Second half goals from Franck Ribery and Nicolas Anelka shot France to the top of European Championship qualifying in Group B on Saturday, putting them well on course to qualify for the finals in Austria and Switzerland.
France took their time to get into the match, but, in terms of possession, they were well on top against a Ukrainian side which clearly lacked the finishing ability of injured Andrei Shevchenko and they deserved their 2-0 win.
Teenage sensation Samir Nasri was given his second appearance by coach Raymond Domenech in the playmaker's role just behind lone striker Anelka.
PHOTO: AP
Francois Clerc came in at right back in place of injured Willy Sagnol and Lilian Thuram, who served as captain in place of injured Patrick Vieira, raised his national appearance record up to 129.
After an uneventful opening spell, the first real incident of note came two minutes before half-time when pony-tailed Andriy Voronin caught the French defense, who were expecting an offside whistle, out of position.
However, his cross from the right brought a good tackle by Clerc on Maxym Kalynychenko to save the day for Domenech's men. Then in first half injury time Ukraine's Oleg Gusev was through but was tackled in the box.
Just after the break, Anelka shot wide of the left-hand post as France started brightly and a period of French domination preceded the goal by Ribery in the 57th minute. The 24-year-old, winning his 17th cap, outpaced Ukraine's defence to sidefoot home left-footed into an empty net.
Domenech said: "Tonight we had the result, the fans, the atmosphere -- it was what we expected, but I don't think Georgia will be any easier in a few days time."
Midway through the half Ukraine's Ruslan Rotan came on for Kalynychenko in the first substitution of the match.
With 19 minutes to go, Anelka made the match safe. In an impressive piece of individual skill, he popped the ball up into the air before firing home from an acute angle on the left.
World Cup champion Italy stuttered on the way to a 2-1 victory over the Faeroe Islands in a European Championship qualifier on Saturday.
Italy led 2-0 with both goals by Filippo Inzaghi until Rogvi Jacobsen scored in the 77th minute for only the Faeroe Islands' second goal in qualifying to set up a tense finish.
It was Italy's fourth straight win in Group B after a tie with Lithuania and a loss to France in its first two qualifiers.
Italy has 13 points with six games left. "We started well but the weather didn't help," Inzaghi said. "In the end we're going home with three points and that's the most important thing for sure."
Inzaghi, who also scored twice 10 days ago to give AC Milan a 2-1 Champions League final win over Liverpool, collected Andrea Pirlo's lob into the penalty area to tap in his first goal in the 12th.
Inzaghi doubled his tally by heading in Tommaso Rocchi's cross in the 48th.
Inzaghi has now scored 25 goals in 54 appearances for Italy.
Jacobsen beat Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Buffon with a powerful header.
The Azzurri, who fielded five players that started the World Cup final against France, should have won by a wider margin but were unable to convert numerous chances in wet conditions.
"We knew that if we didn't take our chances the opposition would create problems," Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said. "However, we won and that's what counts."
Inzaghi, Rocchi, Alessandro Del Piero and Marco Materazzi all missed in the first half, while Cristiano Lucarelli squandered two opportunities after the break.
Pirlo also went close with a 54th-minute free kick but was denied by an excellent save by Faeroe Islands' goalkeeper Jakup Mikkelsen.
he Faeroe Islands team, which has only six professional players, never looked like scoring until it won its first corner of the match in the 75th, which induced a standing ovation from the 6,000-strong crowd.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Mathys Tel was hero and villain as Tottenham drew 1-1 at home to Leeds United on Monday — a result that leaves their English Premier League future hanging in the balance. The Frenchman broke the deadlock early in the second half to ease the tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but then gave away a penalty with a reckless attempted clearance. In the dying minutes, Spurs were grateful to Antonin Kinsky, who produced an astonishing save to deny the visitors a win. Tottenham are now two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with just two games left this season. The
Houston Astros right-hander Teng Kai-wei, the only active Taiwanese pitcher in MLB, on Sunday suffered his third loss of the season, throwing a season-high 63 pitches in his second start of the year. Teng allowed three earned runs over three innings on five hits in the Astros’ 5-0 road loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out one, walked one, and hit one batter among the 15 hitters he faced, raising his earned run average to 3.12. It was the Astros’ second attempt to use the 27-year-old Taiwanese as a starter, after he had established himself as a reliable bullpen
‘DONE IT ALL’: LeBron James is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season as a free agent with uncertainty swirling around his future LeBron James on Monday said he would take time to consider his future after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder in what could turn out to be the final game of his career. James, 41, delivered a typically defiant performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent the Lakers from falling 115-110 as the Thunder completed a 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference semi-finals series. The four-time NBA champion is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season
RSS