FRANCE TOP GROUP A WC QUALIFIERS’

An incredible long-range strike from Paul Pogba led France to a 1-0 win over Netherlands in a crucial World Cup qualifier in Amsterdam.


Pogba’s accurate shot, which appeared too hot for goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg to handle, was the telling blow in a clash between the two tough countries in Group A, leaving the hosts with the first World Cup qualifying loss since 2001.

France have now recorded three straight wins over the Dutch for the first time in their history.

“Paul is capable of and must perform better” Deschamps said after Pogba’s last international outing which he absolutely delivered for the team with his accurately launched rocket-kick. Laurent Koscielny took a square ball from Dimitri Payet while Pogba received the ball from him and aimed for the target under a little pressure.

The kick had a lot of power, Stekelenburg couldn’t handle the ball as it slipped beyond him while he dived to his right. The Everton goalkeeper had been stronger when keeping out Kevin Gameiro’s stinging drive in the early exchanges, as France consistently caused Netherlands problems on the counter.

Netherlands without the sidelined Wesley Sneijder, had their attacking options reduced especially when the injured Quincy Promes had to be substituted after just 15 minutes of playing. more

Didier Deschamps announce his team for the Euros

French coach Didier Deschamps has announced his squad for the Euros 2016 that will be taking place in France itself.

Among the notable absentees, we have Karim Benzema, who is suspended from the team after a blackmail scandal and Ben Arfa.

In fact, the biggest surprise is the absence of Hatem Ben Arfa, who has been quite prolific with Nice this season. Indeed, ever since he moved from Newcastle back to France, Ben Arfa has been scoring goals one after the another, and many would have thought that he would be in the team for the Euros. He is only named in the reserve side, and there will need to be an injury in the current squad for him to get a place at the Euros.

Didier Deschamps has argued that he has chosen not only the best players but also players that can play together. He said that he had chosen Olivier Giroud because he had scored 25 goals in all competition this season and the same thing goes for Griezmann. He believes that the forward players he has selected can play together and can help France go far in the tournament. Among the other forward players that have been selected by Didier Deschamps, we have Anthony Martial, Dimitri Payet, Kingsley Coman and Andre-Pierre Gignac. more