Dembele (5), De Bruyne (6), Hazard (7), Lukaku (5).

    Subs: Mertens (6), Carrasco (5), Batshuayi (NA)

    PREVIEW

    France and Belgium meet for the 74th time tonight. None of their previous 73 meetings have meant as much for the neighbouring nations as this. A place in the World Cup final is up for grabs.

    BELGIUM TEAM NEWS

    Team to play France: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen, Chadli, Fellaini, Dembele, Witsel, De Bruyne, Hazard, Lukaku

    Subs: Mignolet, Casteels, Vermaelen, Boyata, Dendoncker, Tielemans, T. Hazard, Carrasco, Mertens, Januzaj, Batshuayi

    FRANCE TEAM NEWS

    Team to play Belgium: Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, L. Hernandez, Pogba, Kante, Matuidi, Mbappe, Giroud, Griezmann

    Subs: Kimpembe, Lemar, Dembele, Tolisso, Nzonzi, Mandanda, Rami, Fekir, Sidibe, Thauvin, Mendy, Areola

    DEMBELE STARTS

    Just the one change for Belgium but it’s an interesting one.

    Full-back Meunier is suspended so Tottenham midfielder Dembele comes in to start on the right of a 3-4-3.

    Will have to see how exactly Belgium line-up but otherwise they are unchanged from their quarter-final win over Brazil.

  • Red Devils on rampage

    The Red Devils of Belgium looks poised for their first ever World Cup final berth in history when they meet Former Champions, Les Blues of France in the 1st Semifinal of the mundial at the 65,000 seated, St. Petersburg Stadium in Russia Tuesday at 1900 hours West African Time. On paper, the Belgians even look good as World Champions already.

    The stadium itself is a show of modernity designed by Japanese Architect, Kisho Kurosawa in the shape of space shift with retractable roof and a sliding pitch meant to keep the turf at 15*c. Surely you must have seen players gliding gleefully on the turf, which is a spectacular sight.

    Contrary to speculations of football permutations who are giving the match to France with 38% votes, those who think penalties will decide the match at 29% or those who think Belgium will coast easily to the finals 33% did, current performance gives it to Belgium.

    Records before now states that they have met a whopping 74 times with W24 to France, W30 to Belgium and D19, that record is like considering the Old Black Stars of Ghana whipping The Green Eagles now Super Eagles of Nigeria. Different story now.

    Both have played 5 games in this tournament where Belgians are the highest scorers with 14 goals to France haul of 9 goals. Belgium conceded 5 goals while France let in 4 but when you look at the goals difference of each country, the +9 of Belgium is the total that France scored but when you consider the 4 goals France conceded, there is an imbalance. Goals win matches and if Belgium come smoking, Les Blues are Goners. Bet.

    Read Also: Les Blues at exit door?

    The News Agency of Nigeria went to town asking how Nigerian fans who love Thierry Henri called Igwe, meaning King, for his penchant for goals while at Arsenal F.C., but now Assistant Coach for Belgium feel sitting on Belgian bench. They were all at sea, confused like an Egba man who was elected to lead Kiriji war against his Egba kinsmen by a foster Igbajo people.

    Oliver Giroud who cross-carpeted from Arsenal to Chelsea and the oldest player for France at 31 said “I know Thierry would have loved to be coach of France and we will get him back”. The Nigerian fans made two requests, that Belgium allow Thierry to go seat elsewhere and that FIFA cameras would spare him showing emotions.
    Thomas Meunier will be off for France because he bagged the second yellow in the quarters but Blaise Matuidi will be back. It will be interesting to watch Belgian captain, Eden Hazard face the hard tackles of his Chelsea team mate, Ngolo Kante. Oliver Giroud also of Chelsea however thinks much more of his international team mate, and France Captain, Goal Keeper Hugo Lioris as being better than his Chelsea mate and Belgium goal tender, Thibaut Courtehu. Thinking of penalty shoot outs?

    Uruguayans will officiate the Belgium-France match. Centre Referee is Andre Cunhe; the two astant Refs who are his country men are Nicolas Taran and Manricio Espinosa. The 4th and 5th Refs are Cesar Arturo Ramos and Marvin Torrendera both from Mexico.

    It is expected that the match will not go to the wire. France spanked Belgium 3-1 in the 1st round in 1938 and shoved same Belgium 4-2 at the Bronze medal battle of 1988. This is Belgium’s 2nd world cup semi. They lost to eventual winners Argentina in 1986.

