WORLD CUP BRIEFS
Deschamps stands by Lloris despite new mistake
France manager Didier Deschamps defended Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris after his side were held 1-1 by the United States in Lyon. Lloris, pictured above, failed to keep out Julian Green’s shot at his near post, which he appeared to have covered, as the US took a shock first-half lead with their only attempt on goal. Kylian Mbappe fired home a second-half equaliser, but Les Bleus squandered several other chances and were well below-par in their final warmup match before the World Cup finals. Lloris has come under scrutiny in the Premier League this season after making several errors for Tottenham, which directly led to goals. “Everyone will have their own analysis of Hugo’s season,” Deschamps told a postmatch press conference. “Yes, he made three errors with Tottenham that cost goals – [but] he played 60 games, he also earned points for Tottenham, as he made points for the team of France. Tonight, obviously he knows it, he can do better on the goal that we conceded, even if there is an error of Djibril Sidibe before. But I’m not here to question everything. He has a long, painful season, he’s going to get on with it too.”
President Macron targets last eight as visiting time
French president Emmanuel Macron said he would go to Russia “when France reached the quarter-finals” in a television interview yesterday. “I will go to support them,” Macron told the Telefoot weekly programme, without allowing for the possibility that France might be knocked out before then. Macron also envisioned himself alongside manager Didier Deschamps in the French dressing room in Moscow before the final on July 15. “First I’ll let Didier Deschamps talk to them and I’ll think very hard about the three words... ‘Unity, effort and confidence,”’ Macron said, repeating the phrase he used when he visited Les Bleus last Tuesday at their training centre in Clairefontaine, near Paris.
Young impressed by the team spirit England have
Ashley Young says England’s “unbelievable” team spirit, togetherness and winning mentality is better than anything he has seen before with the national team. Anticipation for the Group G opener against Tunisia on June 18 goes up a notch when Gareth Southgate’s men jet out to Russia tomorrow to continue a preparation camp that has so far impressed in terms of quality and kinship. The England manager has spoken glowingly about the way his players have come together and the group’s elder statesman echoes those sentiments. It is 11 years since Young won the first of 34 caps for his country, which came during a time where cliques and club rivalries were said to have been prevalent in the national squad. “I would say it is different,” Young said. “I think a lot has been said about staying in cliques and teams staying in teams, but I’ve not seen that at all here. Everyone gets on with everyone, and there is not a bad person in the squad. Everybody wants the end result, and everyone wants to go and win.”
Irvine believes Australia improving at the right time
Australia defender Jackson Irvine believes he and his teammates are developing a ruthless edge just in time for the World Cup. The Australians were unconvincing 2-1 winners over Hungary on Saturday in Budapest, but Irvine felt the result showed a sign of growth in the side before they take on France in their opening game in Russia on Saturday. “I think it’s maybe a game we might not have always won in recent times and I think that shows how far we’ve come,” Irvine said. “We’ve always had a very good mentality of not losing games but maybe sometimes we’ve drawn games, that we [maybe] haven’t played particularly well and couldn’t quite nick that win.”
Aspas optimistic goal will increase Spain’s belief
Iago Aspas hopes his matchwinning strike in Spain’s final World Cup warm-up match against Tunisia on Saturday will build confidence heading into the tournament as they bid to win it for a second time in eight years. Spain secured a 1-0 victory as Aspas, below, came off the bench to fire home with just five minutes remaining. Julen Lopetegui’s side laboured to a 1-1 draw with Switzerland last weekend and needed a late winner from Celta Vigo forward Aspas to beat Tunisia in Krasnador. They head into their Group B opener with rivals Portugal next Friday not in the best form – but with Aspas wanting to use this latest win as a morale boost. “It’s a victory that will build confidence,” the 30 year old said. “I don’t think we’ve been as solid with the ball as we wanted. I think we had better performances in qualification than in these two matches. We really want to start the World Cup with a good taste in our mouths.”