ST. PETERSBURG: Les Bleus beat Uruguay 2-0 in their quarterfinal to set up the last-four clash against neighbors Belgium, who beat Brazil 2-1 in their quarterfinal.
They go in as slight favorites but with so many of the players familiar to each other there is very little the two sides do not know about each other.
For Giroud that means one thing: It is going to be a tense battle, which will seem like a derby match.
“We don’t want to have them taking the mickey out of us. There is a big rivalry between France and Belgium, it’s like a derby match,” the France striker said.
And the presence of French World Cup winner Thierry Henry on the Belgian coaching staff as one of Roberto Martinez’s assistants adds extra spice to the occasion.
“It will be bizarre to have him up against us,” Giroud said.
“He is a living legend of French football. He has given so much to the France team and we have got a lot of respect for what he has done. But we’re not thinking about it too much, we’re going to be focused on the pitch and our game.”
“Of course I would prefer it if he were with us and he were giving me his advice, but we mustn’t be jealous.”
The slick Belgium side, which boasts the talents of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, are the only team to have won all their matches in Russia and are the top scorers, with 14 goals.
Confidence is sky-high after they beat Brazil in the quarterfinals but they will come up against formidable opponents in France as they try to reach their first World Cup final.
“The players have been working together extraordinarily well for many years, and they deserve to be exactly where they are today,” Martinez said.
“I feel that the most important aspect we worked on was the notion of being a team. Individual skills and talent are important, but in these tournaments, it’s absolutely necessary to play as a team.
“It’s a trip into the unknown. We’ve never been in such a situation, and that’s why we need our team spirit more than ever against France. We need to be the best version of ourselves.”
Kylian Mbappe was lethal in France’s 4-3 second-round win over Argentina, using his pace to devastating effect, but Martinez said his side would not make the mistake of focusing solely on one player.
“Both (teams) have the right mix of youth and experience and also lots of individual talent,” he said.
“We will need to anticipate (Mbappe) and be well-positioned. We need to defend spaces more than the player himself. We are not going to forget the others since France have a complete attacking pattern.
“These players need to play without fear to keep all options open. Like a voyage to the moon: We need to face it full of illusions.”
Olivier Giroud tells France teammates to prepare for World Cup ‘derby match’ against Belgium
Olivier Giroud tells France teammates to prepare for World Cup ‘derby match’ against Belgium
‘Worst’ Australian team in 15 years retains the Ashes against England
- It took all of 11 days — two in Perth, four in Brisbane and almost a full five in Adelaide — not quite a record for clinching an Ashes series but not too far off
LONDON: Apparently, the worst Australian cricket team in 15 years just won the Ashes with two matches to spare against the best England squad assembled since 2011.
Long-time protagonist Stuart Broad lit the fuse ahead of a volatile contest for the longest-running rivalry in test cricket when he described the host squad as the worst to contest the Ashes in Australia since England won the 2010-11 series Down Under.
The 167-test veteran played two matches for England in that winning series.
Since then, a drought has extended to 16 losses, two draws and no wins for England on Australian soil.
Marnus Labuschagne, who produced a spectacular catch to help hasten the end of England’s dogged last-day comeback in the third test on Sunday, reflected on the pre-series pronouncements by Broad and others.
“Have to say, being called the worst Australian team in 15 years … like it’s nice to be sitting where we are, 3-0 up,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “The job’s not done yet. We want to make sure it’s 5-0 and really take that urn.”
It took all of 11 days — two in Perth, four in Brisbane and almost a full five in Adelaide — not quite a record for clinching an Ashes series but not too far off.
Chasing what needed to be a world record for victory, England was all out for 352 in pursuit of 435, giving Australia an 82-run win. By going the distance, the third test drew a total crowd of 223,638.
The Barmy Army of traveling England supporters was in full voice as England took the record-chasing fourth innings into the penultimate session at the Adelaide Oval, but ultimately it was the Aussies crowing about yet another dramatic win.
It’s true, Australia had a patched-up squad, with skipper Pat Cummins missing the first two tests while he continued recovery from a back injury. Josh Hazlewood was ruled out for the series. That left Mitchell Starc as the only member of the regular pace triumvirate available for the first two tests. When offspinner Nathan Lyon was dropped for the second test, Starc was the only member of Australia’s longtime bowling quartet in the lineup.
He led from the front, with two man-of-the-match performances. With three of the last four wickets in Adelaide, he has 22 for the series and 51 for the calendar year.
“We just found a way, which I think is a feature of this group over a number of years now,” Starc said. “Even at times where it’s not going our way, we can find a way to get ourselves over the line.”
In the batting lineup, there were questions over who would open and who would bat at No. 3. Steve Smith led the team in the absence of Cummins in Perth and Brisbane but was ruled out of the third test because of vertigo. Usman Khawaja was rushed back into the lineup to replace him and helped hold things together in the first innings.
Cummins said the Australian players took the attitude of just playing what’s in front of them.
