SPORTSunday 17 June 2018

PAGE | 21 PAGE | 24Germany start title

defence against Mexico

Technology helps France beat gritty Australia 2-1

TODAY'S FIXTURES

GROUP ESamara Arena

COSTA RICA vs SERBIA

3.00pm

GROUP FLuzhniki Stadium

GERMANY vs MEXICO

6.00pm

GROUP EVolgograd Arena

BRAZIL vs SWITZERLAND

9.00pm

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

GROUP CFRANCE 2-1 AUSTRALIA

GROUP DARGENTINA 1-1 ICELAND

GROUP CPERU 0-1 DENMARK

GROUP DCROATIA 2-0 NIGERIA

No joy for Messi as gutsy Iceland hold ArgentinaREUTERS

MOSCOW: Tiny Iceland made a stunning impact in their first-ever World Cup on Saturday when they held 2014 runners-up Argentina to a pulsating 1-1 draw but Lionel messi’s tour-nament began wretchedly as he saw his penalty saved by Hannes Halldorsson.

Sergio Aguero gave the two-time world champions the lead after 19 minutes before Iceland, showing the same commitment and self-belief that saw them stun the soccer world with their run to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals, hit back four minutes later through Alfred Finnbogason.

Argentina, playing in all-black and roared on by the vast majority of the crowd in a rocking Spartak Stadium, even-tually took command, delivering wave after wave of attacks in the second half.

Yet they actually created few clear chances either side of the poorly-struck 64th-minute penalty by messi, who drew a blank despite a remarkable 11 shots during the match.

Iceland, by far the smallest country by population to appear at a World Cup and inspired by their “thunder-clapping” fans, ran and battled tirelessly as they wrote another unlikely chapter in their short

but glorious major tournament history.

“People say we celebrate when we won a point -- wait and see how we celebrate when we’ve won a game,” said Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.

Man of the match Hall-dorsson said he had done his homework on messi, who has now missed four of his last seven penalties for club and country.

“I looked at a lot of penalties by messi and I also looked at how I had been behaving in pre-vious penalties, so I tried to get into their mindset, how they would be thinking about me,” he said.

Frustrated Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli tried to remain upbeat. “We need to be strong as a group, believe in ourselves and know we have all the tools to beat anybody,” he said.

Iceland signalled their intent from the kick off, sending seven men charging into the box to challenge as the ball was pumped long, leading to just the

first of several uncomfortable moments for a decidedly shaky Argentine defence.

The South Americans looked more assured in attack, though, and went ahead when Aguero turned tightly in the box and smashed in an unstoppable shot.

Iceland stunned the stadium soon afterwards though when keeper Willy Caballero palmed Gylfi Sigurdsson’s low shot straight into the path of Finnbogason, who swept the ball into the unguarded net.

After Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick in Portugal’s 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday, all eyes

were on messi to respond but he was generally kept at arm’s length by the rugged but con-trolled Iceland defenders.

The great man was given the ultimate opportunity after Hordur Bjorgvin Magnusson got entangled with Aguero in the box, only for Halldorsson to fly to his right and palm his mediocre strike clear.

Iceland then defended superbly, almost fanatically, with Halldorson making another fan-tastic full-length save from sub-stitute Cristian Pavon in the dying moments.

Iceland’s players rushed to the stands to share their

celebrations with their fans and now will have real belief that they can get out of Group D that also contains Croatia and Nigeria.

“This match was a kind of a milestone for this team,” said Hallgrimsson, who vowed pre-tournament that his team would not sit back.

“We are bluntly honest in our ability. With a team like Argentina it is just a fact they have players with superior skills.

“I think for everyone it is more enjoyable to play this way and achieve something than to play in a different way and not achieve anything.”

Iceland’s goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson saves a penalty taken by Argentina’s Lionel Messi during their World Cup Group D match played at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, Russia yesterday.

E | 21 PAGErt titlegainst

Mexico

TechnFrancAustr

ARGENTINA ICELAND1 1

AGUERO - 19' 23' - FINNBOGASON

CROATIA NIGERIA2 0

ETEBO - 32' OG

MODRIĆ - 72' PEN

Croatia score their opening goal against Nigeria through an own goal during their 2018 World Cup Group D match played at the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad, Russia yesterday.

Own goal and penalty ensure victorious start for Croatia AGENCIES

KALININGRAD: An own goal and a penalty gave Croatia a comfortable start to their World Cup campaign as they beat a limp Nigeria 2-0 in their Group D clash at the Kalin-ingrad Stadium yesterday.

In Russia’s sleepy European exclave of Kaliningrad, the much-hyped youngsters of Nigeria struggled to ignite against Croatia’s midfield technicians.

A diving header from Mario Man-dzukic was deflected into his own net by Nigeria midfielder Ogh-enekaro Etebo after 32 minutes to hand Croatia the half-time lead, doubled by Luka Modric's successful penalty kick in the 71st minute.

It was awarded after Nigeria defender William Troost-Ekong had wrestled Mandzukic to the ground right in front of the referee, wrapping both arms around the striker as they jostled for space in the Nigeria box.

It was the fifth penalty awarded in the four World Cup matches played yesterday.

With rivals Argentina and Iceland only managing a 1-1 draw earlier Saturday in Saransk, both sides had a chance to take control of Group D.

18 SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2018SPORT

Denmark’s forward Yussuf Poulsen celebrates after scoring against Peru during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group C match at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk, yesterday.

Iceland’s ‘zombie film’ ‘keeper outwits Messi

REUTERS

MOSCOW: Hannes Halldorsson used to make zombie films for a living but it was watching videos that let Iceland’s goalkeeper outwit Lionel Messi and save a penalty yesterrday that gave his side a shock World Cup point.

“I did my homework,” the 34-year-old who plays in the Danish league told reporters after stopping a 64th-minute spot kick that pegged Argentina to a 1-1 draw and added to a miserable run of four misses from seven this past season for Messi.

“I looked at a lot of penalties by Messi and I also looked at how I had been behaving in the last penalties. So I tried to get into their mindset, how they would be thinking about me.” “I had a good feeling it would go this way today,” he said of his dive to his right to stop Messi’s uninspired effort.

With the five-times world player of the year stepping up to restore Argentina’s lead in the Group D opener, tiny Iceland’s first ever appearance at the World Cup finals, Halldorsson admitted that he felt the pressure.

“For me, as a goalkeeper from little Iceland and at the first game at a World Cup, to face the best player in the world at a penalty is,” -- he gave a long pause -- “a big moment.” “It’s a dream come true to save a penalty, especially if it helps us get a big point,” he added, as Iceland now aim to reach the next round from a group also featuring Croatia and Nigeria.

Argentina coach Jorge Sam-paoli refused to blame Messi, who

failed to find the net with 11 shots. His penalty added to a run that started with a miss for Barcelona in La Liga last August.

It was a contrast to long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid, whose hat-trick in Por-tugal’s 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday included a penalty and a free kick. Ronaldo was on Hall-dorsson’s mind for other reasons on Saturday, however, when asked why Icelanders celebrated so much when they only drew.

“Are you Cristiano Ronaldo’s uncle?” he asked the reporter -- Ronaldo dismissed Iceland as “small minded” when they cheered a 1-1 draw with Portugal in their first match at Euro 2016.

“We were playing against one of the best teams in the world, against one of the best players in the world,” said Halldorsson, who also stopped a dangerous Cristian Pavon curler near the end and was named man of the match.

“So, yes, we cele-brated.” Coach Heimir H a l l g r i m s s o n promised that more is to come. Satisfied at d e n y i n g Argentina no space despite 72-percent pos-session, he even mused on missed chances that might have given victory.

