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Captain Aron Gunnarsson says Iceland will take inspiration from fellow underdogs Wales when they take on hosts France in the quarter-finals on Sunday -- and the tiny country even believe they can win Euro 2016 outright. Iceland, with a population of just 330,000, have produced a series of astonishing displays to reach the tournament's last eight, including a comfortable 2-1 win over England in the second round.
Hosts France were made to work hard by Albania but two late goals sealed the Group A match in their favour. Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet scored late to earn the nervous hosts the result they sought.
Much-maligned Olivier Giroud struck twice to help attack-minded France sink Scotland 3-0 in a final warm-up game on Saturday before they launch Euro 2016 on home soil next week.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hopes his players return injury-free from the international break this month for a hectic run of fixtures that could define the Premier League champions' season.
The precocious Kylian Mbappe could be one of the pillars of a French team with the potential to dominate the world game in the way Pele and his team mates did from the late 50s through to 1970.
Millions of French soccer fans were delirious with joy on Sunday as France beat Croatia 4-2 to win soccer's World Cup in a pulsating final in Moscow that sparked ecstatic scenes from Paris to Marseille and beyond.
Crowds of cheering French soccer fans began gathering in Paris on Sunday, draped in red, white and blue and singing the Marseillaise, as excitement was building ahead of the France-Croatia showdown at the World Cup final in Moscow.
France centre forward Olivier Giroud has failed to score at the World Cup in Russia but is still a vital cog in their plans for Sunday's final against Croatia in Moscow.
Already-qualified France played out an uninspiring goalless draw with Denmark in their final World Cup Group C match at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium on Tuesday, which was enough to ensure that both teams advance to the knockout stage.
France showed the full range of their attacking weapons as they continued their preparations for the World Cup in convincing fashion with a 3-1 win over Italy in a friendly on Friday.
Coach Didier Deschamps believes his players are ready to write a new page in the history of French football at Euro 2016 on Thursday when the hosts attempt to beat Germany for the first time for 58 years in a competitive match. The French go into the semi-final against the world champions in Marseille as underdogs. Even though they have twice won the European championship, they have not beaten their German neighbours outside of friendlies since the 1958 World Cup.
Albania are unlikely to pose much of a threat to France but Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann will be expected to produce sharper performances in Wednesday's Group A match when victory should assure the hosts a last 16 spot in Euro 2016.
Olivier Giroud said he had breathed a sigh of relief after scoring the first goal in Euro 2016 and wished the boos he has faced throughout his career would now go away. The France striker, who opened the scoring with a brave header in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday, now has eight goals from his last eight games for the national team. Giroud, who has scored 18 goals for France, is the team's most prolific striker since Didiers Deschamps took over as coach in 2012. "My statistics speak for themselves," Giroud told a news conference at France's training camp outside Paris on Saturday. "People say I get better through adversity but I'd be happy to live without all the mudslingers," he added.
Racism cost me Euro 2016 spot, claims Benzema
Centre-back Eric Abidal and midfielder Samir Nasri were missing when France coach Didier Deschamps named a 24-man squad on Thursday for next week's friendly against the Netherlands.
France are favourites as Moscow basked in sweltering summer sun
Prime Minister David Cameron will lead a show of solidarity with France at an England-France soccer match in London on Tuesday following the bloody attacks on Paris, with English fans expected to sing the French national anthem.
A lot has changed for France goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris and defender Bacary Sagna since they were part of the team that left the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in disgrace.
Forward Olivier Giroud, jeered by France supporters barely a month ago, won them over on Sunday with what he described as his best performance for his country in a major tournament, scoring twice in the 5-2 win over Iceland at Euro 2016.
Blue is definitely the colour for the discreet N'Golo Kante, now shining for France on the pitches of Euro 2016 after playing a key role in LeicesterCity's fairytale run to the Premier League title in England.
France kick off their Euro 2016 campaign against Romania on Friday with the host nation desperate for a ray of sunshine after being hit by strikes, floods and scandals in the build-up. Protests against a labour law and torrential rain that has caused the Seine river to rise to levels not seen in decades have created a bleak backdrop to the tournament where France will start as favourites. A state of emergency is also still in force after last November's Islamist attacks killed 130 people in Paris at several sites including the Stade de France, the venue for Friday's opening game.
FIFA World Cup set pulses racing and ended with a young, exciting France team clinching the title.
Rediff.com looks at the five best goals from the concluding round in the league stage.
The expanded European soccer Championship format with 24 teams in the finals instead of 16 contributed to fairytale runs by so-called minnows at Euro 2016 but also helped Portugal lift their first major trophy. The new formula introduces an extra knockout stage, the round of 16, with the top two teams in each of the six groups going through as well as the four best third-placed sides. Portugal did just that, finishing third in their group and going on to win the tournament with a 1-0 victory in extra time over hosts France in Sunday's final.
Thierry Henry's handball sent such shockwaves that barely anyone remembers it was actually William Gallas who scored the infamous goal France that ruined Ireland's chances of a World Cup appearance more than six years ago.
Dimitri Payet's spectacular late strike earned France a 2-1 win over Euro 2016 Group A rivals Romania on Friday, giving the host nation a flying start to their campaign.
What you must know about Anthony Martial, the world's most expensive teenage footballer.
European champions Portugal spurned a two-goal lead against Tunisia, stumbling to a 2-2 draw, as France, one of the World Cup favourites, flexed their muscles with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland in warm-up friendlies on Monday.
Antoine Griezmann had plenty of painful memories to erase in Thursday's European Championship semi-final against Germany and he did that in style, scoring twice to lead the host nation to an historic 2-0 victory over the world champions.
Used to relying heavily on one key player for their European glory in the past -- Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane in the 1984 and 2000 tournaments respectively -- French fans have two talented players on whom to pin their hopes at Euro 2016.
Here is a look at what happened in their previous Euro semis...
After tweaking his formation and starting lineup at Euro 2016, France coach Didier Deschamps seems to have found the perfect formula at just the right time. Thanks to his shrewd tactics, his team turned on the style to outplay Iceland 5-2 on Sunday and advance to an appetising semi-final battle with Germany. The fact that France, who had never got past the last eight at the finals since their 2000 triumph, managed to get almost everything right, has a lot to do with Deschamps' methods.
France's players immediately turned their minds to a semi-final with Germany on Thursday after putting Iceland to the sword in a 5-2 win at Euro 2016.
Hosts France came from behind to beat 10-man Ireland 2-1 and reach the Euro 2016 quarter-finals after two second-half strikes from forward Antoine Griezmann at Parc OL on Sunday. A tactical switch from coach Didier Deschamps at the break revitalised the French, who struggled to find their feet early on after conceding a Robbie Brady penalty in the second minute, the fastest goal in the 2016 tournament.
Diogo Jota and Joao Felix both scored their first international goals in the second half before Bruno Petkovic pulled one back and Andre Silva then added a fourth.
Sweden missed the influence of captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was resting a sore calf muscle, as they struggled to create chances in a dull 0-0 draw with Slovenia in their penultimate Euro 2016 warm-up in Malmo on Monday.
'I asked the coach for an explanation. An explanation can be just two minutes long. It's not complicated ... But I am still at the coach's disposal. The coach knows this' 'I have the feeling that my name is being manipulated for reasons that have nothing to do with football'
Serbian Djokovic, who 12 months ago had elbow surgery, won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2018, before lifting this year's Australian Open crown, to add to his tally of Grand Slam singles titles and reclaim top spot in the rankings.
Former world champions France will play Ukraine for a place in the World Cup finals in Brazil next year with the advantage of the second leg at home following the draw for the European playoffs.
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