PREVIEW
▲France vs Mexico
A French team in disarray will face a Mexico lineup which is growing in confidence in a Group A match today that could be crucial in determining who progresses in the World Cup.
Mexico scored a late equalizer in the tournament’s first match against South Africa while France opened their campaign later on Friday with a lackluster scoreless draw against Uruguay.
“They have their names, we have ours. But names don’t play, men do,” Mexico captain Gerardo Torrado said. “Nothing short of a win is good for us.”
France defender Eric Abidal said “things will become even harder if we have a bad result” because the French then have to take on South Africa in their last group game played in front of passionate home supporters.
Although France reached the final in Germany in 2006, Raymond Domenech’s current team seems dispirited and disheveled amid rumors of a row between the coach and Florent Malouda plus tensions between players. Former captain Zinedine Zidane has criticized the team, and dejected fans are starting to lose belief.
“Football is simple. You have to win matches, and once you win matches everyone is beautiful and the best friends in the world,” Malouda said. “As soon as results become more difficult, you see stories appearing left and right. The only answer is to win games and then everyone will be smiling at you.”
Malouda is pushing for a place in Domenech’s starting lineup after being dropped to the bench against Uruguay the day after a heated training session where Domenech told him not to fly so heavily into tackles.
Such aggression is lacking in front of goal and Domenech must decide whether to replace the ineffective Nicolas Anelka in attack.
The only positives France could take from the dull draw against Uruguay were the solid performance of Abou Diaby in midfield, and a rare clean sheet from a makeshift defense.
Although Abidal is a left-back, he is playing at center-half alongside William Gallas, who is still struggling for form after recovering from a torn calf muscle.
Mexico’s lively strikers Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos could cause Gallas and Abidal problems with their pace and trickery after combining for some promising moves in the 1-1 draw against South Africa.
“They have a lot of potential in attack, but so do we,” Abidal said. “If you want to go all the way, you will come up against a lot of top strikers, so you have to be prepared for that. Against South Africa we saw that they like to play on the counter attack and launch attacks from deep.”
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre prefers to rely on a settled team and is expected to stick with his three-pronged attack, which has Guillermo Franco holding the central role and with Vela and Dos Santos out wide.
“It’s what has brought us here and we’re not going to change,” Aguirre said. “Yes, we do leave a lot of space at the back, but we’re going to continue this way.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and