B u t w i t h trademark dark humour, the part-time coach and full-time dentist, conceded:

“We wanted to use spaces behind them -- but it’s difficult when you don’t have the ball.” Croatia and Nigeria will have to watch out, though.

“People say we celebrate when we won a point,” he said. “But wait and see how we cele-brate when we’ve won a game.”

Ronaldo 1, Messi 0 in World Cup duel

AFP

M O S C O W : C r i s t i a n o Ronaldo has emphatically won the first round of his World Cup duel with eternal rival Lionel Messi -- revelling in the adulation after his dramatic hat-trick while the Argentine flopped against Iceland.

Messi knew he had to find something special to match the Portuguese on Saturday but ended up squandering a golden chance to write his own headlines as he failed to convert from the penalty spot.

Then, with just seconds remaining in Moscow, the Barcelona man stood over a direct free-kick, mirroring the opportunity Ronaldo had the previous evening against Spain.

Ronaldo puffed out his cheeks, hitched up his shorts and arrowed his set-piece into the net to seal his 51st

career hat-trick and pull Portugal level at 3-3.

In contrast, Messi, with the score at 1-1, drove his free-kick straight into the wall, booting the ball into the air in frustration as the final whistle sounded seconds later.

R o n a l d o , who also scored f r o m t h e penalty spot

on Friday, has now joined an elite group of players to have found the net at four consec-utive World Cups.

The 30-year-old Messi often edges Ronaldo in the debate about who is the best player in the world, with both men vying for supremacy on the same stage in Spain’s La Liga. The Argentine is a magician at the heart of the Barcelona team while Ronaldo has trans-formed himself from a twinkle-toed winger at Man-chester United and in his early Real Madrid days, into a devastating finisher. Ana-lytics firm Opta Sports pointed out that Messi had 11 attempted shots to Ronaldo’s

four in their opening games in Russia, highlighting the efficiency of the Portugal forward. Messi’s fans say Ronaldo, at 33, is slowing down.

Yet who is hotly tipped to win the next Ballon D’Or? Who has just won a third Champions League crown on the bounce? And who is a r e i g n i n g E u r o p e a n champion? If the man from Madeira does pick up the 2018 Ballon D’Or, that would give him six to his great rival’s five, edging him ahead in their personal race.

It is too early to draw conclusions in Russia. The tournament has only just started and Argentina -- despite being held by Iceland on the Nordic nation’s World Cup debut -- could con-ceivably go on and lift the trophy. But while Ronaldo revels in wearing the red of Portugal and is feted at home, Messi can too often appear cowed in the famous blue and white stripes of his country. And, amazing as it may appear to many neu-trals, he has his critics in Argentina, who accuse him of failing to replicate his Bar-celona brilliance. In 2016 he retired from international duty after Argentina’s Copa America final defeat by Chile, only to reverse his decision weeks later.

It would be no surprise if Messi retires after this World Cup, particularly if Argentina fail to fulfil sky-high expec-tations back home.

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AFP

SARANSK, RUSSIA: Yussuf Poulsen ruined Peru’s first appearance at a World Cup finals for 36 years yesterday with the winning goal for Denmark to seal a 1-0 victory in Saransk.

Poulsen made amends for con-ceding a first-half penalty that was awarded after the referee consulted the VAR system, but which Peru mid-fielder Christian Cueva blasted over the crossbar.

With France having beaten Aus-tralia 2-1 in Kazan earlier in Group C, RB Leipzig’s Poulsen showed great fin-ishing to hit the winner on 59 minutes to the dismay of the overwhelmingly Peruvian crowd in the 40,502-capacity stadium.

The win extends Denmark’s unbeaten run to 16 games without defeat and end Peru’s 15-match unbeaten streak.

Peru veteran Paolo Guerrero, who only made it to the tournamenbt after late reprieve for a drug ban, came on for the final 30 minutes but his efforts at the Mordovia Arena came to no avail.

Authorities in Lima estimate around 25,000 fans flew to Russia to see their team’s return to the World Cup and Saransk was a sea of Peru shirts.

Their chants were near-deafening on occasion, as were the whistles each time Denmark had the ball or dared to attack.

As a result, Peru dominated the opening 25 minutes.

Edison Flores, Andre Carrillo and Yoshimar Yotun all kept Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel busy.

After weathering the early storm,

the Danes started to push forward.Midfielder Thomas Delaney had

their first chance when his long-range effort went over on 27 minutes.

Denmark had to bring on Ajax’s Lasse Schone with 36 minutes gone when central midfielder William Kvist was stretchered off.

A yellow card was shown to Peru midfielder Renato Tapia for sending Pione Sisto tumbling just outside the area, but Christian Eriksen drilled the free-kick off the wall.

When Poulsen clipped Cueva’s boot on 45 minutes, referee Bakary Gassama checked with the Video Assistant Referee and pointed to the spot for the second penalty awarded through the system of the day after France had also benefited against Australia.

Cueva took the spot-kick himself but his effort ballooned over the bar.

Just moments after Peru wasted a clear chance, when Cueva squared to Andre Carrillo who failed to connect, Denmark scored.

The ball was quickly moved forward and when Poulsen went one-on-one with Gallese, the darting Dane hit the net on 59 minutes.

Guerrero was in the thick of Peru’s bid to get level and his header fell into Schmeichel’s arms five minutes later.

Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen, who netted 11 goals in quali-fying for Denmark, had to busy himself in defence to snuff out Guerrero-inspired attacks.

With just over ten minutes left, Guerrero again went agonisingly close when he pushed his shot past the post as Denmark held on.

Peru pay the penalty as Poulsen nets match winner for Denmark

19SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2018 SPORT

Spain players show support for De Gea after blunder against PortugalAP

SOCHI, RUSSIA : David De Gea had a forgettable World Cup debut as goalkeeper for Spain but quickly turned his focus to the bigger picture for the national team.

“We didn’t even lose,” he said after Spain’s 3-3 draw with Por-tugal to open Group B.

De Gea had a blunder late in the first half that allowed Cris-tiano Ronaldo to score the second of his three goals on a rel-atively basic shot. It was Ronaldo who made De Gea’s first World Cup match miserable from start to finish night.

Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot in the opening minutes, and he finished his per-formance with a perfect free kick in the final moments to earn the draw for Portugal. But it was that middle goal, on the cusp of halftime, which a goalkeeper the stature of De Gea should stop - even if one of the world’s best players is taking the shot.

The ball was well struck with Ronaldo’s left foot, but De Gea failed to properly stay in front of the attempt and let it slip through for a 2-1 Portugal lead.

The gaffe wasn’t on the same level of the mistakes made by Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius in the Champions League

final, but it was still a big blunder on the biggest stage.

It was also the second mistake by De Gea in a short period. Although he was fantastic this season playing for Man-chester United, De Gea also allowed a soft goal in Spain’s warm-up match against Switzerland.

De Gea acknowledged his performance wasn’t stellar but noted the game was over and Spain must now ready to play Iran on Wednesday.

“Mistakes can happen to anyone. It was a difficult ball,” De Gea said.

“We have to keep training and keep working. We have an

important match against Iran coming up. If we win, we will be taking a big step toward qualifying.”

Fans were irritated with De Gea’s mistake, but he was quick to receive support from current teammates, both country and club. Juan Mata sent a message to his Manchester United

teammate on Twitter reading, “You’re the best, period.” Spanish captain Sergio Ramos tweeted, “It’s not about never failing, it’s about never giving up.”

