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.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged a hat trick as Paris St Germain geared up for their Champions League clash against Manchester City with a convincing 4-1 Ligue 1 home win over Nice on Saturday. Ibrahimovic scored twice in the first half and once in the second, while David Luiz added a third in the second half after Hatem Ben Arfa had pulled one back for the visitors early on. PSG, who were crowned champions last month, have 80 points and with six games left lead second-placed Monaco, who lost 2-1 at home to Girondins de Bordeaux on Friday, by 25 points. Nice, who had a chance to reduce the gap with Monaco to two points, lag in third place five points behind the principality side. They will be leap-frogged by Olympique Lyonnais (49) if they beat Lorient away on Sunday.
The Germans were desperate to impress in front of a home crowd to make amends for their shock 2018 World Cup first-round exit, but instead they rarely broke through the French rearguard.
Didier Deschamps of France and Argentina's Lionel Scaloni should avoid the temptation to throw on a 'penalty specialist'
Poland forward Robert Lewandowski will be faced with a defender ominously known as K2 when, at the age of 29, he finally makes his debut at the World Cup finals in Tuesday's Group H match against Senegal.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group C match played between France and Australia at Kazan Stadium on Saturday
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.
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.
Glimpses from Sunday's Nations League matches.
With a population of just over four million, Croatia punched considerably above their weight to reach the final, going down gallantly to France at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Images from the Nations League football matches played on Thursday.
France are favourites as Moscow basked in sweltering summer sun
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.
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.
French Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was placed under formal judicial investigation on Thursday in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail fellow French soccer international Mathieu Valbuena using a sex video.
World champions France recovered from two goals down to beat Belgium 3-2 in a thrilling Nations League semi-final on Thursday with a last-minute strike from Theo Hernandez securing a place in Sunday's showpiece match against Spain.
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.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
New France captain Kylian Mbappe lived up to expectations with two goals in a 4-0 statement home win against the Netherlands.
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.
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.
The victory saw Spain finish top of League A4 with 11 points after six games, joining France in the final four tournament, which will take place in October 2021.
The 25-year-old striker, who stands 1.76 metres tall, caught the eye on the big stage against Germany, driving home a penalty at the end of the first half before poking in the ball on 72 minutes following a rare blunder by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
When France meet Portugal in Sunday's Euro 2016 final, the outcome is likely to depend on the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann -- the second time the two players have clashed with a European trophy at stake in six weeks. Portugal's Ronaldo steered Real Madrid to their Champions League triumph at the end of May after his French rival Griezmann missed a penalty for city rivals Atletico.
Liverpool's Champions League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane joined regulars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's player award
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.
What you must know about Anthony Martial, the world's most expensive teenage footballer.
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.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup first semi-final played between France and Belgium on Tuesday
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...
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.
Brazil scrapped their way to a flattering 3-0 friendly win over France on Sunday in an ugly, disjointed match against opponents who are even worse off than themselves.
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