France signed off before the summer recess with a much-needed 1-0 victory over Euro 2008 semi-finalists Turkey in a rain-sodden friendly on Friday.
Jeered throughout their 1-0 defeat to Nigeria on Tuesday, Raymond Domenech’s side responded with a more industrious display against a side reduced to 10 men for more than 50 minutes following Uzulmez Ibrahim’s dismissal.
Karim Benzema’s goal from the ensuing penalty was enough to decide the match, which was held up in the closing stages when visiting fans hurled missiles onto the pitch before being placated by Turkey coach Fatih Terim.
PHOTO: AFP
“I scored and we won, that’s good but we have to continue working,” Benzema said.
He added: “There were lots of Turkish fans, it was more than a friendly. Now we can go on holiday, rest before coming back to tackle the new season.”
Driving rain made for a slippery pitch and sloppy touches, despite France’s best attempts to atone for the loss against Nigeria in Saint Etienne that was marred by enthusiastic barracking from their own fans.
It took the hosts until the 32nd minute to fashion a clear sight at goal, but Nicolas Anelka shot wastefully wide of the near post after being set free by Yoann Gourcuff.
Within a minute Turkey had spurned an even more gilded chance, when Nuri Sahin sidefooted Mevlut Erding’s cut-back past the left-hand post from 15m.
The game turned eight minutes before half-time, Ibrahim seeing red for dragging Anelka back after the striker exploited the defender’s weak back-header to surge past visiting goalkeeper Volkan Demirel and advance on an unguarded goal.
Benzema’s penalty found the bottom-left corner via Volkan’s right hand, but the Fenerbahce man had better luck when Benzema’s half-time replacement Andre-Pierre Gignac shot straight at him after a clever dummy from the enterprising Florent Malouda.
Franck Ribery joined the fray in the second half, and he twice drew agile saves from Volkan before home goalkeeper Hugo Lloris reacted sharply at the other end to kick away a goalbound touch from team-mate Philippe Mexes.
France finished strongly, with Volkan saving from Gourcuff, Gignac and Bacary Sagna, while Sidney Govou curled the ball against the post and Jean-Alain Boumsong had a header cleared off the line.
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
RSS