France, Portugal head for Euro 2016 final showdown

The Euro 2016 final on Sunday sees a match between hosts France and Portugal that will unleash a clash between one of the world’s greatest players ever Cristiano Ronaldo and would be pretender Antoine Griezmann.

After 50 matches over a month of football that has seen stunning shocks by Iceland and Wales, Ronaldo is counting on his side producing one more upset so he can finally win an international trophy.

Portugal will have to beat a French side who have found new inspiration from Griezmann — the tournament’s leading scorer on six goals — and being willed on by a nation avid to rediscover the feelgood factor.

With the country still on terrorist alert after the November 13 attacks in which 130 people died, more than 3,400 police will be on the Champs Elysees in Paris alone when the match starts at the Stade de France at 1900 GMT.

Rival coaches Didier Deschamps of France and Fernando Santos of Portugal have been desperately trying to shield their teams from the sky high hopes of two nations.

Deschamps, who captained the French side that won the 1998 World Cup and the Euro title in 2000, said he could feel the adrenaline pumping.

Deschamps wants to play

“It’s an exceptional moment, a privilege, a unique chance because there is a title at the end,” Deschamps said of the final.

“What you need to do is approach it as relaxed as possible while being at the same time totally focussed on the match,” he added.

“On the bench, there is a frustration in not taking part, but I can’t do that anyway. But I’m fine, I don’t feel any pressure, no stress, just adrenaline and that’s positive.”

France have put in some stylish performances, including their 5-2 win over Iceland to end the giant killing run of the team that dumped England out of the contest.

France captain Hugo Lloris said the team wants to put their name in the football history books to redeem themselves for a player revolt at the 2010 World Cup that made them a national disgrace.

The troubles were worsened by the exclusion of star striker Karim Benzema over an alleged sextape blackmail attempt.

“We have come through a crisis in French football,” the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper said. “We have climbed back up the slope, we have done it step by step.”

Lloris said that Sunday’s final is “the chance to go into French football history.”

France with home advantage in the 85,000 capacity stadium, Griezmann, star midfielder Paul Pogba and the calming influence of Lloris start as favorites.

But they acknowledge the omnipresent danger of Ronaldo on the pitch.

Santos has succeeded by building a team around the superstar striker and winning “ugly” when necessary to get to the next round.

Portugal’s 2-0 win over Wales in the semi-final was the first in the tournament achieved within 90 minutes.

Veterans such as defender Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma have played lynchpin roles on days when Ronaldo has failed to fire.

Portugal have been criticized for some of their European Championship performances but Santos said he does not care.

He also says France are the favorites but believes Portugal can win.

“Let them carry on saying that Portugal won without deserving it,” he said.

“I will be very happy if they say that again tomorrow. I will go home very happy.”

Portugal have never fully recovered from losing the 2004 Euro final to Greece when they hosted the tournament.

Ronaldo who shed tears as a 19-year-old at that match said this week he wants to be “crying with joy” on Sunday.

Ronaldo’s Real teammate Pepe is fully fit again after missing the semi-final through injury. Pepe said Portugal were strong because they want to win.

“I’ve been at a very demanding club for 10 years and I’ve been playing for Portugal since 2008,” he said when asked about his own ambition to win at the age of 33.

“I have three European Championship and two World Cup campaigns to my name.

“I have always been very demanding of myself. I don’t like to lose, I want to help my team. That makes me play at the highest level and to be recognized at the highest level.

“The most important thing is to always want more,” he said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Griezmann’s double gives France 2-0 win over Germany in semis

MARSEILLE, France—France is heading back to soccer’s elite, and Antoine Griezmann is the man leading the way.

Griezmann scored both goals to give France a 2-0 win over world champion Germany on Thursday and a place in the European Championship final against Portugal.

It was a victory built as much on German errors as it was on Griezmann’s skill, with a handball in the box and a poor defensive pass paving the way for his goals.

But that didn’t matter to the fans who made Marseille’s Stade Velodrome ring with the sound of the “Marseillaise,” France’s national anthem. Their team won this tournament in 2000, two years after lifting the World Cup, but it hasn’t had a trophy since then.

Developed as a player in Spain, Griezmann has been the star of the show for France, leading a high-scoring team with six goals, twice as many as any other player in the tournament.

“I think there’s a lot of happiness around France tonight,” said coach Didier Deschamps, whose team faces Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on Sunday at the Stade de France.