Diego Costa, who scored two of Spain’s three goals, also expressed confidence in his goalkeeper.

“The great players can get

back up by themselves,” Costa said.

“He knows he has our support. He is one of the world’s top players. We know of his quality, how great he is. All I can do is give him a hug. I’ve had many bad games myself. This is a family. The people may not think it is from the outside, but we are a family. We have to move on and show that we are a family.”

De Gea seemed to appreciate the support from Costa, noting there had been criticism of the striker for his lack of goals prior to the Portugal game.

“It’s football,” said De Gea, “one day you are worthless, the next you are very good. We have to move on.”

Spanish coach Fernando Hierro, given the job 48 hours before the World Cup began, gave no indication he was con-sidering any sort of change to backups Pepe Reina or Kepa Arrizabalaga.

“We don’t have any doubts about De Gea and he doesn’t have any doubts about himself either,” Hierro said.

“We know being a goal-keeper requires special psy-chology. We know that it’s a dif-ficult position to play. But we harbor absolutely no doubts, quite frankly.”

Spain’s goalkeeper David De Gea (right) fails to block a second goal by Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo (not in picture) during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group B match at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi on Friday.

Ronaldo out to prove he can thrive in RussiaAP

SOCHI, RUSSIA: After conquering Europe with his club and his country, Cristiano Ronaldo is out to show he can also dominate on the world stage.

The Portugal forward hasn’t been at his best in past World Cups, but his opening hat trick in Russia is a sign that things are starting to change.

Ronaldo carried his national team on Friday, scoring all three goals in a 3-3 draw against Spain in Sochi.

“I’m happy, it’s my best per-formance in a World Cup,” Ronaldo said after the Group B match.

After only one game in Russia, Ronaldo has already doubled his total goals from previous World Cups. And with matches against Morocco and Iran coming up, he is already in good position to contend for this year’s “Golden Boot” trophy.

In the last 10 World Cups, only once has the top scorer had more than six goals in a single tournament - Brazil forward Ronaldo in 2002 with eight. Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez ended up with six goals in Brazil four years ago.

Ronaldo’s third goal at Fisht Stadium was a remarkable 88th-minute free kick that salvaged the draw. The perfectly taken shot - with the ball going over the wall and into the top corner - was the talk of the World Cup on Friday.

“When you play against a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, that kind of thing can happen,” Spain coach Fernando Hierro said. “With Cristiano, one moment of inspiration can be enough.” The goal allowed Ronaldo to join Ferenc Puskas as Europe’s top international scorer with 84 goals, matching a record that was set more than six decades ago. Ronaldo’s first goal had already allowed him to become the fourth player to score in four World Cups, joining Pele, Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler. He celebrated that goal by apparently implying he is the greatest player of all time.

“This is the work of many years,”

said the 33-year-old Ronaldo, who became the oldest to score a hat trick at the World Cup.

The World Cup hasn’t been where Ronaldo has impressed the most, though. While he was crucial for Por-tugal when it won the European Cham-pionship for the first time two years ago, and has been nearly unstoppable with Real Madrid in the Champions League in recent seasons, Ronaldo had only one goal in each of the last three World Cups.

He had yet to produce a blockbuster World Cup per-formance like the many he had over the years with Real Madrid in the Champions League, a tournament in which he is the all-time leading scorer with 120 goals - 20 more than Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo had nine goals in the four European Championships in which he played, including three in the title-winning campaign in France. One of his goals opened the way for the team’s 2-0 win over Wales in the semifinals.

“Cristiano has great physical strength but his mental strength is very impressive as well,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said.

“He has played at the highest level for a long time now.” Ronaldo’s per-formance against Spain came despite him arriving in Russia surrounded by distractions about his club future and a tax-fraud accusation back in Madrid.

On the eve of the match, Spanish media reported that Ronaldo agreed to plead guilty and pay a fine of €18.8m ($21.8m). Earlier, he had already been criticized for not saying whether he would continue at Real Madrid after the World Cup.

“People who criticize him must have some kind of a problem,” Spain striker Diego Costa said. “Every season he is scoring 40 or 50 goals. Cristiano is Cristiano, there’s nothing else to say about him.”

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It was a long shot but it happened: Iceland

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Ronaldo may be winking: Former

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20 SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2018SPORT 21SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2018 SPORT

Germany’s Manuel Neuer in action during a

training session in Moscow yesterday, on the

eve of their World Cup 2018 opener against

Mexico.

Germany start title defence against Mexico

Brazil’s forward Neymar

takes part in a training

session at the Rostov

Arena in Rostov-on-Don

yesterday, on the eve of

the Russia 2018 World

Cup Group E match

against Switzerland.

Neymar’s Brazil begin World Cup questAFP

SOCHI: For three months, a whole nation feared it might not happen, but Neymar will take to the field with his Brazilian team-mates when they kick off their World Cup campaign against Switzerland today.

The world’s most expensive player appears to have recovered fully from the fractured foot that required an operation in March, with the only slight concern being his possible lack of match fitness.

Since suffering the injury in Paris Saint-Germain’s game against Marseille in late Febru-

ary, Neymar has managed just 129 minutes on the

field.But those minutes

came in Brazil’s recent warm-up

friendlies, with a goal from the bench against

Croatia and t h e n a

brilliant strike in a win in Austria last weekend.

“After three months, and hav-ing played just a game and a half, he is already playing at a high level. Nobody expected that. Not even him,” Thiago Silva, a close friend of Neymar’s and a club teammate at PSG, said in a report o n B r a z i l i a n w e b s i t e Globoesporte.

The 26-year-old, who saw his time on the sidelines as one of the lowest points in his career so far, has looked in excellent spirits this week as Tite’s Brazil squad settle into their Russian base -- the speculation about his club future, and links with Real Madrid, seem far away right now.

Neymar has been laughing and joking with his teammates on the training pitch in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, and took time to sign autographs and pose for pictures with supporters at an open training session on Tuesday.

He will be in the starting

line-up in Rostov-on-Don, for what will be his first game at a World Cup since being taken off with a fractured vertebra in Bra-zil’s win against Colombia as h o s t s i n t h e 2 0 1 4 quarter-finals.

And Neymar’s importance in this new-look team -- he is one of only six survivors from four years ago -- is clear from the comments of his teammates in Sochi.

“Neymar is great, thanks to God,” goalkeeper Alisson replied to one question about their tal-isman, while Gabriel Jesus spoke of his admiration for the former Barcelona man.

“I got to know Neymar per-sonally at the Olympics. He treated me very well, and not only me, also my family and friends too,” he said.

“He is important off the field as well. He is always giving advice.”

“That is very important. I really believe that having a good relationship, considering one as

a brother, lifts you on the field. You run more for your friend.”

Brazil came to Russia among the favourites as they look to put firmly behind them the 7-1 semi-final humiliation against Germany four years ago.

While fellow contenders Spain have threatened to implode

with the sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the com-petition, Neymar and the Brazilians are relaxed and at home in pleasant surroundings in Sochi.

The lush green coastline and sea views are reminiscent of Bra-zil, the Selecao have been enjoying dining with views out over the Black Sea, and they also have access to the beach.

It augurs well for Tite’s side as they prepare to face a Swiss outfit ranked sixth in the world in their first Group E game before tackling Costa Rica and Serbia.

Winning a sixth World Cup is the objective, but Neymar will also have personal aims.

Last weekend he scored his 55th international goal, moving level with Romario in Brazil’s all-time list. There are now only two players left ahead of him.

A great tournament and he could catch Ronaldo’s tally of 62, before eventually targeting the 77 scored by Pele.

