Laurent Blanc will expect France to produce a more convincing performance against Serbia on Thursday after struggling to beat Iceland.
France had to come from 2-0 down at half-time to secure a face-saving victory in the friendly against minnows Iceland at the Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes, on Sunday.
Goals from Mathieu Debuchy, Franck Ribery and Adil Rami extended France s unbeaten run to 16 matches, with their last defeat a 2-1 friendly loss to Norway in August 2011.
Prior to their underwhelming performance against Iceland, France had every reason for optimism going into Euro 2012.
Friendly victories over England, Brazil and Germany in the last 12 months demonstrated the improvement made under Blanc since a disastrous group-stage exit from the 2010 FIF…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola dismissed the suggestion his team have an advantage over Manchester United ahead of the derby due to their early Champions League qualification.
City will travel to Old Trafford to face Premier League rivals United on Saturday, not before the final round of group fixtures in the Champions League.
Guardiola s City have already advanced to the last 16 and have the luxury of resting players for Wednesday s Group C fixture against Marseille, while Solskjaer s United need at least a point from their trip to RB Leipzig on Tuesday to progress from Group H.
But Guardiola – whose City are sixth and a point behind United – insisted there is no advantage for the Citizens against their neighbours.
Sometimes we play three day…
Juventus, for whom Ibrahimovic played two seasons from 2004 to 2006, last won the Champions League in 1996.
This season, they are chasing Milan s shadow in Serie A, with Ibrahimovic s goals fuelling confidence and an early-season run at the top of the table.
Milan sit five points clear of nearest rivals Inter, and six ahead of Juve.
Deservedly. The Rossoneri are the team to beat, I say it and repeat it, Raiola said. Zlatan is a priceless player. Always top scorer in Serie A, with two goals more than Ronaldo, despite being still injured. But now his return is imminent.
Ibrahimovic has scored at a startling rate of one goal every 52.9 minutes in Serie A this season, but Ronaldo is not far behind with one every 58.75 minutes on the pitch.
Of…
Competition in Group G at the 2014 World Cup starts with a high-profile match between Euro 2012 semi-finalists Germany and Portugal, with everyone expecting to see a cracking encounter at Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador.
Die Mannschaft may be missing some important players, but they still arrive in Brazil as one of the main candidates for the title, while the Seleccao are heavily relying on Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to lead them to glory. And Titan Bet has just offered an extra incentive to everyone looking to bet on the big match by increasing the price on Germany to win to 3/1 and Portugal to win to 4/1.
All you have to do is and place your first bet of €5 or more on the Germany vs Portugal match. You can choose whether to back Germany at 3/1 or…
Islam Slimani insisted his Algeria team-mates will not be dwelling on their victory over South Korea as they aim to reach the next round.
Algeria are on track to qualify for the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup after dismantling Group H rivals South Korea 4-2 in Porto Alegre on Sunday.
The win was not only Algeria s first at the finals since 1982, it also sent the north African nation (three points, +1) two points clear of Russia (one point, -1), and South Korea (one point, -2) in second place with one game remaining against Fabio Capello s men.
And goal-scoring hero Slimani, who broke the deadlock at the Estadio Beira-Rio, said Algeria were striving to reach the knockout phase for the first time after their historic win.
I can say that all of the playe…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has voiced cautious optimism that Tomas Rosicky will be back in action before Christmas but admitted that the Czech midfielder s injury has been far more complicated to treat than first anticipated.
Rosicky, the captain of the Czech Republic s national team, missed the second half of last season and Euro 2008 after limping off in a Premier League match against Newcastle in January.
Eight months later, Wenger cannot say with any certainty when the 27-year-old will return and Czech media have started to speculate that his career may be over.
He is not close to playing again and he has not had any real setback, but the evolution (of his injury) is very slow, Wenger admitted.
The recovery process is slower than we expected a…
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur to win 2-1
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Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur will lock horns with each other in the Premier League this coming weekend. The match between the Bees and Spurs will be held at the Gtech Community Stadium and is scheduled to kick off at 2pm UK time on Sunday.
Brentford
Brentford are fast becoming an established club in the Premier League who are going places. Although the Bees do have the fan following or history of the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, they are a very progressive club and are hugely appealing to any players.
The Bees did extremely well last season. Brentford finished as high as ninth in the Premier League table last season with 59 points from 38 matches. The Londo…
Chapecoense s stirring response to the tragedy that decimated their team has been honoured at the Laureus Awards.
The Brazilian club were travelling to Medellin for the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional when their plane crashed, killing 71 people including the majority of the first-team squad.
A truly remarkable comeback from such unimaginable adversity and heartache culminated in qualification for the preliminary rounds of the 2018 Copa Libertadores and Laureus gave Chapecoense its Best Sporting Moment of the Year award at the charity s annual gala in Monaco on Tuesday.
Chape began 2017 by winning the Campeonato Catarinense, before being defeated in an emotional Recopa Sudamericana by Atletico, the club whose graciousness in…
Following some exciting weekend action in top football leagues, Champions League football returns in midweek as eight teams are vying for four places in the 2017/2018 quarter-finals.
Liverpool vs FC Porto
This tie is already done and dusted after Liverpool enjoyed a 5-0 triumph in Portugal and with the Reds having since recorded two comfortable wins in the Premier League, odds of .
As far as team news are concerned, the hosts will be without Georginio Wijnaldum and Ben Woodburn, with Nathaniel Clyne doubtful, whereas Alex Telles, Danilo, Soares and Moussa Marega are missing for the Dragons.
PSG vs Real Madrid
Having failed to turn their dominance into goals in the first leg, conceding two late goals to suffer a 3-1 defeat, PSG appear to have …
Newcastle target Mathieu Debuchy is hoping to complete a move from Lille to the Premier League club before the transfer window closes.
Newcastle had a fresh bid for the France international rejected earlier this month, with Lille coach Rudi Garcia declaring that Debuchy is not for sale.
But the 26-year-old, speaking to Canal+ after his side s 2-1 victory over Saint-Etienne, stated: I don t want to talk about my future.
I heard what the chairman said. The transfer window is open until September 4 (in France). I still want to go. We will see.
Newcastle are pursuing Debuchy after enjoying great success with the capture of Yohan Cabaye from the 2010/11 French champions, with the midfielder proving key to their fifth-place Premier League finish.
Lil…