“This team has everything it needs to be loved, I’m very proud… It’s fabulous to be in the final.”

Griezmann, who could have completed a hat trick in the 86th minute but shot straight at goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, was already looking ahead.

“We’re very happy,” he said. “We have to keep our feet on the ground. We still have a match to go.”

For Germany, defeat cost it the chance to add the European title to the World Cup it won in 2014.

It had gone 50 years unbeaten against host nations at major tournaments, dating back to its loss to England in the 1966 World Cup final and encompassing a famous 7-1 humbling of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semifinals.

While a repeat of the Brazil rout was never on the cards, Germany could have scored more than once as it dominated the first half. But it was denied by poor shooting from Thomas Mueller, who ended his tournament scoreless, and a save by Hugo Lloris to block Emre Can’s bouncing shot.

France took the lead from the penalty spot in first half stoppage time after Bastian Schweinsteiger handled the ball in an aerial challenge with Patrice Evra.

Griezmann stepped up to score, striking the penalty hard to Neuer’s right.

“I really wanted to take a penalty in a big match like that. I was very composed, I didn’t think twice,” Griezmann said.

It was the second time in as many games that Germany had given away a spot-kick for handball. Jerome Boateng blocked the ball with an arm above his head in the quarterfinal against Italy.

“It’s just bad luck, just an unlucky action,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said of the penalty. “In a challenge, when you’re jumping, there are movements that you can’t really control.”

Trailing in a match for the first time in the tournament, Germany could not recover its previous dominance after halftime. It then had to cope with losing key defender Boateng, who picked up an ankle injury after an hour.

The German defense had not conceded from open play all tournament, but it fell apart for Griezmann’s second goal in the 72nd minute. A sluggish pass by Benedikt Hoewedes to right back Joshua Kimmich was cut out by Paul Pogba and Neuer could only palm away the midfielder’s cross to Griezmann, who finished with ease.

Germany responded well and could have pulled one back when Kimmich hit the post, before Julian Draxler sent a free-kick narrowly wide and Hoewedes headed over.

“We had chances to come back,” Neuer said. “We played a good European Championship and it’s very bitter to go out.”

Loew insisted his team had played better than France but had been denied by “bad luck,” including the injuries and suspensions that hit four key players – Boateng, as well as defender Mats Hummels, midfielder Sami Khedira and forward Mario Gomez, with the latter three missing the game.

Loew, who is under contract until the 2018 World Cup, said he was not sure of his future.

France, while not always reassuring in defense, came through victorious in its first game of the tournament against genuinely top-class opposition.

After the final whistle, France’s jubilant players celebrated with the fans by performing the “Huh” chant made famous at the tournament by Iceland.

Across France and in the French team, the attention was firmly on the diminutive Griezmann after another decisive performance. “He’s our little man that gives us that bit extra,” teammate Olivier Giroud said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Hector the hero as Germany sink Italy in shoot-out

Jonas Hector fired Germany into the Euro 2016 semi-finals at Italy’s expense after an epic round of 18 penalty kicks that saw players from both sides produce stunning misses in Bordeaux on Saturday.

World Cup holders Germany won the shoot-out 6-5 after a tense match finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes and extra time, beating old foes Italy at a major tournament for the first time in nine attempts.

Their reward is a semi-final with the winner of Sunday’s last quarter-final between hosts France and Iceland.

Joachim Loew’s side had appeared to be heading for the win after Mesut Ozil gave them a 65th-minute lead, but Italy equalized through a Leonardo Bonucci penalty 12 minutes from the end of normal time after a Jerome Boateng handball.

With no goals in extra time, Ozil, Thomas Mueller and Bastian Schweinsteiger all failed from the spot for Germany, usually so reliable from 12 yards.

But after Simone Zaza and Graziano Pelle missed for Italy and Bonucci was denied by Manuel Neuer, Matteo Darmian’s failure to convert the Azzurri’s ninth kick allowed Hector to become Germany’s hero.

“It’s hard to put it into words, but I am overjoyed that it went in,” said Hector.

“There weren’t many people left. I knew I had to take one at some point and I had my heart in my mouth. We’re happy to have gone a round further, it was really stressful and of course luck played its part.”

Italy’s campaign had shown promise with wins against Belgium and over Spain in the last 16, and coach Antonio Conte said: “I’m very proud of what the team achieved here.

“The only regret is the penalty kicks. But for commitment to the shirt, I can’t fault them.”

