Source: New York Times

France beat Peru 1-0 with a goal from Kylian Mbappe on Thursday to book their place in the last 16 of the World Cup and crush the South Americans’ hopes of progressing in their first appearance at the tournament for 36 years.

Mbappe’s 34th minute goal took him past David Trezeguet’s record (20) as France’s youngest scorer in the competition, at 19 years of age, and took them to two wins from two games in Group C.

When Olivier Giroud’s shot took a deflection off a defender and looped over goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, the teenager was on hand to tap in a simple chance.

But Les Bleus failed to convert several other first-half chances and rarely threatened their opponents’ goal after the break, as they struggled for the second game running to justify their status as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

The result leaves France on six points and Denmark and Australia on four and one respectively after their 1-1 draw earlier in the day.

Peru have yet to win a point but they have won numerous hearts in Russia, thanks to their industrious style of play and the passion of their supporters, a remarkable 15,000 of whom made the journey to roar on their team in Yekaterinburg.

They could have had even more to cheer, were it not for several near misses.

Spotting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris off his line, Yoshimar Yotun tried an audacious shot from just inside the French half that went just over the bar as Peru unsettled their opponents in the early stages.

Later in the first half, striker Paolo Guerrero outsmarted Samuel Umtiti in the penalty area but fired his shot at Lloris’s legs.

After the break, Pedro Aquino hit the post and Andre Carrillo and Luis Advincula struck powerful shots over the bar, but all the Peruvian efforts were from long range.

Having survived a nervous opening 10 minutes, France looked as though they might dominate the match, with Antoine Griezmann darting at Peru’s defence, Mbappe showing off his tricks and flicks, and full backs Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez pressing forward on the wings.

But they were subdued in the second half, suffering frustration in the closing minutes when Blaise Matuidi shot just wide and Giroud had an effort blocked that ballooned over the top of the goal.

(REUTERS)

Authorities in Finland and Belarus, which share border with 2018 World Cup host Russia, say refugees are using Fan IDs issued for visits to the country during the tournament to try to enter the European Union.

Andrey Sytenkov, an investigator with Belarus’s State Border Committee, said Wednesday that a small number of foreigners had been arrested while trying to enter the country or trying to cross the border with EU members Lithuania and Poland under the guise of football fans.

Sytenkov said four Moroccans had been stopped while transiting Belarus, adding that they were in temporary detention and faced fines, deportation and a five-year ban on entering the country. He said an unspecified number of Pakistanis were also detected by authorities as they tried to enter the EU illegally. The official did not elaborate on the whereabouts of the Pakistani nationals.

“More ‘illegals’ have entered Belarus under the guise of football fans … We are ready for the fact that Europe will not accept them and will be sending them back,” said Sytenkov during a press conference in Minsk, adding that the Belarusian border guard service “has information on groups of pseudo-fans” on the country’s western borders.

A Fan ID is a document that all the spectators of 2018 FIFA World Cup matches must have to get access to stadiums.

Finish authorities also pointed to three cases of people holding the Russia-issued Fan IDs who had crossed the Russian-Finnish border.

“They will not be deported to Russia immediately,” Border Guard official Marko Saareks said of the people who had requested asylum in Finland.

Saareks warned that more refugees could enter Finland using the Fan IDs until the end of the World Cup on July 15.

“There is a threat of this kind of phenomenon,” said the official.

Russia introduced the Fan ID system to ease its strict visa rules during the World Cup so that supporters of teams participating in the tournament could easily travel between Russian cities.

However, the Russian police have used the system as an additional security measure by conducting background checks with the help of their foreign counterparts. Authorities said ahead of the world Cup, which started on June 14, that Fan IDs were not issued for some 500 people.

A lucky Diego Costa goal handed World Cup hopefuls Spain their first win of the World Cup although tenacious Iran came close to causing a major upset on Wednesday.

The victory in Kazan puts the 2010 winners on course for the last 16. Costa, who scored twice in a 3-3 opening draw with Portugal in Sochi, courted controversy early in the Group B encounter when he stepped on the toes of Iran ‘keeper Ali Beiranvand as he waited to kick the ball out.

His gesture went unpunished, and the Atletico Madrid striker required another stroke of luck on 54 minutes when his shot came off Ramin Rezaeian to beat Beiranvand after he had been sent through by Andres Iniesta.

The entire Iranian bench poured onto the pitch when Saeed Ezatolahi fired an equalizer for Team Team Melli just before the hour.

But the thousands of Iranian supporters that filled the stadium with the sound of vuvuzelas throughout were left disappointed when it was ruled out for offside.

Spain coach Fernando Hierro welcomed Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal back into the starting line-up following his recovery from a hamstring injury suffered in the Champions League final win over Liverpool.

With Lucas Vazquez replacing Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke, it gave La Roja a distinctively Real Madrid feel.

By the end of a pulsating opening half in which Iran’s defense thwarted the few real chances La Roja were able to create, Hierro’s men left the pitch looking rather red-faced.