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MOSCOW: No one doubts Germany has a wealth of talent at its disposal for the World Cup - so much that Leroy Sane, Premier League young player of the year, didn’t even make the squad.

The world champion’s prob-lem this year has been getting all of its talent to work together on the field, and Germany has just one win in its last six friendly games, 2-1 over Saudi Arabia last week.

The German title defence starts with a familiar foe in Mexico.

When the two teams met in Russia last year in the Confeder-ations Cup semifinals, the Germans put a swift end to any Mexican hopes of taking the tro-phy. Leon Goretzka scored twice in the first eight minutes on the way to a 4-1 win in Sochi.

Now they clash today at Mos-cow’s vast Luzhniki stadium in one of the biggest draws of the group stage.

“We can’t underestimate them even though we managed to beat them decisively last year at the Confed Cup,” midfielder Sami Khedira said in comments via the German Football Federation. “We’re taking this task very, very seriously and even more seriously because it’s our first game at this World Cup.”

Mexico’s fans are divided over coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who led the team to first place in qualify-ing but has presided over some high-profile defeats in tournament play.

Finishing on top of Group F could be crucial for both teams.

Brazil is widely expected to finish first in Group E against Costa Rica, Serbia and Switzerland, and that would put Brazil in line for a second-round game against Group F’s second team. If the Germans drop points against Mexico, it

could lead them into an early rematch of the 2014 semi-final match with Brazil.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer insists he’s fit to play at the World Cup even though he’s missed most of the season with a hairline fracture in his left foot.

He played just four games all season for Bayern Munich, but returned to action for Germany’s friendly against Austria earlier this month. Neuer played the full 90 minutes. Against Saudi Arabia, Neuer and understudy Marc-Andre ter Stegen played 45 minutes each.

No one could accuse Oso-rio of lacking passion during games.

The Colom-bian - a former con-

ditioning coach at Manchester City - cuts a frantic figure on the touch-line and his temper has occasionally gotten him into trou-ble. Osorio was banned from last year’s Gold Cup after shouting at the fourth official when Mexico wasn’t awarded a penalty during the third-place game against Por-tugal at the Confederations Cup.

Germany’s 23-man World Cup squad includes just 10 of the play-ers who lifted the trophy in 2014. That’s partly due to the seemingly

never-ending waves of new tal-ent such as Julian Brandt and Timo Werner, who have both emerged since then, as well as the World Cup debut of Marco Reus, who would have played in 2014 if not for injury.

However, Germany’s lost many of its dressing-room lead-ers from 2014 and Neuer is captain. But he has been occupied by his own injury problems, and that has transferred more of the burden of leadership to Khedira.

Swiss determined to stop Brazil ‘playing like Brazil’AP

ROSTOV-ON-DON: Switzer-land’s coach and captain have told fans not to expect an enter-taining game against Brazil. Their goal is simply to deny space to the Brazilians.

“I’m not here to have a lovely game, but to win,” coach Vladimir Petkovic said yester-day. “Brazil has developed enormously (since 2014). Their style of game is much more European. I respect that. But I’m here to focus on my players and impose our style of game.”

Brazil returns to World Cup matches after its crushing 7-1 to Germany as hosts four years ago, and players have conceded that the Swiss - ranked sixth in world - will be hard to break down in the Group E match today.

Swiss captain Stephan Lich-tsteiner said defenders would be deployed to limit the movement of Brazil winger Coutinho and star forward Neymar.

“We’ll play our fullbacks down the wings, and use them as a weapon,” he said. “It’s prac-tically impossible to neutralize

a player like Neymar for the full 90 minutes. What we need to do is keep our concentration and close all the gaps on the pitch.”

Playing in their fourth con-secutive World Cup, the Swiss are aiming for a spot in the quar-terfinals. The team narrowly missed out twice in 2006 and 2014, and takes on Serbia and Costa Rica in the group stage.

Petkovic refused to reveal his starting lineup, but the coach has packed his midfield in recent friendly matches and opted for Haris Seferovic as a solo striker. That strategy has seen Die Nati win 14 out of their last 17 games and rise in the rankings above France, Spain, and Italy.

A former coach at Lazio, the Bosnian said he had tweaked training schedules to cope with the heat in Rostov that hit 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) yesterday.

But the Swiss have not com-plained about the weather.

“It’s hot. But we’re not look-ing for excuses,’ Lichtsteiner said. “We’re here to win the game.”

REUTERS

SAMARA: Serbia will come up against one of the World Cup’s toughest defensive units in Costa Rica today but coach Mladen Krstajic will look to midfield dynamo Sergej Milink-ovic-Savic to unsettle the Central Americans.

Milinkovic-Savic is one of the most sought after talents in Europe, whose stock will only rise if he delivers in Russia.

The Lazio man has been linked with many of Europe’s top clubs, including Manches-ter United and Juventus, after playing a pivotal role in the Ital-ian side’s qualification for the Europa League.

Despite having only four caps to his name, the 23-year-old looks set to start in a midfield three with experienced pair Nemanja Matic and Luka Milivojevic in the Group E clash in Samara.

Costa Rica boast one of the most miserly defences coming into the World Cup, conceding just eight goals in 10 qualification matches.

Their defensive organisation and resilience was also behind their historic run to the quarter-finals in 2014 and coach Oscar Ramirez will once again be look-ing to build from the back in Russia. Milinkovic-Savic, who scored 12 goals in Serie A last sea-son for Lazio, will likely play

behind Aleksandar Mitrovic on Sunday but Krstajic refused to put extra pressure on the pair.

“They are they are young, up and coming ambition players, who are proving themselves,” Krstajic told reporters.

“I do not see inordinate pres-sure on them, even through many people want to (put pressure on them) but they know what to do and are fully focused.”

Despite being highly rated after helping Serbia to win the

under-20s World Cup in 2015, Milinkovic-Savic only has four caps due to failing to impress former coach Slavoljub Muslin, who lost his job partly because he didn’t make the most of the midfielder.

“Milinkovic-Savic was at odds with Muslin before the match against Israel in 2016, when he came into the manag-er’s office to ask why he hadn’t been picked,” explained Serbian journalist Milos Markovic.

“Muslin claimed Milinkovic-Savic didn’t fit in his system but my personal view is that he couldn’t find a mechanism to cope with a temperamental young player.”

Since Krstajic took over in October, Milinkovic-Savic has featured three times, including the most recent friendlies against Chile and Bolivia.

Milinkovic-Savic, who is nicknamed ‘the Sergeant’ for his dominating displays, combines

a powerful, all-action style with lethal technique.

“The fans can’t wait to see him in action,” stressed Markovic.

“There is a universal opinion that he could be our ‘wow factor’ and a difference maker.”

All eyes will be on Milinkovic-Savic on Sunday as he looks to give Serbia the perfect start to their World Cup campaign and perhaps adding several more million onto his transfer fee in the close season.

Serbia look to unsettle Costa Rica with Milinkovic-Savic

Switzerland’s coach Vladimir Petkovic

(right) and captain Stephan Lichtsteiner

(left) react during a training session in

Tolyatti, Russia.

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Federer regains world No.1 rankingAFP

STUTTGART: Roger Federer staged a 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) comeback yesterday over Nick Kyrgios to reach the Stuttgart Cup final and take back the world number one ranking.

The 36-year-old Swiss will resume his place at the top of the ATP rankings for the sixth time in his career tomorrow, beginning a record 310th week at the summit of the men’s game.

His upward move will leave Rafael Nadal on second as the countdown to Wimbledon inten-sifies with a fortnight left prior to the start of the grasscourt major.

