29, June 2021
Switzerland knock world champions France out of Euro 2020 0
Switzerland defeated world champions France 5-4 on penalties in the last 16 of Euro 2020 on Monday as Kylian Mbappe missed the decisive spot-kick in the shootout following a thrilling 3-3 draw in Bucharest.
Mario Gavranovic equalised in the 90th minute as Switzerland came from two goals down before Yann Sommer saved Mbappe’s penalty to book Switzerland a quarter-final clash against Spain.
“It was an incredible evening. I am so proud of the team,” said goalkeeper Sommer.
“At 3-1 nobody believed in us anymore, but before the match we said we’ll fight until the end whatever happens.”
Haris Seferovic had given Vladimir Petkovic’s Switzerland a shock lead on 15 minutes but Ricardo Rodriguez’s spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Hugo Lloris early in the second half.
Karim Benzema, recalled to the France squad for the tournament after a five-and-a-half-year international exile, then struck a quick-fire double to put the Euro 2016 finalists back on track.
Paul Pogba’s sensational curling effort made it 3-1, but Switzerland forced extra time as Seferovic grabbed his second of the game before Gavranovic levelled in the final minute.
Switzerland converted all five of their penalties before Sommer dived to his right to turn away Mbappe’s kick, as the Swiss won a major tournament knockout tie for first time in 83 years.
“The two goals came very quickly after the missed penalty. For normal players it’s almost impossible to come back from, but today we were a great team and everyone gave it everything,” said Petkovic.
Lloris conceded France paid the price for failing to hold on to their two-goal lead.
“It’s painful, even more so after a penalty shootout where it becomes a lottery,” said Lloris.
“The only regret we can have is that at 3-1 we need to manage the match better. We’ve been able to close it out in the past few years.”
France coach Didier Deschamps controversially switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation designed to extract the best from his attacking trio of Benzema, Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, but it was instead Seferovic who gave the Swiss a surprise lead.
Steven Zuber used the space afforded by Rodriguez’s overlapping run, clipping in a left-wing cross that Seferovic headed past Lloris after rising all too easily above Clement Lenglet.
After a dismal first half, in which France failed to test Sommer, Deschamps ditched the experiment of three at the back, hauling off Lenglet and introducing Kingsley Coman while reverting to a more familiar 4-4-2.
Lloris saves penalty
But France were indebted to Lloris for sparing them from further trouble after a lung-busting run from Zuber eventually resulted in a penalty for the Swiss when he was brought down by Benjamin Pavard.
Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini immediately pointed to the spot following a VAR review, but Lloris flung himself to his right to claw away Rodriguez’s attempt — the seventh missed penalty of 15 taken at the tournament.
The momentum soon swung sharply in France’s favour as Benzema, scorer of both goals in the 2-2 draw with Portugal in the group phase, superbly dragged a pass from Mbappe into his stride, lifting over Sommer to level.
The Real Madrid striker headed France in front two minutes later when Griezmann’s dinked effort was turned away by Sommer but only to a waiting Benzema who headed in from point-blank range.
Pogba’s magnificent 25-yard strike had France on the cusp of the last eight, but Seferovic powered in a terrific delivery from substitute Kevin Mbabu with nine minutes left to give the Swiss hope.
Gavranovic then had a goal ruled out for offside, but there was no doubting his last-minute equaliser as he skipped past Presnel Kimpembe and drove low beyond Lloris.
Remarkably, Coman nearly won the game with the final kick, rattling the crossbar right at the end of injury time.
An ailing Benzema was withdrawn at the start of extra time for Olivier Giroud, moments before Sommer tipped over superbly to deny Pavard.
Pogba released Mbappe with a piercing pass through the Swiss defence but the Paris Saint-Germain forward sliced wide, with Sommer flying to his right to grasp Giroud’s header before his penalty heroics, which came at the expense of the star of France’s World Cup triumph in 2018.
