Stopping the stars won't be enough to win World Cup
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.
New France captain Kylian Mbappe lived up to expectations with two goals in a 4-0 statement home win against the Netherlands.
"It feels like a missed chance because I felt the performances were really good and the focus and the hunger was good every single day," said England midfielder Jordan Henderson.
If this sporting clash was, as English essayist, novelist and journalist George Orwell said, "war minus the shooting" both sets of players were more than ready, and set about each other with little restraint.
France coach Didier Deschamps, who has kept tinkering with his squad since the start of the European Championship, will be forced to rejig once again when the hosts face Iceland for a place in the semi-finals. With centre back Adil Rami and holding midfielder N'Golo Kante suspended, Deschamps, who has been praised for shrewd tactical moves in the tournament, is looking for the best options for Sunday's game at the Stade de France.
Thierry Henry's infamous handball in a qualification playoff game for the 2010 World Cup against Ireland will play no role when the two teams meet on Sunday for a place in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals, France coach Didier Deschamps said on Saturday.
Didier Deschamps of France and Argentina's Lionel Scaloni should avoid the temptation to throw on a 'penalty specialist'
Mihaila late show for Romania stuns Swiss in thrilling draw
Denmark coach Age Hareide's withering assessment of opponents France last month has added 'salt, pepper and vinegar' to their World Cup match on Tuesday, his counterpart Didier Deschamps said.
France manager Didier Deschamps believes Paul Pogba's strained relationship with the media is due to the 'unfair criticism' he has received in the past and said the misunderstood Manchester United midfielder had learnt to cope with it.
It was N'Golo Kante, who at the age of 30 appears to be elevating his games to new levels, who knitted the French team together during their Group F match against Germany on Tuesday.
France may have ousted rivals Germany for the first time in 58 years but it will mean nothing if they lose Sunday's Euro 2016 final against a Portugal team that have had more recovery time, said Didier Deschamps.
France will look to boss the midfield in a bid to limit supply to the lethal 31-year-old, who has struggled to impose himself in the tournament.
Mathieu Valbuena and Karim Benzema, embroiled in a sextape scandal, were omitted from France's squad on Thursday for the games with Germany and England later this month while Hatem Ben Arfa was recalled.
France coach Didier Deschamps has sued Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasir's girlfriend for her 'f*** France and f*** Deschamps' post on Twitter.
The 44-year-old Pires was a member of the French side and teammate of current national manager Didier Deschamps that won the tournament for the first time at home in 1998.
France are still a work in progress requiring tweaks despite coasting through to the knockout phase of Euro 2016 as group winners on Sunday, according to coach Didier Deschamps.
Racism cost me Euro 2016 spot, claims Benzema
Les Bleus' average age is 26 years old -- like England -- and Kylian Mbappe is 19, but it was he who ran riot after France fell 2-1 behind early in the second half.
France have asked FIFA to investigate their suspicions that a drone was used to spy on the team's preparations for the World Cup opener against Honduras, coach Didier Deschamps said.
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
France is slowly but gaining momentum when it mattered most.
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.
Holders France got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a disappointing start with a 1-1 draw at home to Ukraine
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.
World Cup hopefuls France salvaged a late 1-1 draw against the United States in their final friendly before the tournament, while fellow title favourites Spain also needed a late oal as they edged past Tunisia 1-0 on Saturday. Elsewhere, there were wins for finalists Serbia, Denmark, Morocco and Australia, while Sweden were held to a goalless draw by Peru.
Brazil soccer great Pele died on Thursday, aged 82, after a long battle with cancer.
'But he is someone I really appreciate, I'm happy for him.'
Manchester City's French midfielder Samir Nasri has decided to quit international football over a breakdown in his relationship with national coach Didier Deschamps and the French media.
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But it was man-of-the-match Dimitri Payet who scored his second goal in as many matches to put the Frenchmen through to the knockouts.
France have surprised many by emerging as World Cup contenders but face their toughest test yet against nemesis Germany in a quarter-final clash of European heavyweights at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium on Friday.
Benzema, who has scored 30 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season, has not played for France since 2015 after a blackmailing scandal over which he faces a trial in October.
France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.
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.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifier matches played on Tuesday night.
Olympique Marseille sports director Jose Anigo has been fined for criticising coach Didier Deschamps, the Ligue 1 club's president said on Monday.
Olivier Giroud says criticism has always motivated him to do better and the 31-year-old is pleased to silence his detractors with his stellar work rate in his team's World Cup triumph in Russia.
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