“I feel great, I’m very happy,” Federer said, adding that playing for the ranking in a smaller event gives the achievement more emphasis.

“It feels different to do it here, I feel really good about it. Getting there, especially with 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker added extra drama. I’m happy I was able to stay calm and play good tennis at the end.”

Top seed Federer will play for the 98th title of his career today against Milos Raonic.

The Canadian hammered 19 aces to eliminate defending champion Lucas Pouille 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

Federer stands 10-3 over Raonic, Wimbledon finalist in 2016 against Andy Murray.

The Swiss, who owns 20 Grand Slam singles titles, needed to fight all the way against Kyrgios, playing his first event in two months due to injury.

Federer dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker but roared back in the second with a pair of breaks to level at a set each.

The third set was tight all the way into the tiebreaker, with Federer erasing a 3-1 deficit.

The heavy crowd favourite at the Weissenhof Club earned a match point with a high overhead backhand winner and finished off the popular victory seconds later to the roar of fans after just under two hours.

Federer, who has now passed Nadal twice since Feb-ruary to take back the number one spot, said the excitement factor of the rankings dogfight cannot be overlooked.

“My season starts now. I’m playing next week (Halle) and Wimbledon. We will see about Canada (the Masters event in August). I don’t have much (schedule) wiggle room, I’m playing as much as possible.

“There was not a lot of talk about number one over the past four years, it’s been exciting over the last few months.

“These kind of matches (for the top spot) don’t come around so often. It’s great for the fans that it’s been going back and forth (between himself and Nadal). It’s quite fun at the moment.”

Raonic, plagued by injury over the past few seasons, is making his Stuttgart debut. The Canadian seventh seed feels his game is starting to fire again.

“I have nothing to complain about, everything is going pos-itive,” he said. “I’m playing better

with each match, I’m there at the important moments in the games, that’s an important thing.”

The 35th-ranked Raonic beat the second-seeded Pouille for the third time without a loss in the series and said he is not allowing any thoughts of Queen’s club next week or Wimbledon enter his mind.

“I’m just concentrating on the job to hand, trying to do it well. If I can play well, I’ll be having my chances on the grass.”

The Canadian saved the lone break point he faced while breaking Pouille twice.

“Reaching the final is an important step for me,” he said. “There is a big difference between playing a semi and a final. I’m making positive progress, I’m happy with it and hope to keep it up tomorrow.”

Raonic played his last final in May, 2017, losing in Istanbul to Marin Cilic. His last grass final came at 2016 Wimbledon in a loss to Andy Murray.

Murray to put hip to the test at Queen’sAFP

LONDON: Former world number one Andy Murray admits he will be battling his nerves as well as his body when he finally returns to action after almost a year’s hiatus at Queen’s Club next week.

The 31-year-old Scot has not played a competitive match since he was knocked out of the Wim-bledon quarter-finals last July as a hip injury brought a painful end to his season.

Murray -- who had targeted the grass court season for his return as he seeks a third Wim-bledon title -- underwent surgery on his hip in January

after pulling out of the Australian Open. But he has been practising regularly for the past fortnight and a final workout on Friday at Queen’s Club with fellow Briton world number 79 Cameron Norrie convinced him to return.

“I’ve been practising the last couple of weeks and obviously building up each day. I started playing sets about a week ago,” Murray said yesterday. “So, I played probably seven or eight sets, and I wanted to feel how I felt the following day after playing a couple of sets with Cam Norrie.

“I got tested by my physios this morning to make sure I hadn’t stiffened up and lost any

range of motion in my hip which can happen when you’re tired and the hip’s a bit angry.

“That wasn’t the case. That was all positive and I pulled up pretty well from that, so then I decided to go for it.”

Murray, whose other Grand Slam title came at the 2012 US Open, faces temperamental but talented Australian Nick Kyrgios in the Queen’s first round.

He has never lost to Kyrgios in five meetings, yet would not have picked him as his first opponent after such a long lay-off.

“He’s got a brilliant serve and obviously he’s very, very tal-ented,” Murray added. “He’s

unpredictable as well. The pos-itive is that there probably won’t be loads of long points.”

Murray had only been seen on court during an exhibition for charity against Roger Federer last November, and one exhi-bition set against Roberto Bautista Agut in Abu Dhabi in December.

The two-time Olympic singles champion had previously put off his planned return by withdrawing from the Rosmalen even and waited until 30 minutes before the Queen’s draw yes-terday before confirming his participation.

And, after such a long and frustrating rehabilitation period,

Murray admits it will be a tense moment when he gets back on the court to face Kyrgios, with the match set for tomorrow or Tuesday.

“Well it’s obviously eleven months since I last competed. So obviously I’m looking forward to it. There are a lot of doubts though as well when you’ve not played for a long time,” Murray said. “Coming back from injury you’re always kind of second guessing yourself.

“You never know exactly when you’re going to be ready, but I’m looking forward to getting back out there and com-peting, and hopefully playing well.”

Switzerland’s Roger Federer

returns the ball to Nick Kyrgios

in their semi-final match at the

ATP Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart,

southwestern Germany,

yesterday.

South Africa beat England to clinch rugby Test seriesAFP

BLOEMFONTEIN: South Africa took a winning 2-0 series lead over England by winning a full-blooded second Test 23-12 in Bloemfontein yesterday.

After trailing by 12 points early on, South Africa clawed to a 13-12 half-time advantage and dominated a second half in which England rarely looked like scoring.

A crucial score came on 50 minutes when South Africa were awarded a penalty try after the England scrum crumbled under pressure close to their tryline.

It was the 300th Test win by the Springboks since they debuted in 1891 and a wonderful way for loosehead prop Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira to cele-brate his 100th cap.

Winning also lifted South Africa four places in the world tankings to third.

England suffered a fifth Test loss in a row as they once again failed to build on a promising start during which they ran South Africa ragged.

The losing streak under coach Eddie Jones began last February in Scotland and France, Ireland and South Africa (twice) have beaten the Red Rose since.

South Africa captain and loose forward Siya Kolisi said: “It does feel good. It was really tough -- but we knew what we were coming into. The most important thing is the crowd -- thank you so much for coming out in Blo-emfontein. It was really important for us.”

Asked about a second under-whelming start in a row, Kolisi said: “I don’t know why. The coach always tells us that all he wants is intensity. As long as we have intensity, we can control the game. The most important thing is the character of the boys... coach Rassie Erasmus is a great leader, he keeps us calm.”

England captain and centre Owen Farrell said: “We lost momentum in that second part of the first half again. We will have to make sure we look back at it and see where we went wrong -- but there was some big moments in that game where we were not composed enough.

“I know the 2019 World Cup is a part of the big picture. We want to learn our lessons now, start winning now. We are going to have to regroup for next week,” he said.

Under-pressure Jones demanded a great start from his team to dent the confidence South Africa gained from a dra-matic 42-29 first Test win in Johannesburg last weekend.

And he got it as tries by wingers Mike Brown and Jonny May, one of which Farrell con-verted, lifted the tourists into a 12-0 lead on 13 minutes.

Brown and May went over in the opposite corners as England made a superb start, looking like a team fed up with the criticism of four consecutive Test losses since February.

As was the case last Saturday, the Springboks defence was in disarray early on, struggling whenever the Red Rose took the ball wide.

But just like last weekend, captain and flanker Siya Kolisi rallied his team and they were back in the game on 24 minutes when number eight Duane Ver-meulen barged over to score.

Fly-half Handre Pollard con-verted and slotted a close-range penalty soon after to trim the England lead to 12-10 with 30 minutes gone in a frenetic first half.