(AFP)
29, June 2021
Blinken meets Pope Francis as US bishops campaign to deny Biden Communion 0
Pope Francis expressed his “affection” for the American people as he met at length Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with the latter declining to delve into “domestic politics” when later asked if the two discussed a campaign by U.S. bishops to deny Communion to Catholic politicians like the U.S. president who support abortion rights.
The Vatican said the two spoke for about 40 minutes, a long time considering that Blinken isn’t the top U.S. administration leader.
The closed-door meeting in the Apostolic Palace “played out in a cordial atmosphere,” a Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said. The meeting, “was, for the pope the occasion to recall his 2015 visit and to express his affection and his attention to the people of the United States of America.”
Bruni was referring to the pontiff’s U.S. pilgrimage, which included a meeting at the White House with then President Barack Obama. In recent years, the U.S. church hierarchy has been increasingly more polarized about U.S. politics and politicians.
Many of the more conservative U.S. bishops have been clamoring for a clear directive from their ranks against giving Communion to U.S. political figures who are Roman Catholics and support women’s right to abortion. Vatican teaching forbids abortion as a grave sin. This campaign puts the heat on President Joe Biden, a Catholic who has said that while he personally opposes abortion, he supports abortion rights.
Earlier this month, the U.S. churchmen decided to go ahead and craft a document about Communion. Only a month earlier, Francis’ top official on doctrinal orthodoxy had urged the bishops to think the matter through thoroughly and aim to keep divisions to the minimum.
Blinken declined to wade into the issue when he was asked at a news conference in Rome after his Vatican visit if he and Francis had discussed the divisive issue.
“One of the luxuries of my job is that I don’t do domestic politics,” said Blinken, who described his talks with the pope as ”extremely warm and very wide-ranging.”
Francis himself hasn’t weighed in publicly on the latest squabble in the long-running wrangling over the Communion issue within the U.S. Conference of Bishops.
Blinken had high praise for Francis and the opportunity to be the highest level official in the fledgling Biden administration to have a sit-down session with the pontiff.
“I was very gratified by the meeting and gratified as well by the strong leadership of His Holiness on the pandemic, on climate change, his leadership on the basic proposition that we have to stand for human dignity in whatever we do,” Blinken said.
Blinken’s spokesman, Ned Price, said the secretary had assured the pontiff about “the United States’ commitment to working closely with the Holy See to address global challengers and the needs of the world’s least fortunate and most vulnerable, including refugees and migrants.”
That would generally synch with Francis’ overarching agenda of putting those living on life’s margin at the center of attention.
Blinken also thanked Francis for “longstanding leadership” on the need to tackle climate change. Early in his papacy, Francis issued an encyclical, or formal teaching document, stressing the need to treasure and protect the environment.
Last year, when Blinken’s predecessor, Mike Pompeo, came to the Vatican, he wasn’t granted any private time with Francis. At the time, Vatican officials explained that the Holy See didn’t want to give any impression of favoritism only weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
Pompeo had blasted the Vatican for what he said was a lessening of its moral authority by signing an accord with Beijing over the nominations of Chinese bishops. Pompeo had insisted that the Holy See take a tougher stand against Chinese restrictions on religious freedom.
Biden, for his part, has criticized China for forced labor practices. Blinken’s spokesperson said the secretary and Francis discussed China as well as humanitarian crises in Lebanon, Syria, the Tigray region of Ethiopia and Venezuela, the latter nation’s economic and social plight often drawing attention by Francis, who is a South American native.
Human rights and religious freedom in China were also discussed in Blinken’s separate talks with the Holy See’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, and with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, its foreign minister.
Blinken stressed U.S. support for a return to democracy in Venezuela and “our desire to help the Venezuelan people rebuild their country,” Price said.
At the Vatican, Blinken on Monday was also given a guided, private tour of the Sistine Chapel, with its ceiling frescoed by Michelangelo and other Renaissance masterpieces. Price tweeted that he and Blinken toured the “breathtaking Sistine Chapel.”
Blinken visited Rome before flying to southern Italy for Tuesday’s Group of 20 meeting of foreign ministers, which is focused on improving collaboration among nations on climate change, health issues and development.
Source: AP