    Fireworks are expected from the two sides who have gotten the experience of the quarry site in this tournament, What do you think of a France that played goalless with Denmark; dismissed Argentina with their megastars of Messi, Di Maria, Aguero, Mascherano etc 3-2 at the round of 16 and pecked Uruguay 2-0 in the quarters.
    Belgium caged the aristocratic Three Lions of England 1-0; dismissed the stubborn Japanese 3-2 and shoved off the prolific Samba boys of Brazil who believe the world cup is their birth right 2-1 in a breathtaking encounter.

    The attackers of Belgium are as dangerous as rattle snakes. Belgium kept injuring all opponents through set pieces especially corner kicks. Fellaini leads six other tall players in the Belgian squad. Most of the goals are through powerful headers. Hazard is terribly hazardous when on duty. Belgium needs an antidote for the lethal shots of Griezmann of France.

    The two teams know what is at stake. Belgium knows this kind of opportunity comes perhaps once in a life time. The team is a bunch of relatively young folks. Lukaku has been a star from age 16 and has 4 goals behind Harry Kane of England but the third goal scored against Japan that came through an Eden Hazard pass he jumped over for Chadu to slam in in 90+4 minute.

    France is regarded as an African team because they have 8 blacks or Africans in the team who got their citizenship. France plays physical football like Africa. I suspect that the team that will go out is the team that commits error.

     

  • World Cup: France vs Belgium Live on DSTV, GoTV – SuperSport

    Supersport will grant access to the epic battle between France and Belgium as they duke it out for a slot in the finals at the ongoing World cup in Russia, this would be the 74th meeting between the two teams.

    In a recent interview with John Ugbe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria he said,

    “MultiChoice Nigeria is excited to continue to bring customers the best international football. This is part of our ongoing commitment to bring more value to our customers.”

    France will square off with Belgium in the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final match at the Krestovsky Stadium in Russia on Tuesday at 7:00pm.

    The Blues eased into the last four after overcoming South American giants Uruguay 2-0 thanks to two goals from Raphaël Varane and Antoine Griezmann in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday.

    Both teams are excited for the game following statements from team mates;

    “It’s a super exciting game with great players on both sides,” Pavard said

    “It’s the semi-finals‚ it will be extraordinary. But the whole world will be watching us,” De Bruyne said.

    Belgium secured their place in the semi-finals after stunning record five-time World Cup winners Brazil 2-1 courtesy of goals from Fernandinho (own-goal) and Kevin De Bruyne in Kazan on Saturday,

    The Red Devils are hoping to reach the final for the first time since the inception of the competition in 1930. They lost 2-0 to Argentina in their maiden appearance in semi-finals at the 1986 tournament in Mexico.

     

  • France vs Belgium: Thierry Henry in dilemma, say football fans

    Some football fans in Lafia say they foresee Thierry Henry, a French national and assistant coach of Belgian National Football team team, finding himself in a dilemma as France and Belgium lock horns Tuesday in one of the semi final encounters in the ongoing FIFA World Cup competition in Russia.

    They expressed their feelings in separate interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia on Monday.

    NAN reports that Henry is a retired French footballer who was part of the victorious french team that won the World cup tournament in 1998.

    One of the fans, Olukunmi Gideon, told NAN that Henry’s situation was quite ‘dicey’ as he has a difficult decision to make on which team to support during the encounter because of his affiliation to both sides.

    Gideon said Henry’s best bet is to remain neutral and focus on his job as assistant coach, but added that pretending to be emotionless would be difficult for the former football great.

    “He will suffer emotionally; nobody prays to be in this kind of situation; he wont want to be seen supporting Belgium against his home country and he cannot be with Belgium and be openly supporting France.

    “Its a dicey one for him and I pity him; it is going to be 90 minutes of hell for him. If France wins, he cannot celebrate; it is the same if Belgium wins.

    This is not just any match; it is the semi finals of a world cup competition, where footballing countries dream of playing in. I pity him,” he said.

    Aliyu Danbaba, another football fan, wished if it were possible for Henry to stay away from the venue of the match and watch it in privacy, where he would be free to express his emotions, instead of hiding his true feelings out of respect for both countries.

    “For me, Roberto Martinez, the head coach of Belgium, should allow Henry to stay somewhere else and watch it alone because it wont be easy for him.

    “If Belgium scores and eventually win, will he (Henry) sit and not join the celebration? lets be practical here. He is a human with emotion,” he said.