A minute before half-time, Pollard attempted a 60-metre penalty and to the delight of the Free State Stadium crowd the ball sailed over the bar for a 13-12 half-time advantage.

Cape Town will host the dead-rubber final Test next Saturday.

Sri Lanka fury as ‘ball-tamper’ row threatens TestAFP

GROS-ISLET, SAINT LUCIA: An apparent ball-tampering contro-versy threatened play on the third day of the second Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka yesterday with only an hour’s play possible on a bright, sunny morning after the Sri Lankans initially refused to take the field.

Following concerns raised by umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould about the condition of the ball nearing the end of the second day, the Sri Lankans were advised before the start of play yesterday that they could not continue with the existing ball.

This resulted in Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal declining to lead his team onto the field with the West Indies set to continue their innings at 118 for two in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 253. Animated discussions then ensued involving match referee Javagal Srinath and the Sri Lankan pair of coach Chandika Hathu-rusingha and team manager Asanka Gurusinha and it appeared for some time that the day’s play at least and possibly the rest of the match might be in doubt.

However it was after these deliberations that the Sri Lankans agreed to the change of ball and to continue playing although it is understood that they will be contesting the ball-tampering charge.

Five penalty runs were added to the West Indies total.After initially appearing to be prepared to resume the match,

the Sri Lankan cricketers then hesitated even as they were making their way out to the middle. Further discussions ensued which brought Srinath onto the field while the West Indies contingent, headed by team manager Rawl Lewis, coach Stuart Law and captain Jason Holder, appeared bemused by the entire situation.

Unconfirmed reports coming out from these deliberations suggest that the Sri Lankans were reluctant to continue the match under the cloud of suspicion of ball-tampering.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) confimed that a five-run penalty had been added to the West Indies total.

“The ICC can confirm the match officials in the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka changed the ball and awarded 5 penalty runs to West Indies,” the ruling body tweeted.

Lunch scores: Sri Lanka 253 (D. Chandimal 119 n.o., K. Mendis 45, S. Gabriel 5-59, K. Roach 4-49) West Indies 154-3 (D. Smith 60 n.o., S. Lakmal 1-16) Toss: Sri Lanka

England beat Australia by 38 runsAFP

CARDIFF: England beat Australia by 38 runs to win the second one-day international in Cardiff yesterday and to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Australia, set an imposing 343 to win, remained in the hunt while opener Shaun Marsh was making 131 before being bowled out for 304 as the world cham-pions suffered a seventh defeat in eight ODIs.

Earlier, dashing opener Jason Roy made 120 and stand-in captain Jos Buttler 91 not out in an England total of 342 for eight after Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss and fielded.

Roy returned to the scene of one of his greatest disappoint-ments to score a century as England piled up 342 for eight.

England were set for a colossal total at 253 for four off 40 overs. But Australia, without their injured Ashes-wining pace attack of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, checked the run-rate.

It was just over a year ago that struggling Surrey opener Roy, 27, was dropped from the England side. Roy regained his place in the England line-up and yesterday took advantage of a good pitch to score his fifth hundred in 60 ODIs.

It was also his first at this level since he made an England record 180 against world champions Australia in Melbourne in January.

EnglandJ Roy c Paine b Tye .............................................. 120

J Bairstow c Paine b K Richardson ......................42

A Hales b J Richardson ......................................... 26

J Root c Short b Stoinis ......................................... 22

J Buttler (not out) ...................................................91

S Billings b Tye .........................................................11

M Ali c Agar b J Richardson ................................... 8

D Willey c and b K Richardson ..............................11

L Plunkett run out (Short/Tye) ............................... 1

A Rashid (not out) ................................................... 0

Extras (LB5, W5) ..................................................10

Total (8 wkts) ........................................342Did not bat: M Wood

Fall of wickets: 1-63, 2-113, 3-179, 4-239, 5-289,

6-300, 7-325, 8-332

Bowling: J Richardson 10-0-64-2 (1w); K Richard-

son 8-0-56-2 (1w); Agar 9-0-52-0; Stoinis 10-0-60-

1; Tye 9-0-81-2 (3w); Short 4-0-24-0

AustraliaT Head c Hales b Wood ..........................................19

D Short c Root b Ali ................................................21

S Marsh b Plunkett ............................................... 131

M Stoinis b Plunkett ................................................ 9

A Finch lbw b Rashid .............................................. 0

G Maxwell c Willey b Ali ........................................ 31

A Agar st Buttler b Rashid ...................................46

T Paine c Rashid b Plunkett ..................................15

A Tye c Billings b Rashid ........................................10

J Richardson c Roy b Plunkett ............................... 2

K Richardson (not out) ........................................... 0

Extras (LB13, W7) ................................................20

Total (all out) ........................................... 304Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-77, 3-99, 4-110, 5-164,

6-260, 7-292, 8-293, 9-303, 10-304

Bowling: Willey 7-0-40-0 (1w); Wood 9-1-57-1

(4w); Plunkett 9.1-1-53-4 (1w); Ali 10-0-47-2; Root

4-0-24-0; Rashid 8-0-70-3 (1w)

SCOREBOARD

Warner to play CPL for St LuciaGROS ISLET: Banned Australian batsman David Warner will play for the St Lucia Stars in the Caribbean Premier League as he continues his attempt to rebuild his reputation after the ball-tampering scandal, it was announced yesterday.

The 31-year-old was handed a one-year ban from international and state cricket by Cricket Australia for his role in helping to devise a plan to rub sandpaper on the ball during a Test match against South Africa in March.

Warner has already agreed deals to play in lower-level Aus-tralian grade cricket and at a tournament in Canada in July.

S’Hertogenbosch ATP and WTA results

Men’s semi-finalsRichard Gasquet (FRA x2) bt Bernard

Tomic (AUS) 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2

Women’s semi-finalsAleksandra Krunic (SRB x7) bt Coco

Vandeweghe (USA x1) 2-6, 7-6 (7/4),

7-6 (7/1)

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) bt Viktoria Kuz-

mova (SVK) 7-5, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4

Stuttgart Cup results(x indicates seed).Semi-finals Roger Federer (SUI x1) bt Nick Kyrgios

(AUS x4) 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 7-6 (7/5)

Milos Raonic (CAN x7) bt Lucas Pouille

(FRA x2) 6-4, 7-6 (7/3)

England’s Liam Plunkett (left) celebrates taking the wicket of Australia’s Shaun Marsh (not pictured) at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Britain, yesterday. England won by 38 runs to lead the five-match series 2-0.

23SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2018 SPORT

Rugby: Sexton stars as Ireland end 39-year wait on Australian soilAFP

MELBOURNE: Fly-half Johnny Sexton starred as Six Nations champions Ireland beat the Wallabies 26-21 yesterday to end a 39-year drought in Australia and take their three-Test series into a decider.

Sexton, recalled after sitting out last week’s defeat in Brisbane, proved the difference with two conversions and four penalties as Ireland won their first Test in Australia since 1979.

The Irish, stung 18-9 a week ago, made eight team changes and frustrated the Australians into errors to take the series to a decider in Sydney next week.

The Wallabies scored three tries to two but the world number two-ranked Irish con-trolled the ball at the breakdown and profited from Australia’s ill-discipline.

Sexton controlled the game for Ireland in his recall after making way for understudy Joey Carbery in Brisbane last week.

“It felt like we had a lot of the ball and obviously it’s a lot easier with the ball, but at other times we needed to be better with our discipline,” Sexton said.

