The Nation Newspaper

Tag: France

  • We can limit ‘outstanding’ Messi – France coach

    France have a number of options to limit Lionel Messi’s influence in their round of 16 clash against Argentina coach Didier Deschamps said on Friday.

    However, the French coach also resigned that he could turn the match in an instant.

    Messi has yet to light up the World Cup in a stuttering Argentina side.

    But his clinical strike in the 2-1 win over Nigeria underlined the danger the Barcelona forward will present Deschamp’s side at the Kazan Arena on Saturday.

    “Messi is Messi, look at his statistics, 65 goals in 127 matches,” Deschamps told reporters at the stadium.

    “It’s straightforward, hopefully we would like to neutralise him, but we know very well he can make the difference with very little.

    “When you play Argentina and Messi on the pitch there are several solutions to limit his impact.”

    France will look to boss the midfield in a bid to limit supply to the lethal 31-year-old, who has struggled to impose himself in the tournament.

    He will also hope their defence can continue to hold firm after conceding only one goal in the group phase.

    Deschamps said full back Benjamin Mendy had been ruled out with a “small muscle injury”.

    The Manchester City defender returned as a second half substitute in the 0-0 draw against Denmark after missing the opening games against Australia and France.

    France may face more queries up forward, however, where their array of attacking talents have yet to dominate.

    Striker Antoine Griezmann is under pressure to perform after being off the pace in the dull Denmark draw, and he has only got on the scoresheet with a penalty in the opening 2-1 win over Australia.

    Captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris backed Griezmann to make his mark at the tournament.

    “It is normal that there are expectations around Antoine,” said Lloris.

    “He’s one of the top players, he’s done a major Euro competition and feels like being one of the great players of this World Cup.”

    Although sailing through the group phase, the scoreless draw against Denmark raised concerns about Les Bleus’ momentum heading into the Argentina blockbuster.

    Lloris said his team was only looking ahead, however.

    “As we said, this is a new tournament that begins, and I think we have to depend on our collective strength, on a defensive solidity and we know our attacking potential,” Lloris added.

    “We have a lot of young but talented players who can make a difference at any moment of the game.”

  • France, Denmark confirm second round places

    The goals finally dried up at this thrilling World Cup on Tuesday when a flat France and dull Denmark played a mutually-beneficial 0-0 draw at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

    But however dull and flat the draw was, it allowed the French to finish top of Group C and the Danes to qualify in second spot.

    Thirty-six games in Russia had failed to result in a goalless stalemate, but neither France nor Denmark ever looked like scoring in a tedious affair.

    France were already assured qualification but wanted to go through in top spot to avoid a likely last-16 clash with in-form Croatia.

    Denmark could have only been denied qualification had they lost to France and had Australia beaten Peru in the match being simultaneously played in Sochi.

    But with the Peruvians leading 2-0 before the hour in that game, the Moscow clash settled down to little more than a canter.

    It was however not in the same category as the infamous 1982 “Nichtangriffspakt von Gijon” — the non-aggression pact of Gijon.

    The then West Germany and Austria had both settled for a 1-0 German win which put them both through.

    This time around, neither side at the Luzhniki looked to be going all out for victory.

    “It was our objective to ensure we were first out of the group… The objective was achieved,” French coach Didier Deschamps said.

    “It was very difficult. Teams are very well prepared, and it’s not easy against such a packed defence.”

    The writing had been was on the wall early in the capital, with the play dominated by industry rather than any kind of inspiration.

    The Danes built a pattern of firing balls deep before quickly tracking back, while the French kept possession well but struggled throughout with the final ball.

    Antoine Griezmann, surprisingly not among the six players rested by Didier Deschamps for this match, looked listless as he sought to probe the Danish defence for a way through.

    At times it seemed as though he was on a different wavelength to his teammates, who failed to spot his runs or find the spaces Griezmann played into.

    It took more than half an hour before there was any real chance.

    Even then, Ousmane Dembele pushed his right foot shot wide of the goal — and of Kasper Schmeichel’s overly elaborate dive.

    Deschamps brought Benjamin Mendy on for Lucas Hernandez just after half time, but he might have made a raft of changes as the French continually misfired.

    Jeers and whistles swirled around the frustrated crowd as both sides failed time after time to create any real opportunities.

    The Danes were continuing to defend deep and the French rarely breaking out of a trot.

    Deschamps substituted Griezmann in the 68th minute for Nabil Fekir, but it was a case of “plus ca change’’.

    “I made a lot of changes. That hurts the cohesion a bit but it’s good that the whole squad feels involved,” Deschamps said.

    Few teams will fear either side on the back of this performance but surely there will be better days ahead for both nations when the reality of sudden-death forces their hands.

    France will in the next round face the Group D runners-up, while Denmark have the Group D winners to contend with.