    One his part, John Akpana suggested that the organisers of the World Cup, Federation de International Football Association (FIFA), should limit focus on Henry during the encounter.

    He also urged both teams and nationals of both countries, to show understanding for Henry’s precarious situation, adding that doing so will make Henry a little bit relaxed and comfortable during the match.

    “Everybody must understand that it is not Henry’s making that his home country and the team he currently works for, should meet at any point in this tournament, so everyone must be sensitive and show understanding,” he said.

  • Nigeria, France sign pact on $475m projects

    Nigeria and France yesterday signed a number of agreement s on projects worth $475 million.

    The agreements were signed in Abuja after a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Fremch President Emmanuel Macron at the Presidential Villa.

    The meeting also took far-reaching decisions on security and the economy.

    The agreements centre on French assistance to the tune of $475 million for some projects in Lagos, Kano and Ogun states.

    The Lagos deal is a letter of intent for the financing of urban mobility improvement project via a loan of $200 million. This will involve development of eight priority bus corridors connected to the Lagos mass transit network.

    In Ogun State, a French firm in conjunction with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), will mobilise from investors about $200 million for land reclamation to correct the massive degradation of arable land being witnessed in the state.

    The project will reforest 108,000 hectares of depleting forest in the state, a plan which Governor Ibikunle Amosun described as vital to addressing climate change challenges, recreating the forest, and providing employment, among other benefits.

    France, through its foreign development agency, Whence Francaise de Development (AFD), will extend a credit facility of $75 million towards improving water supply in Kano city.

    The concessional loan is expected to help Kano State government to provide drinking water for more people while improving the financial viability of the state water board.

    Details of agreement include  AFD to support the urban mobility improvement programme of Lagos State by financing the equivalent in $200 million.

    This letter or intent is related to a potential loan by AFD to the federal government of Nigeria.

    Buhari and Macron witnessed the signing of a letter of intent. It was signed by the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) CEO, Mr. Remy Rioux, and Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, in presence of the French Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Denys Gauer.

    At the joint news conference, Buhari said: “Our discussion is around security, especially in the Sahel, the economy of the region and how it can be successfully and politically integrated.

    “What France is doing, we all know is trying to stabilise the region, especially in dealing with the G5.” he said

    Recalling that on assumption of office, he visited neigbouring countries, Buhari added: “The best thing is to develop good relationship  with your neighbors. It will cost you less in terms of materials needed for development and in this respect I am very grateful to France for the support we have been getting.

    “The third one is the question of resources and our fighting of corruption… I’m very grateful to the French President for his understanding and commitment towards Nigeria and this region.” he said

    Macron thanked President Buhari for welcoming him and his entourage to Nigeria.

    He said: “It is very emotional for me to come back after 15 to 17 years, especially in Abuja. I spent few months; it was with a different President and in a very different context.

    “Being in your country after visiting China, India…., this country is very important to France and very important to me. It’s also speaking about a country where its democratic experience is a great example in Africa.

    “Your election in 2015 was one of the best examples of unexpected election where a lot of people thought everything was written before. Democracy is never written before. I’m a good example of that.

    “And I do believe that next year will be an incredible occasion to deliver a consistent message to the world and the rest of Africa.”

    “Our bilateral relation is obviously framed by security issues, our common fight against Boko Haram.

    Our willingness is to help the four countries, working together against Boko Haram.”  he said

    He said he wanted France to be more present in the stabilization of the North and North East.

    “That’s why we decided to invest $75 million for stabilization of the region.” he said

    He said that he wanted tighter relations with Nigeria in sports and culture.

    He insisted that giving the youths economic opportunities is the best way to give employment to the people.

    On what plans he has to curb terrorism in Africa including curbing herdsmen and farmers crisis in Nigeria, he said “Well it is just that you have all these several issues correlated and your question is related to this event.

    First of all I think the main plan is an African plan and France is not the one to solve or fix African situations.

    “So what we want to do is that we will intervene and make our presence in Africa and Sahel to fight against terrorism especially in Mali and in the region. And we will stay as long as it is requested by our friends especially Mali we discussed yesterday about this issue.

  • Mbappe to donate world cup match fees to charity

     

    France international and PSG ace Kylian Mbappe is to donate his match fees to an Association which organises sports activities for children with disabilities.