“It’s very pleasing to get a win. It’s a hard place to win in Australia, so it’s all down to next week now.”

Skipper Michael Hooper said it was a frustrating Test match for the Wallabies.

“We gave away a lot of pen-alties, the Irish capitalised on that. I thought they played a good pressure game and got the better of us tonight,” Hooper told reporters.

The home side paid dearly for their defeat with scrum-half Will Genia suffering a suspected broken arm and lock Adam

Coleman a possible fractured cheekbone.

Ireland led 16-14 at half-time and clinched the Test with a charging try from front-rower Tadhg Furlong -- his first for Ireland -- in the 54th minute.

The Australians fought back with a late converted try to Taniela Tupou, but the Irish defence held firm to close out the win.

The Wallabies got off to a flying start when Bernard Foley’s inside ball put Kurtley Beale into a gap and the inside-centre beat two Irish tackles to score under

the crossbar in the second minute.

But Ireland took quick advantage of winger Marika Koroibete’s yellow card for a lifting tackle when Conor Murray put wing Andrew Conway over in the right-hand corner to level the scores in the seventh minute.

Sexton kicked the Irish to a 13-7 lead with two penalties from Australian indiscretions before Koroibete returned to the field.

Sexton landed another penalty for a deliberate knockdown by Caleb Timu, with

Ireland dominating territory and possession. But the Wallabies were awarded a penalty try when a rolling maul was illegally brought down and Cian Healy was yellow-carded, reducing Ireland to 14 men.

The Wallabies suffered a blow when Genia went off late in the first half, to be replaced by Nick Phipps.

Ireland lost prop Healy with a knee injury shortly after the break, and wing Keith Earls lost the ball over the try-line as a scoring opportunity went begging. But Furlong’s first Test

try and a Sexton conversion pushed the Irish out to a 23-14 lead, which Sexton extended with a penalty in the 66th minute.

There was a late flurry by the Wallabies, with Tupou scoring after Irish replacement front-rower Jack McGrath received a yellow card for a deliberate knock down.

Ireland were on an unbeaten run of 12 internationals until last week, but they have now ended a losing streak of 11 straight Tests against the Wallabies in Australia.

Ireland’s Johnny Sexton kicks a penalty against the Wallabies during the second rugby Test match in Melbourne yesterday.

Italy beat Japan 25-22 in 2nd test to level seriesAP

KOBE: Italy clung to a shrinking lead in the second half to beat Japan 25-22 in the second rugby Test yesterday and level the two-match series 1-1.

Tries to winger Tommaso Ben-venuti, captain Leonardo Ghiraldini and flanker Jake Polledri gave Italy a 19-3 lead early in the second half. But Japan rallied strongly with tries to center Will Tupou and backrower Amanaki Mafi cut the margin to 19-17 after 66 minutes.

Italy flyhalf Tommaso Allan kicked two penalties to stretch his team’s lead to 25-17 and Italy held on despite a try in the last minute to Japan fullback Kotaru Matsushima.

Japan won the first test 34-17.For the second week in a row,

Japan produced a strong second-half performance but on this occasion it was not enough to overturn Italy’s large early lead.

In the first test, Japan led 17-14 at halftime, then pulled away steadily in the second half.

Italy took the lead in the 18th minute when fullback Jayden Hayward made a strong break near halfway and linked with flanker Sebastian Negri to create a try for Benvenuti, converted by Allan.

Ghiraldini scored in the 25th minute to make the lead 12-0 before scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka gave Japan its first points from a penalty.

Italy led 12-3 at halftime and extended its lead to 19-3 with Polle-dri’s try, under the posts, early in the second half.

Allan converted.Japan scored its first try through

Tupou after good work among its outside backs in the 60th minute. Mafi drove over only five minutes later and Japan had reduced the lead to two points and seemed to be fin-ishing more strongly.

All Blacks seal series over 14-man FranceAFP

WELLINGTON: New Zealand beat France 26-13 to clinch their three-Test series in unconvincing fashion yesterday after the luckless visitors had a man sent off on 12 minutes and saw two tries disallowed.

Benjamin Fall’s early red card for a dangerous challenge on Beauden Barrett effectively sealed the defeat for France, who were smashed 52-11 in last week’s opener in Auckland.

But Les Bleus toughed it out and after turning at 21-6 down, they won the points battle in the second half, capped by sub-stitute Cedate Gomes Sa’s richly deserved try after the final siren.

France were leading 3-0 when Fall took out Beauden

Barrett in mid-air and the All Blacks fly-half crashed head-first into the turf, later failing a concussion Test.

Australian referee Angus Gardner produced the red card as France, who complained bit-terly over a crucial yellow card in the opening Test, saw their hopes of an upset evaporate.

But they battled bravely, claiming 70 percent of pos-session in the second half of what was a messy, error-riddled game.

Fall’s departure had an immediate impact when All Blacks prop Joe Moody stood at first receiver in the next play and galloped 23 metres for a try.

In the opening exchanges, the French backed their attacking instincts to expose

holes in the All Blacks’ inside channels. Anthony Belleau and Kelian Galletier tormented the All Blacks, while Geoffrey Dou-mayrou all but scored when he lost the ball diving for the line.

But for all their enterprise, France only had a Morgan Parra penalty to show for their early domination and even before they were reduced to 14 men their lineouts and scrums were looking fragile.

Once Moody had put the All Blacks on the scoresheet, Ben Smith danced his way through some ineffectual defence to score their second try while Ryan Crotty, Rieko Ioane and Anton Lienert-Brown com-bined to put Jordie Barrett over on the stroke of half-time.

Damian McKenzie , Beauden Barrett’s replacement,

converted all three tries. But France refused to yield and they pressured the All Blacks throughout the second half, preventing them from unleashing the pace and accuracy that stunned the tourists a week ago.

The numbers evened out at 14 a side for 10 minutes just after the three-quarter mark when All Blacks replacement scrum-half TJ Perenara was yellow-carded.

In his absence, France replacement hooker Pierre Bourgarit, on debut, crossed the line but was called back for a double movement.

The All Blacks’ only points in the second half came with 21 minutes remaining when McKenzie weaved his way through to put Jordie Barrett

over for his second try.

It was coura-geous performance by France in which they won the admi-ration of the New Zealand crowd for the way they fought valiantly to stay in the game and con-trolled much of the second half.

There was also a degree of sympathy when Sam Cane, cast as a villain over a tackle in the first Test that left French wing Remy Gross with two facial frac-tures, escaped with only a penalty for a late charge on scrum-half Parra.

New Zealand’s captain Sam Whitelock holds the Gallaher Trophy after the second rugby Test match against France at Westpac Stadium in Wellington yesterday.

Fiji crush Georgia 37-15 to win Pacific Nations Cup

AP

SUVA, FIJI: Scrumhalf Henry Seniloli scored two first-half tries and his replacement Frank Lomani added two in the second half as Fiji overwhelmed Georgia 37-15 yesterday to win the Pacific Nations Cup for the fourth consecutive year.

Georgia led 15-10 at halftime but Fiji scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to com-plete a convincing victory. Centers Jale Vatubua and Semi Radradra also scored second-half tries, former league star Radradra touching down in injury time to cap a strong test debut.

Both teams came into yester-rday’s match with a narrow win in the first round of the four-nation tournament; Fiji beat Samoa 24-22 to take five cham-pionship points and Georgia beat Tonga 16-15 for four points.

Georgia looked strong in the first half but Fiji brought its big, ball-handling forwards and backs into the match in the second half to take control and end Georgia’s seven-match winning streak in international games. The teams will next meet at the Rugby World Cup in Japan in October 2019.

