France’s preparations for the World Cup suffered a reality check in Rades, Tunisia, on Sunday when the 2006 finalists had to come from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw against non-South Africa-bound Tunisia.
France turned up in Rades on the back of Wednesday’s confidence-boosting 2-1 win over Costa Rica in Lens.
As at Lens, France’s top scorer, Thierry Henry, found himself on the bench with manager Raymond Domenech preferring to start Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka.
PHOTO: EPA
Hugo Lloris was back in goal after having ceded his place to Steve Mandanda, who failed to advertise his claims against Costa Rica.
The rest of the side was the same as Domenech stuck with his new 4-3-3 formation.
The match was a personal milestone for Domenech, who drew level with former manager Michel Hidalgo’s record of 75 matches in charge of the national side.
The 58-year-old Domenech, who succeeded Jacques Santini after Euro 2004, is stepping down to be replaced by Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc after the World Cup.
France failed to assert as they had done on Wednesday last week and were behind by as early as the sixth minute when lax defending resulted in Isaam Jemaa tapping in past Lloris.
Tunisia had the French backline on the rack two minutes later when Ben Khalfallah charged goalbound unchallenged down the center in a one-on-one with Lloris, but the danger petered out after he elected to pass to his left with the move petering out.
France, notably with a searing shot from Franck Ribery that skimmed just wide of the near post, had their chances, but went into the break trailing.
Domenech tinkered with his second half cast list, introducing Henry on the left and debutant Marc Planus for Ribery and Eric Abidal.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
RSS