    The 19 year old who was in superlative form as France bundled out Argentina from the ongoing world cup in Russia is reportedly entitled to £17,000 ( about N7.8m) per game at the tournament, even with bonuses expected to increase with the team’s successful qualification and fine take off in the knock out stage.

    Mbappe who grabbed two quick goals against Argentina on Saturday in Kazan, feels he should not be paid for representing his country and has decided to use the largesse instead to touch lives.

    The Action of the former Monaco forward has reportedly challenged other teammates to be considering toeing the line. Mbappe’s donation to the Preiers de Cordees Association is expected to help many disabled children key into sports activities which experts say is not only good for them physically but also mentally.

    Recall that the striker’s only goal at the tournament was the winner in a 1-0 victory over Peru in the Group stage and emerged the man of the match in the 4-3 defeat of Argentina Saturday in Kazan

    Mbappe who joined Paris Saint-Germain on loan in the 2017/2018 season has so far made 27 appearances for the side scoring 13 goals in the bargain.

    The Preiers de Cordees Association offers disability awareness actions for schools, communities or businesses to fight against discrimination and change the way people look at disability.

    To carry out its mission, Premiers de Cordée relies on different playful approaches: the discovery of the handisport  (handibasket, blind foot or visually impaired athleticism), the solidarity handicross or the handicube (cube with tools allowing to simulate a visual, auditory or physical disability) in the context of the work.

  • France win incredible tie with Argentina to reach quarters

    • France 4-3 Argentina (Full Time)
    • Griezmann nets pen (13)
    • Di Maria nets stunning leveller (41)
    • Mercado makes it 1-2 (48)
    • Pavard for 2-2 (58)
    • Mbappe double (64), (68)
    • Aguero nets late (90+2)
    • Last 16 match in Kazan

    FT: Those that thought that the World Cup may have already peaked before this – think again! We have witnessed a quite breath-taking football match with twists, turns and world-class goals. France will play either Uruguay or Portgual in the last eight.

    Mbappe stole the show with two goals and he also won the opening penalty that Griezmann stuck away. However, Argentina were 2-1 up at one stage with goals from Di Maria (a thunderbolt) and Mercado.

    Then France came to the party with a stunning strike from Pavard and Mbappe’s double. Aguero set up a grandstand finish but Argentina and Messi could not find a late equaliser. Good job, too, I would have had fainted. Stunning game.

    HT: Wonderful game. France looked in control from the moment Griezmann netted from the spot after a mesmerising run from Mbappe. However, out of nothing, Di Maria scored a magical equaliser from 30 yards. Pure theatre, this. See you in 15.

    The first Knock out match in the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia is underway as Lionel Messi’s led Argentina files out against France at Kazan Arena, see the preview below.

    ARGENTINA TEAM NEWS

    Team to play France: Armani, Rojo, Otamendi, Pavon, Mercado, Tagliafico, Banega, Perez, Mascherano, Messi, Di Maria.

    Argentina: No striker in the team with Lionel Messi playing in a false nine. The only change being Cristian Pavon for Gonzalo Higuain.
    FRANCE TEAM NEWS

    Team to play Argentina: Lloris, Hernandez, Umtiti, Varane, Pavard, Kante, Pogba, Matudi, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud

     

    Six changes made from the dismal 0-0 with Denmark. Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante among the players to return. They’ll go at Argentina with a frontline of Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe.

    WHERE ARE WE AT?

    The Kazan Arena is the setting for today’s clash – and it’s a fitting stadium for a heavyweight battle.

    Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan and is home to 1.2 million people. It was designed by the same firm of architects behind Wembley Stadium and the Emirates Stadium.

    France have already experienced the conditions in Kazan as they played their opening Group C game with Australia here.

    ARGENTINA: HOW THEY GOT HERE?

    Rating out of 10 so far? A debatable five.

    This is not a vintage Argentina team despite having a genius leading their charge. They looked vulnerable against Iceland, were completely disjointed in the defeat to Croatia but did show fighting capabilities to pull a 2-1 win out of the bag against Nigeria. There has been reported unrest in the camp while defensively they are all over the place.

     

    FRANCE: HOW THEY GOT HERE?

    Rating out of 10 for France so far? A solid six I’d say. They haven’t gelled or impressed with their attacking but Didier Deschamps’ team negotiated their way through Group C with seven points and only conceded one goal – a penalty against Australia.

    But World Cups aren’t given out in the group stages – are the French coming to the boil or are they a team of individuals? We’ll find out more today.