A second-half goal by substitute Loic Remy earned France a 1-0 home win against the US on Friday, but Les Bleus failed to impress in their first preparation game for the Euro 2012 finals.
France, who booked their place for the continental tournament in Poland and Ukraine by topping their qualifying group last month, lacked creativity, but Remy’s strike saved the day on a cold night at the Stade de France.
The hosts dominated, but Juergen Klinsmann’s side could have been awarded a penalty in the 20th minute when Arsenal center back Laurent Koscielny, who had a night to forget, appeared to bring down Jozy Altidore in the box.
Photo: AFP
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Jeremy Menez proved a constant threat, but it was not quite enough as France failed to create clear chances.
Les Bleus had their best opportunity of the first half in the 37th minute when Franck Ribery broke down the left and set up Menez, whose swiveled attempt went over the bar.
France improved slightly after the break, coming very close when Karim Benzema’s header from an Adil Rami deflection hit the bar in the 55th minute.
One minute later, Tim Howard pulled off a great save to parry away a dipping Benzema free-kick.
Blanc made a string of changes around the hour, which bore fruit in the 71st minute when Remy collected a through ball from fellow substitute Marvin Martin, muscled his way through the defense and clinically fired home.
Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud earned his first cap in the second half and made some impact although he wasted a clear-cut chance in the closing stages.
The US lost 6-0 and 3-0 in their only two previous encounters with France in 1979.
? UKRAINE 3, GERMANY 3
Reuters, KIEV
Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine twice surrendered a two-goal lead against Germany as the first match in the newly-renovated Olimpiyskiy Stadium ended in a 3-3 draw on Friday.
A near-capacity crowd in the stadium that will host the final of Euro 2012 next year watched Ukraine lead 2-0 and 3-1 with goals by Andriy Yarmolenko, Yevhen Konoplianka and Serhiy Nazarenko, but Germany refused to be beaten and earned a draw with a Thomas Mueller goal after 77 minutes.
Yarmolenko opened the scoring after 28 minutes, tapping in from close range, before Konoplianka doubled the lead eight minutes later.
Germany replied with a Toni Kroos thunderbolt from the edge of the area after 39 minutes, but Ukraine went in at halftime with a two-goal cushion when substitute Nazarenko’s long-range effort flew into the top corner of the net.
The hosts nearly went further in front shortly after the break when Andriy Shevchenko’s curled effort was beaten away by Germany goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.
Simon Rolfes got on the end of a corner at the far to bring Germany back into the game after 65 minutes and a rampant Germany side then took control.
Last year’s World Cup semi-finalists grabbed a deserved equalizer 13 minutes from time when Mueller poked the ball past a defender and fired a shot into the net.
It was an entertaining start for the 68,000-seat stadium which has undergone a drastic and problematic 410 million euros (US$565 million) reconstruction since 2007 and was finally officially unveiled last month after major delays.
Ukraine are co-hosting next year’s finals with Poland.
In other friendlies, it was:
‧ Italy 2, Poland 0
‧ Georgia 2, Moldova 0
‧ Azerbaijan 1, Albania 0
‧ Hungary 5, Liechtenstein 0
‧ Burkina Faso 1, Mali 1
‧ Cameroon 3, Sudan 1
‧ Scotland 2, Cyprus 1
‧ Denmark 2, Sweden 0
‧ Belgium 2, Romania 1
‧ Netherlands 0, Switzerland 0
‧ Greece 1, Russia 1
‧ Panama 2, Costa Rica 0
‧ Mexico 2, Serbia 0
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Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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