    How They Finished in Group C

    Team                                    P       W     D      L     GF     GA    GD    Pts

    France                                  3         2      1        –       3        1       +2      7

    Denmark                              3        1      2       –         2        1        +1     5

    Peru                                      3        1     –        2        2        2          0      3

    Australia                               3       –     1         2         2       5         -3     1

    Tuesday Matches’ Results:

    Australia  0-2 Peru at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi
    Denmark  0-0 France at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow
    (Reuters/NAN)

  • Russia 2018: France, Denmark advance to Round of Sixteen

    Denmark joined France on the round of sixteen of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after playing out the first goalless draw of the tournament, at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.

    The result leaves the Les Blues finish on top of Group C,  with Denmark finished second of the group.

    The fans in Moscow, disappointed the result, booed the players after the game. They were initially enthusiastic for a goal, especially the red-shirted Danes who packed one end.

    Read Also: Russia 2018: Lukaku strikes twice, as Belgium down Panama

    But they saw little in the way of goal-mouth excitement, with the first shot on target arriving in the 39th minute, when France’s Antoine Griezmann turned to fire a tame effort at Kasper Schmeichel from the edge of the area.

    Denmark did fashion the best chance of the first half, when France keeper Steve Mandanda just beat Christian Eriksen to Andreas Cornelius’s excellent low cross.

    Peru on the other hand, left the Mundial with their heads held high after goals from Andre Carrillo and Paolo Guerrero earned them a 2-0 win over Australia, in Sochi.

    Paolo Guerrero teed up Peru’s first World Cup goal in 36 years and then scored the second himself as Ricardo Gareca’s side ended Australia’s qualification hopes with a 2-0 victory.

  • World Cup: France 1-0 Peru – Mbappe the match-winner

    • France 1-0 Peru
    • Kylian Mbappe the matchwinner.

    France advance from Group C into the knockout stages, Peru advance to the airport to fly back home.

    Peru will be out of the World Cup if they fail to avoid defeat.

    A France win would ensure they join Russia and Uruguay in the last-16 of the competition.

    Team News – France

    Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas, Pogba, Kante, Mbappe, Griezmann, Matuidi, Giroud.
    Subs: Mandanda, Kimpembe, Lemar, Dembele, Tolisso, Nzonzi, Rami, Fekir, Sidibe, Thauvin, Mendy, Areola.

    Team News – Peru

    Gallese, Advincula, Ramos, Rodriguez, Trauco, Aquino, Yotun, Carrillo, Cueva, Flores, Guerrero.
    Subs: Caceda, Corzo, Santamaria, Araujo, Hurtado, Farfan, Ruidiaz, Tapia, Polo, Cartagena, Loyola, Carvallo.

    Referee:

    Mohammed Abdulla Hassan (United Arab Emirates)

  • Russia 2018: Pogba earns France victory as technology plays part

    Paul Pogba scored a late goal to earn France a hard-fought 2-1 win against Australia in their opening 2018 FIFA World Cup Group C game on Saturday.

    The Video Assistant Referee played a major part in the game, especially in the decision of Pogba’s goal.

    The midfielder, who was criticized after recent below-par performances, found the back of the net with a lob after a fine one-two with second-half substitute, Olivier Giroud, nine minutes from time.

    Read Also: Russia 2018: Uruguay pip Egypt 1-0

    The effort was confirmed by goal-line technology.

    Antoine Griezmann converted the first penalty to be awarded by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at a World Cup in the 58th minute after being brought down by Josh Rishdon.

    Mile Jedinak leveled scores for his side, also with a penalty, after Samuel Umtiti handled.

     

    NAN

  • Syrian chemical attack was staged – Russia

    Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said a reported chemical attack in Syria was staged by foreign agents.

    A spokesman for Russia’s defence ministry accused the United Kingdom of being involved in staging the attack.

    The United States and France said they have proof it took place and, alongside the UK, are considering military retaliation, the BBC reports.

    Russia, which has military forces deployed in Syria in support of the government, has warned that Western air strikes risk starting a war.

    During a press briefing on Friday, Mr. Lavrov said he had “irrefutable evidence” that the attack was staged as part of a “Russophobic campaign” led by one country, which he did not name.

    A spokesman for Russia’s defence ministry, Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said: “We have evidence that proves Britain was directly involved in organising this provocation.”

    The UK’s envoy to the United Nations has called this a “grotesque, blatant lie.”

    The White House said it is continuing to assess intelligence and talk to its allies about how to respond to the matter.

     

     

  • FIFA women’s rankings: Germany drop to third, Nigeria now 38th

    Germany dropped out of the top two in the FIFA women’s rankings for the first time since 2009 after a poor run of results while the U.S. retained top spot.

    The U.S. team was unbeaten as they won this month’s She Believes Cup on home soil, while Germany failed to register a single victory at the annual invitational tournament.

    England’s second place in the tournament under new manager Phil Neville secured those No.2 spot in the rankings for the first time.

    France rose to fifth after finishing third in the She Believes Cup.

    Netherlands remain at No.7 while Sweden rose to ninth after being named joint winners of the Algarve Cup.

