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.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care