There were straight-set victories for Matteo Berrettini, Maria Sakkari and Stan Wawrinka among others but the big story came in the evening as home favourite Jason Kubler recovered from a 5-0 second set deficit to overwhelm world no. 27 Dan Evans and secure Australia’s first-ever United Cup triumph, on an eventful second day of group action at the tournament. Continue reading
France forward Randal Kolo Muani will undoubtedly be thinking about his stoppage-time miss against Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup Final, but the Eintracht Frankfurt frontman – a late-notice injury replacement – shone on the world stage and spoke of his pride at a tournament he didn’t expect to be at. Elsewhere, Morocco duo Sofiane Boufal and Azzedine Ounahi have attracted interest from a host of European clubs: both are now anticipating January transfers. Continue reading
Argentina found themselves just 10 minutes from glory. Kylian Mbappe scored twice in 97 seconds to equalise. Lionel Messi made it 3-2 in extra-time, yet his club teammate completed his hat-trick from the spot during a frantic finish. Into a penalty shootout they went and Sevilla fullback Gonzalo Montiel had the final say: sending Hugo Lloris the wrong way, finishing a remarkable World Cup Final with a dramatic win over the defending champions last night. Continue reading
Theo Hernandez’s early strike and a first international goal for second-half substitute Randal Kolo Muani ensure reigning champions France are back in the World Cup final, where they’ll play Lionel Messi and Argentina on Sunday afternoon. Morocco fought valiantly, but Les Bleus can now become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to defend their crown as world champions.
Continue reading
For all the talk of focusing on defending against the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe, it was France’s all-time top goalscorer Olivier Giroud – who spent nine years playing in England’s top-tier – delivering the final blow as Gareth Southgate’s men showed spirit but ultimately crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage with a jarring 2-1 defeat by the defending champions. Continue reading
Olivier Giroud surpassed Thierry Henry to top the all-time goalscoring charts for France, scoring against a former teammate in goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny no less, before Kylian Mbappe’s second-half brace ended Poland’s fading hopes of a late comeback. Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski scored a retaken penalty late, on what could be his last World Cup appearance. Continue reading
]
Four of the last five World Cup winners have gone on to crash out in the group stages at the subsequent tournament, a statistic beginning with France themselves back in 2002. For a 20-minute spell in their Group D opener against Australia, you could be forgiven for thinking history would repeat itself. Now though, they’ll be expecting to build on a display highlighting some strengths while lluminating weaknesses with tougher challenges in the days to come.
Continue reading
Ian Foster’s men topped Group B with three wins, seven goals scored and none conceded – finishing with a 1-0 victory over second-placed Israel on Saturday evening. Up next for them is the Italians on Tuesday afternoon in the tournament’s semi-finals, but will they hold firm again? Continue reading
Recent reports claim Fiorentina – sixth in Serie A so far this term – are close to snatching a shrewd mid-season acquisition next month: Lille’s French winger Jonathan Ikone at just €15m (£12.75m), the sort of cut-price fee they’ll be hoping propels them into serious European challengers, as opposed to the frequent pretender tag they’ve long beld in Italy. Continue reading
Gareth Southgate’s two-year extension announcement means, if all goes well, he’ll remain England manager until December 2024 – occupying the position for more than eight years, being their longest head coach since Bobby Robson. They’ve progressed considerably under his guidance and yet there remains an unwavering feeling he’s taken them as far as he can. Continue reading
World champions France recovered from another deficit, for the second time in four days, to be crowned the 2021 UEFA Nations League champions with a 2-1 win over Euro 2020 semi-finalists Spain. Just like their comeback win over Belgium, goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe saw them storm ahead in a frenetic second-half packed with chances for both sides. Continue reading
In a week where he addressed the Real Madrid rumours and mother Fayza provided an update on her son’s future, Kylian Mbappe produced his best display since May to help propel France into the UEFA Nations League Final, where they play Euro 2020 semi-finalists Spain on Sunday.
Continue reading
Mo and Sports 