    Canada, who finished fifth at the event, climbed to fourth in the rankings.

    Japan, who won the World Cup in 2011 and finished runners-up in 2015, has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2007.

    They lost two of their four matches this year.

    Cyprus Cup champions Spain rose to 12th, their best yet.

    Read Also: Nigeria’s U-20 arrive Polkwane For FIFA Women’s W/Cup Qualifier

    Nigeria dropped one step to 38 on the rankings, after amassing 1608 points, five less than the 1613 it gathered a month earlier.

    But Nigeria is still Africa’s number one on the CAF rankings; with Ghana and Cameroon maintain their second and third places respectively.

    Top 10 FIFA women’s rankings (previous positions in brackets):

    U.S. (1)

    England (3)

    Germany (2)

    Canada (5)

    France (6)

    Australia (4)

    Netherlands (7)

    Brazil (8)

    Sweden (10)

    Korea DPR (11)

    NAN

  • Iran to produce higher enriched uranium

    Iran to produce higher enriched uranium

    Iran said on Monday it could produce higher enriched uranium within two days if the United States quit a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six major powers, Tehran’s Arabic language al-Alam TV reported.

    “If America pulls out of the deal … Iran could resume its 20 per cent uranium enrichment in less than 48 hours,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, told al-Alam TV.

    Uranium refined to 20 per cent fissile purity is well beyond the 5 per cent normally required to fuel civilian nuclear power plants, though still well short of highly enriched, or 80 to 90 per cent, purity needed for a nuclear bomb.

    Read Also: Aspirant promises to restore Ekiti’s glory

    Kamalvandi said the deal, under which Iran curbed its uranium enrichment to help ensure it was for peaceful purposes only and secured an end to financial sanctions in return – is not re-negotiable, as demanded by the United States.

    The deal’s European signatories – Germany, Britain and France, as well as Russia and China – are committed to preserving the agreement.

    The Iranian nuclear deal, internationally known as JCPOA, was signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (Russia, China, the U.S., Britain, France and Germany).

    Trump has threatened to scuttle the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal unless amendments are made to it.

    NAN

  • Macron’s model in France

    Macron’s model in France

    ANOTHER recent model which confirms that a new political movement should not be dismissed with a wave of the hand as it can take on the so-called big parties and defeat them in major national elections, is the example of Emmanuel Macron who rose within a year from an appointed government official to emerge the elected President of France at 39, without owning an established political structure.

    It would be recalled that between April 6, 2016 and August 30, 2016, barely one year before the country’s Presidential Election, when Emmanuel Macron, an investment banker, resigned his appointment as Economy Minister under President François Hollande of the Socialist party and launched a now popular En Marche! (Forward!) Movement, which he said would neither be on the left or the right of the political spectrum in the country, critics said Macron, who has never held an elected office, lacked the time, the experience and the political structure he would need to take over government.

    But informed observers noted that his position was strategic because France, the world’s fifth-largest economy, has a distinct political history over the years. In fact, since the 1789 French Revolution, the country’s political spectrum has obeyed the left–right division. But as history has shown after the emergence of Macron, the political realities of the country then seemingly required a new form of mobilisation. The then ruling party in France, especially President Hollande, had become rather unpopular as he faced divisions even within his own Socialist camp.

    So, when in November 16, 2016, Macron announced his candidacy for France’s highest office, critics dismissed him as a joker, given that he lacked an established party apparatus to run his campaign. The people also dismissed the potency of his new movement in the face of the established political structures in the country. But he persisted, adopting what observers described as Barack Obama’s grassroots campaign module. It is on record that he went to the neighbourhood, knocking at electorates’ doors and having real one-on-one interactions with most of them. At last, many of the electorates who interacted with him said he had a positive message.

    The rest is history, for even before Macron finally won the presidential election, his activities and the other unexpected happenings in the other parties, including scandals that helped to undo some powerful candidates, joined to shake French politics to its foundation, leading to a hitherto unimaginable situation where the two main political parties were actually sidelined from the race.

  • 30, 000 Nigerians live in France – Envoy

    30, 000 Nigerians live in France – Envoy

    The Nigerian Ambassador to France, Dr. Modupe Irele, said on Thursday that about 30,000 Nigerians are currently living in France.

    Irele said in Lagos that the number included Nigerians living in France as business owners, as well as those studying in various French institutions.

    She said: “The estimated population of Nigerians currently living in France is 30,000.

    READ ALSO: France repatriates three children of suspected jihadists from Iraq

    Some are business owners, some students who came here to study either privately or on scholarship, while others have started outfits that promote trade, culture and other forms of interaction.”

    According to her, many Nigerian professionals resident in France are also actively engaged in promoting socio-cultural and economic ties between Nigeria and France.

    Irele said Nigerians in France were enjoying a positive relationship with her embassy, and described them as law-abiding in their various French communities.

    The ambassador also said the French government was working closely with her embassy in encouraging more English-speaking Africans to study in France.

    NAN