Costa got so frustrated with Iran’s defensive tactics that he approached Beiranvand and provocatively stepped on his toes, leaving the ‘keeper in visible pain.

It went unpunished by Uruguayan referee Cunha, who had awarded France a historic first VAR-assisted penalty that saw Antoine Griezmann score Les Bleus’ opener in a 2-1 win over Australia.

Spain resumed in more positive fashion after the break, Beiranvand forced to produce heroics twice in the space of four minutes. But Iran refused to buckle, Carlos Queiroz’s men coming close in the final minutes when midfielder Mehdi Taremi headed just over.

Shortly after the restart an Isco corner was flicked on by Costa to Gerard Pique but his effort was cleared off the line. Sergio Busquets’ drive from 20 yards was then parried by Beiranvand, who palmed the rebound away before Lucas Vazquez could pounce.

Some great vision from Iniesta, and a slice of luck, however broke Iranian hearts when Costa spun and latched on to the ball before seeing his shot rebound off Rezaeian and into the net.

Spain, however, were still flattering to deceive. On a rare counter goalkeeper David De Gea was left irate when Taremi rose to head a meter wide.

Moments later, the stadium erupted when Ezatolahi fired through a packed Spain area to beat De Gea but the assistant referee’s flag was up.

In the final quarter hour Iran battled for a late equalizer, but after V

Vahid Amiri showed class to nutmeg Pique deep on the left and fire over an inviting cross,

Taremi’s thundering header flew just over the bar as a relieved De Gea looked on.

Culled from Presstv

World Cup hosts Russia virtually booked their place in the second round with a 3-1 win over Egypt on Tuesday that moved them to top of Group A with six points from two games.

Three goals in the space of 15 minutes early in the second half put the Russians firmly in command before Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, who had a subdued game on his return from injury, struck from a penalty, awarded after a video review.

Should Uruguay (3 points) beat Saudi Arabia (0 points) on Wednesday it will ensure the South Americans and the Russians go through to the round of 16 with a game to spare.

Russia’s 15 minutes of glory

After a tight first half Russia’s breakthrough came just two minutes after the restart.

Aleksandr Golovin’s cross was punched out by Egyptian keeper Mohamed El-Shenawy, only as far as Roman Zobnin whose low drive was heading wide until Ahmed Fathi’s outstretched leg turned the ball into his own net.

Remarkably, it was the fifth own goal of the tournament so far. The record amount for a tournament is six in 1998.

If there was some good fortune to the opener, the Russians’ second was pure quality.

Alexander Samedov pushed the ball out wide to Mario Fernandes, the Brazilian born right back who had powered forward from deep to deliver a perfect pull-back into the path of Denis Cheryshev who slotted home his third goal of the tournament.

Two minutes later it was 3-0 via a route one play, as target man Artem Dzyuba chested down a long ball, bustled past Ali Gabr and drove home.

Salah’s return too little, too late

Salah, who had not played since going off injured in Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid last month, managed some consolation when he converted from the spot after a video assistant referee (VAR) ruling that he had been brought down by Zobnin inside the area.

REUTERS

Source: Euronews

The Serbia men’s national football team has achieved a convincing victory in the preliminary round of the 2018 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup in Russia, and scored a triumph against Costa Rica.

Held at the Cosmos Arena in Samara, Serbia’s Eagles notched up a 1-0 win over Los Ticos (The Ticos) in the opening Group E match on Sunday.

Even though both sides had a number of scoring chances in the first half, they ended the period tied at one.

Costa Rica’s 30-year-old defender Giancarlo Gonzalez squandered the Central Americans’ best chance in the 12th minute, when he headed wide when unmarked.

Serbia midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic also wasted a good opportunity in the 28th minute as he was ruled offside.

After the break, a curling free kick from Serbian captain Aleksandar Kolarov in the 56th minute secured the Eagles’ 1-0 victory.

Kolarov, who plays for Italian club Roma, struck the ball over the wall with his left foot and past outstretched Costa Rican keeper Keylor Navas to sore the winner into the top right corner of the net.

Later on Sunday, Germany will face Mexico in the opening World Cup Group F fixture at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Five-time FIFA World Cup champion Brazil will take on Switzerland in the second Group E match.

During the official 2018 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony at Kremlin State Palace in the Russian capital city of Moscow on December 1 last year, the host nation, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay were put in Group A in the preliminary round of the tournament.

The Iran men’s national football team, nicknamed Team Melli, has joined Portugal’s A Selecção, Spain’s La Furia Roja and Atlas Lions of Morocco.

France is drawn in Group C, and is pitted against Australia, Peru and Denmark.

Argentina, Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria are drawn in Group D.

Group E consists of Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia.

While the 2014 FIFA World Cup champion Germany, Mexico, Sweden and South Korea shape Group F, Belgium, Panama, Tunisia and England are in Group G.

Group H has Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place from June 14 to July 15. Russia opened the event against Saudi Arabia in a Group A fixture at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. The hosts won the match 5-0.

A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities.

Source: Presstv

A Luka Modric penalty and an own goal from Oghenekaro Etebo has given former semi-finalists Croatia an easy 2-0 win over Nigeria in their World Cup Group D opener on Saturday.

