France Wins Its First Home Match Since Paris Attacks
France’s first match at its home ground since the Nov. 13 attacks in Parisended with a 4-2 victory Tuesday over Russia in a friendly game at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
N’Golo Kante celebrated his 25th birthday with his first international goal, putting the hosts in front with a clean finish after being set up by Antoine Griezmann.
Andre-Pierre Gignac, Dimitri Payet and Kinglsey Coman scored France’s other goals, while Aleksandr Kokorin and Yuri Zhirkov were on the scoresheet for Russia.
Security around the stadium was tight following the bombings on Nov. 13, when 130 people were killed on a night of attacks in Paris. Suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the stadium during France’s friendly against Germany, killing a bystander.
PORTUGAL BEATS BELGIUM First-half goals from Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal a 2-1 win over Belgium in a friendly game that was moved from Brussels after attacks in the Belgian capital killed 35 people.
DUTCH STOP ENGLAND The Netherlands stalled England’s momentum heading into the European Championship by coming from behind to win, 2-1, in an international friendly in London, with the substitute Luciano Narsingh scoring a contentious winner.
GöTZE LEADS GERMANY Mario Götze scored in his international comeback to help Germany beat Italy for the first time in more than 20 years, a 4-0 drubbing in their friendly in Munich. Götze, who had played only 53 minutes for Bayern Munich since a groin injury against Ireland on Oct. 8, headed Germany’s second goal before the break after Toni Kroos opened the scoring.
U.S. FAILS TO MAKE OLYMPICS For the first time in a half-century, the United States has failed to qualify for consecutive Olympic men’s soccer tournaments. Roger Martinez scored twice, the Americans Luis Gil and Matt Miazga were ejected and Colombia’s under-23 team defeated the United States, 2-1, in Frisco, Tex., to earn the last berth in the Rio de Janeiro Games with a 3-2 aggregate win.
CHINA ADVANCES China advanced to the final Asian qualifying round for the World Cup for the first time since 2002 with a 2-0 victory over Qatar in Xian, China. Second-half goals from Huang Bowen and Wu Lei were enough to defeat Qatar, the group leader, and send China to the last 12 as one of the best four runners-up from the eight groups, as the second round of Asian qualification concluded.
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO The Mexican Soccer Federation launched a campaign urging fans to refrain from antigay chants that drew fines from FIFA earlier this year. The campaign consists of 30-second videos in which popular stars ask fans not to engage in discriminatory behavior.
SOUTH AMERICAN RESULTS Lionel Messi scored his 50th international goal to help Argentina beat visiting Bolivia, 2-0, in a 2018 World Cup qualifier. The win put Argentina third in the South American group with 11 points from six matches, 2 points behind the joint leaders Ecuador and Uruguay. Ecuador suffered its first loss in the group with a 3-1 defeat in Colombia, while Uruguay scored a 1-0 home win over Peru. Dani Alves scored in injury time as Brazil fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with host Paraguay. (REUTERS)