The game had been billed as the pick of the quarter-finals, but large spells of the game in Bordeaux were uneventful.

Germany talisman Schweinsteiger again started on the bench but was introduced after quarter of an hour to replace Sami Khedira, who came off with a groin injury.

Schweinsteiger found the net just before the half-hour mark but his effort was disallowed for a foul on Mattia De Sciglio.

Germany change approach

Loew had sprung a surprise by moving away from his usual 4-2-3-1 formation in favour of a 3-5-2 to replicate the Italian set-up, dropping the previously excellent Julian Draxler as a result.

Germany went on to dominate possession but Gianluigi Buffon was untroubled by a Mario Gomez toe-poke while the veteran goalkeeper also easily saved from a Mueller shot late in the first half.

Italy responded in kind, Emanuele Giaccherini seeing his cutback go all the way to Stefano Sturaro, whose low drive had power but was deflected behind for a corner.

Germany moved up a gear immediately after the restart, Gomez smartly laying the ball off for Mueller to hit a left-foot drive that was turned behind by the backtracking Alessandro Florenzi.

The opener arrived soon after as Gomez pounced on some slack defending by Florenzi before finding Hector in space to the left of the penalty box.

The full-back’s attempted cutback came off Bonucci but fell to Ozil, who fired past Buffon from close range to give Germany the lead.

They could have gone further ahead when Ozil found Gomez in space with a great chip, but Buffon superbly saved the striker’s outrageous flick from close in and the offside flag came up anyway.

Italy looked down, but they were not out.

An unmarked Pelle got his left foot to Florenzi’s low cross but fired off target, and minutes later the Azzurri pulled level after the ball came off the arm of Boateng in the area.

Hungarian referee Victor Kassai immediately pointed to the spot and Bonucci stepped up to beat Neuer low to the goalkeeper’s left to spark wild celebrations.

It was the first goal Neuer had conceded at the tournament after four successive clean sheets.

There was a minor scare for the Germans with three minutes left when Eder found De Sciglio on the left and the AC Milan midfielder saw his powerful drive ripple the side-netting.

Into extra time they went and Germany came closest in the additional half hour, substitute Draxler pouncing on a poor headed clearance from Andrea Barzagli to send an overhead kick just over, before both sides settled for penalties and the drama that ensued.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Euro 2016: Ronaldo hails ‘insane’ draw as Portugal progress

Man-of-the-match Cristiano Ronaldo called Portugal’s 3-3 draw against Hungary “insane” as his side scraped into the last 16 of Euro 2016, thanks to his two record-breaking second-half goals.

Ronaldo opened his account in style with a deft backheel flick on 50 minutes before a bullet header 12 minutes later to twice equalize at the Stade de Lyon.

The goals made the 31-year-old the first player to score in four European Championships.

The result made Hungary unlikely Group F winners in their first international tournament for three decades.

Portugal squeezed through as one of the best third-place finishers but now face a tough last 16 match against Croatia in Lens on Saturday.

“It was an insane match,” said Ronaldo as Portugal equalized three times in sweltering conditions.

“We had to chase down the match, it was very hot, but the main goal was to qualify.

“Of course, we wanted to win and qualify in first place, but the main thing is we’re through.”

Following their draws with Iceland and Austria, Portugal’s captain showed signs he was feeling the pressure, throwing a TV reporter’s microphone into a lake on the morning of the game in Lyon.

But he delivered when it mattered as Portugal equalized three times in a match that was not for the faint-hearted.

The Real Madrid ace set another record by making his 17th appearance at Euro tournaments.

“These are just more records, but like I always say that comes naturally,” he said.

“I can’t say I’m not happy, these are good records, but the priority was to make it through to the 16.”

Ronaldo rated his side’s chances as “50/50″ in the last 16 as a talented Croatia side shocked defending champions Spain to reach the knock-out phase on Tuesday.

“We made it and now we face a very good team, but the odds are 50/50,” he said.

“Croatia are a tough team, with good players. Not every team manages to beat Spain.

“We respect them, but we know our strength and we’ll look them in the eye when we face them.”

Ronaldo praised his side for fighting back each time they were facing elimination.

“The bottom line was to qualify, we thought we’d done it in second place, but Iceland scored late on and we finished third,” he said,

“We attacked, Hungary attacked.

“The team was in dire straits, three times we were about to go home, but we came back each time.”

source: sports.inquirer.net