“This is the level we need to play every game and we managed to do it in today’s game,” Fiji captain Akapusi Qera said.

“We know we will get Georgia again in 2019 and that will be a different game.

“But it’s a boost for us as a new team and for some of the new players.”

Radradra was a strong runner in midfield and had a hand in the second try scored by Seniloli. Wingers Nemani Nadoli and Vereniki Goneva were also pow-erful with the ball in hand and lock Leone Nakarawa enlivened the match with his offloading skills.

Earlier, Tonga built a 28-6 lead then held on with 13 men to beat Samoa 28-18 in a match between the first-round losers.

Tries to wingers Viliami Lolohea and Cooper Vuna gave Tonga a 17-6 lead at halftime and they reinforced that advantage with a second-half try to Nili Latu. Scrumhalf Sonatane Takulua kicked two conversions and three penalties for 13 points.

Tonga will face Fiji in Lautoka next weekend while Samoa moves on in two weeks to Rugby World Cup qualifying matches on the back of successive losses in the Pacific Nations Cup.

“We didn’t get the outcome we wanted in terms of wins but I think we can take huge positives out of this,” Samoa captain Chris Vui said.

“We’ve shown that we can play rugby but it’s just those silly errors that cost us.”

France’s Kelian Galletier reaches for the ball with team-mate Paul Gabrillagues (back left) and New Zealand’s Scott Barrett (right) during the second rugby Test match at Westpac Stadium in Wellington yesterday.

AP

KAZAN, RUSSIA: Technology twice helped France at the World Cup yesterday as the 1998 champions laboured to beat a gritty Australia 2-1 in their opening game.

The French team was given a controversial penalty kick, eventually converted by Antoine Griezmann in the 58th minute, after the referee watched the replay of a foul on the sideline.

Paul Pogba later scored the winning goal in the 81st minute, and goal-line technology was used to confirm the ball had crossed the line after bouncing down off the crossbar.

“I’m not going to complain about the use of video today,” France coach Didier Deschamps said.

“It helped correct a mistake.” Pogba had been unim-pressive until the goal, but the Manchester United midfielder set up a 1-2 with substitute Olivier Giroud and beat Aus-tralia goalkeeper Mat Ryan to give France the victory.

Australia captain Mile Jedinak had briefly equalized from the penalty spot in the 62nd after France defender Samuel Umtiti handled the ball in the area. After a balanced first half in the Group C match at the Kazan Arena, France was awarded the first penalty fol-lowing a VAR review.

After checking images of a tackle from behind by Joshua Risdon on Griezmann, referee Andres Cunha pointed to the penalty spot.

“When I received the knock I believed there was a penalty,” Griezmann said. “The referee did not bow his whistle, so I moved on with that. But when

he went to see if there was a penalty I immediately thought about how I would take it.” Griezmann hit a powerful shot that left Ryan stranded, four minutes before Jedinak then sent France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way to put the teams level following Umtiti’s clumsy foul.

France had controlled pos-session and circulated the ball well before the interval, but

after four shots in the first eight minutes the French failed to get a single shot on target in the remainder of the first half.

It’s the ideal start for France, whose ambition is to finish at the top of a group that also includes Peru and Denmark. A win against the South Americans next would allow France coach Didier Deschamps to rotate his players for the final game.

Australia, whose goal is to

survive the group stage, will need two good results to escape elimination.

The French did not impress in the final third of the field and their defense often looked shaky.

Umtiti made a clumsy mistake when he jumped to clear a ball with both arms raised and touched the ball with his hand to concede a penalty. But the French showed guts to

secure the three points with a good pressing toward the end.

Australia delivered a gritty display that bodes well for its next two matches. The team’s defense is solid and they were unlucky in the end. They also have a skillful and inspired play-maker in Aaron Mooy.

Giroud and midfielder Blaise Matuidi had a big impact after coming in as substitutes during the second half.

Giroud delivered the assist that led to Pogba’s goal and Matuidi added some strength and pace in midfield after France looked bereft of ideas in that sector for long spells.

Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to represent France at a World Cup at 19 years, 178 days. He was 10 months younger than Bruno Bellone, who played at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

SPORT 24SUNDAY 17 JUNE 2018

Griezmann, Pogba on target as France squeeze past Australia

France’s forward Antoine Griezmann (right) is tackled by Australia’s defender Joshua Risdon giving a penalty opportunity to France during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group C match at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, yesterday.

Baby Bleus ‘must do better’, says DeschampsAFP

KAZAN, RUSSIA: Didier Deschamps has told France they “must do better” after escaping a humiliating draw with Australia in a 2-1 World Cup opener decided by VAR and goalline technology.

The tournament’s second-youngest team arrived in Russia with lofty ambitions 20 years after Deschamps captained Les Bleus to the 1998 World Cup title at the Stade de France.

But going on their

performance at the Kazan Arena yesterday, Peru will fancy their chances of causing an upset when they face a side brimming with talent but lacking “fluidity” and “speed” in key departments against a tough Socceroos side.

“It’s the World Cup, it’s the first match. But, yes, we must do better, and we can do better,” said Deschamps.

Struggling to break down a tough and physical Socceroos defence in a frustrating first half, it took a first, historic VAR

decision at the World Cup to hand France a lifeline.

Following an under-whelming opening half, Antoine Griezmann stepped up to beat goalkeeper Mathew Ryan from the spot on 58 minutes after Uru-guayan referee Andres Cunha used video footage to ascertain the Atletico Madrid star had indeed been fouled by Australia efender Josh Risdon. Although Australia captain Mile Jedinak levelled from the spot four minutes later following a handball by Samuel Umtiti, France snatched a lucky win when Manchester United star Paul Pogba’s deflected shot looped over Ryan in the 81st minute.

The “job got done”, reflected Deschamps.

But after highlighting opening match jitters, Des-champs refused to hit out at his misfiring front line of Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

“It was nothing to do with the fact we have a lot of young players,” said Deschamps in defence of a squad which, after Nigeria, is the youngest at the World Cup.

“In our last four World Cup campaigns we’ve only won our opening match once (in 2014, against Honduras).

“We’ve got the job done, because the first match is always very important, and this sets us

up well for the rest of the group.“It was a difficult, compli-

cated match against a tough Aus-tralian side.

“But we lacked speed in terms of moving the ball around or getting forward and that ben-efited Australia’s game.

“It wasn’t a great start for us... we should have pressed them a little higher, but even then we weren’t flowing well.

“Australia might not be a top European side but we can’t say they don’t have some quality.”

Although Griezmann wrote himself into the history books by becoming the first player to score at the World Cup from a VAR verdict, he suggested some of France’s World Cup débu-tants had suffered stage fright.

“For a lot of our players it was their first match (at the World Cup), but we know that, technically, we didn’t play to our potential,” he said.

“It was important to start with a win but we know there are a lot of things to improve, we struggled to find each other

during the game.“But we have nearly a week

before meeting Peru, so we hope to rectify that.”

France last played a south American side three months ago, a 3-2 defeat to Colombia in Paris.

Deschamps added: “Peru have a lot of quality. They’re a proud side who play with passion, and I’ve been told there’s 30,000 Peruvians in Moscow.

“We played Colombia in March, so we know the South American mentality.

France’s defender Benjamin Pavard (left) marks Australia’s forward Mathew Leckie during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group C match at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, yesterday.

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France’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (left) celebrates with coach Didier Deschamps during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group C match against Australia at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, yesterday.

FRANCE AUSTRALIA

2 1Griezmann - 58’

Pogba - 8162' PEN - Jedinak