In Russia’s sleepy European exclave of Kaliningrad — perhaps best known for its nuclear missile sites — the much-hyped youngsters of Nigeria struggled to ignite against Croatia’s midfield technicians.

With rivals Argentina and Iceland only managing a 1-1 draw earlier Saturday in Saransk, both sides had a chance to take control of Group D.

Nigeria, knowing they were always likely to struggle for possession against a central one-two of Modric and Ivan Rakitic, were content to sit back and allow Croatia to come to them.

But they were rigid and well-organized, and largely restricted Modric’s distribution to the flanks, where Croatia’s final ball was poor.

After 10 minutes, Juventus target man Mario Mandzukic teed up Ivan Perisic at the edge of the area only for the Inter Milan forward to blaze over.

Croatia, semi-finalists at France ’98, have struggled to live up to the lofty expectations borne of an embarrassment of midfield riches, and meekly lost their World Cup opener 3-1 to hosts Brazil four years ago.

There is a sense of now-or-never for the Balkans nation at this tournament, in stark contrast to Nigeria, who brought the competition’s youngest squad to Russia.

Coach Gernot Rohr kept faith in 19-year-old keeper Francis Uzoho but the Deportivo stopper’s first real action was picking the ball out of the net.

Just after the half-hour mark, Mandzukic, industrious in his hold-up play, chested a Andrej Kramaric cross back to Ante Rebic, whose fizzing shot was blocked. The resulting corner saw Rebic return the favour with a near-post flick on met by a diving Mandzukic.

Etebo was wrong-footed and bundled into his own net.

Nigeria responded well, with Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi’s shot from a cleared free kick blocked on 45 minutes and his Premier League colleague Victor Moses shooting wide from 30 yards on the stroke of half time.

The Super Eagles had the best of the start of the second period, forcing Croatia to bat away three corners in succession, before Moses again snatched a shot wide of Danjiel Subasic’s left upright.

But just as Nigeria showed some signs of life, William Ekong held down Mandzukic from a cross in the area and referee Sandro did not hesitate to point to the spot.

Modric’s gilded right foot guided it to Uzoho’s right side.

The Real Madrid maestro was not at his best for much of the night, but in truth he did not need to be as Nigeria looked ponderous on the ball and crucially short of big-game experience.

Despite fears pre-match, there was no reports of any racist chanting from among the near-capacity crowd.

Viewers of the clash between Argentina and Iceland have taken to social media in their droves to (rather harshly) take aim at Lionel Messi, after the Barcelona star’s missed penalty ultimately cost the Albiceleste all 3 points.

The two countries went head to head at the Spartak Stadium in their respective World Cup openers this afternoon, with Argentina having understandably come into proceedings as heavy favourites.

However, Iceland, having famously ousted England from Euro 2016, were widely known to be a tough nut to crack, with Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men having also topped their World Cup qualifying group ahead of the likes of Croatia and the Ukraine.

Line-ups

This afternoon’s matchup started out in hectic fashion, as both sides exchanged early chances before Sergio Aguero’s sensational turn and finish gave Argentina a deserved lead. However, the advantage held by Jorge Sampaoli’s men lasted less than 5 minutes, as Iceland’s Alfred Finnbogason slammed home following a poorly-directed save from Willy Caballero.

Messi stepped up to take the ensuing spot-kick, but his disappointing effort was well saved by Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson:

Slated

Unsurprisingly, despite Lionel Messi having had to carry Argentina for the entirety of this afternoon’s fixture, fans online (particularly those who favour Ronaldo in the debate between the two) quickly took aim at the Barcelona superstar.

Source: 101 greatgoals

France needed the help of the first World Cup penalty awarded after a video review and a deflected Paul Pogba goal to get their World Cup campaign underway with a 2-1 win over Australia on Saturday (June 16).

Striker Antoine Griezmann lashed home the historic spot kick in the 58th minute but Australia hit back with a penalty of their own when Samuel Umtiti inexplicably handled the ball in the box four minutes later.

Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak sent his French counterpart Hugo Lloris the wrong way to give Australia hopes of forcing a draw at the Kazan Arena but Pogba grabbed the winner in the 81st minute.

Even that goal might not have counted in the days before technology was brought into the game with Pogba’s shot looping off the shin of Aziz Behich, hitting the crossbar and bouncing down inside the goal before coming back out.

Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha checked the goal-line monitor on his watch and awarded the goal as Australia keeper Mat Ryan stood holding the ball in his hands.

Cunha had earlier watched the challenge by Josh Risdon on Griezmann on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor by the side of the pitch and decided the Australia right back had brought the French striker down in the area.

Didier Deschamps’s France side will move on to their remaining Group C clashes against Denmark and Peru, who meet later on Saturday, with three points but plenty to do to justify their place among the pre-tournament favourites.

Australia and their 10,000 gold-shirted fans will be disappointed that all their hard work earned them nothing as they seek to get out of the group stage for the second time in their fifth World Cup.

Reuters