Technology helps France tame Socceroos

KAZAN: France needed the help of the first World Cup penalty awarded after a video review and a deflected Paul Pogba goal to get their World Cup campaign underway with a scrappy 2-1 win over Australia on Saturday.

Striker Antoine Griezmann lashed home the historic spot kick in the 58th minute but Australia hit back with a penalty of their own when Samuel Umtiti inexplicably handled the ball in the box four minutes later.

Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak sent his French counterpart Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the spot to give Australia hope of forcing a draw at the Kazan Arena only for Pogba to grab the winner in the 81st minute.

Even Pogba’s goal might not have stood in the days before technology was brought into the game with the midfielder’s shot looping off the shin of Aziz Behich, hitting the crossbar and bouncing down inside the goal before coming back out.

Referee Andres Cunha, though, simply checked the goal-line monitor on his watch and pointed to the centre circle as Australia keeper Mat Ryan stood appealing with the ball in his hands. The Uruguayan official had earlier stood by the side of the pitch to watch the challenge by Josh Risdon on Griezmann on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor and decided the Australia right back had brought the French striker down in the area.

Technology was never going to rid football of controversy, however, and Australia coach Bert van Marwijk was not alone in thinking that it was not a foul with Risdon making contact with the ball before Griezmann tumbled over his trailing foot.

There was no doubting the quality of the approach play to Pogba’s goal, though, after he exchanged one-twos with two team mates to carve his way through the middle of the Australia defence.

It was a rare moment of fluency from the French, however, with the much vaunted attack of Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele unable to create opportunities when pace alone was not enough to get past the wall of Australian defenders.

The trio did do enough to ensure France had the better of the opening half but Australia had the best chance to score before the break when a deflection off Frenchman Corentin Tolisso from an Aaron Mooy free kick was well saved by Lloris. —Reuters

Ronaldo scores hat-trick but Portugal, Spain share points

SOCHI: Portugal’s irrepressible captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning late free kick to complete a World Cup hat-trick and rescue a 3-3 draw in an enthralling match against neighbours Spain on Friday night.

In by far the best game of the tournament so far, Spain forward Diego Costa notched a double before Nacho put them 3-2 ahead with a brilliant third only for Ronaldo to snatch a point.

Ronaldo, who took his tally to 84 goals in 151 games for Portugal, became only the fourth player to score in four World Cups after Uwe Seeler, Pele and Miroslav Klose. He had also scored in the last four European Championship tournaments.

Remarkably, the result left Iran top of Group B with three points after they earlier beat Morocco 1-0 thanks to a late own goal in a match which was pedestrian by comparison.

“I always believe in myself but obviously I want to emphasise the way the team played. We never turned away from the fight, “ said Ronaldo. “This was only the first match but we are going to believe until the end.”

Spain were still reeling from the remarkable decision to fire coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday, after the federation said he had negotiated a contract to take over at Real Madrid without their knowledge and replaced him with Fernando Hierro.

The match got off to an explosive start when Ronaldo beat Nacho on the left of the box with a stepover, was tripped and converted the penalty himself in emphatic style after four minutes.

Costa equalised in the 24th as he latched onto a long ball forward by Sergio Busquets, bundled off a challenge from Pepe, slipped through two defenders and slotted his shot past keeper Rui Patricio.

The goal was confirmed after a review by the video assistant referee (VAR), being used at the World Cup for the first time, for a possible foul on Pepe.

Spain appeared to be on top as Isco rifled a shot against the bar, only for Ronaldo to strike again one minute before halftime with the help of a blunder by goalkeeper David De Gea as the ball hit his hand and slipped agonisingly into the net.

Costa levelled from close range 10 minutes after the break and Spain went ahead for the first time with a remarkable strike from Nacho, who met the ball on the volley at an awkward height and sent an inswinging shot in off the post.

Incredibly, there was more drama to come as Portugal were awarded a free kick — won by Ronaldo — about 20 metres out in the 88th minute. Ronaldo rolled up his shorts, stepped forward and curled the ball around the wall into the top corner to set off delirious celebrations amongst the Portugal players and fans.—Reuters

Croatia too good for Nigeria

KALININGRAD: Croatia beat Nigeria 2-0 on Saturday with an own goal from Oghenekaro Etebo and a penalty from Luka Modric to go top of Group ‘D’, one of the toughest and most unpredictable in the World Cup.

Modric’s coolly taken 71st minute spot kick gave the scoreline a clear-cut feel, but the fact that Croatia failed to score on their own from open play was testament to some wayward shooting.

While dominating for long periods, they struggled to penetrate the Nigerian defence and failed repeatedly to find the target with speculative shots from well outside the penalty area.

The first goal came just after the half-hour mark when a Croatian corner from the right was headed across the box and on to striker Mario Mandzukic, whose diving header found its way into the net off Etebo’s foot.

Croatia and Nigeria had appeared evenly balanced, with the African side’s goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa untroubled by powerful but long-range shots from Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric — the first going over the bar and the second finishing wide.

Nigeria started the second half with intent as Leon Balogun headed over, but the first half pattern reasserted itself as Croatia imposed their authority while failing to land shots on target.

Their best chance fell to Ante Rebic, but his well struck volley zoomed wide of the goal as he ran onto a pass from Perisic.

Croatia again had their opponents to thank for their second goal, after William Troost-Ekong held Mario Mandzukic back in the penalty area by wrapping both arms around him from behind in a tight embrace that would have done credit to an amorous Cossack.

Modric strode up to stroke the ball low into the left-hand corner, giving Ezenwa no chance.—Reuters

Serbia dedicate goal to ailing official

SAMARA: As Serbia celebrated their 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in the World Cup on Sunday, the celebratory mood briefly turned somber.

Captain Aleksandar Kolarov was named man-of-the-match for his game-winning goal from a free kick early in the second half. But his thoughts turned to Goran Bunjevcevic, sporting director of the Serbian federation, who had a stroke last month and required emergency surgery.

Koralov dedicated both the win and his goal to Bunjevcevic.

“He’s had some health problems. We want to relay this message to him and his family that we are 100 percent behind him,” Koralov said.

Bunjevcevic, 45, played for the national team from 1998-2003, appearing in 16 matches. A defender, he played for Tottenham from 2001-06.

Following his playing career he was sporting director at one of his former teams, Red Star Belgrade, and another Serbian club, Zemun. He took his current post with the Serbian federation in August 2016.

Kolarov’s goal, which curled over the wall in the 56th minute, gave Serbia a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica at Samara Stadium in the team’s opening match in Russia.

It was Serbia’s first World Cup victory since 2010 against Germany in the group stage. Serbia didn’t qualify for the 2014 edition in Brazil.—AP

Poulsen strikes Denmark’s winner against Peru

SARANSK: Yussuf Poulsen redeemed himself by scoring the solitary

goal against Peru after giving away a first-half penalty as Denmark picked up a crucial victory in Group C to begin their World Cup campaign at the Mordovia Arena on Saturday.

Christian Cueva ballooned the spot kick, awarded after VAR consultation when Poulsen brought down the penalty-taker, just before halftime, the worst of several misses for Peru, who were returning to the finals after a gap of 36 years.

Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen, who had an otherwise quiet outing, set up the game’s decisive moment by threading an immaculate defence-splitting pass to Poulsen who beat advancing Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese in the 59th minute.

“Of course it was an emotional game,” Poulsen told reporters. “For me in particular, in the first half I made a penalty, I was the bad guy. Then I scored, I was the good guy.”—Reuters

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2018