Tag: France

  • France players happy Benzema out of World Cup squad – Lugano

    France players happy Benzema out of World Cup squad – Lugano

    Former Uruguay captain and Paris Saint-Germain defender Diego Lugano believes that Karim Benzema is not liked within the French squad.

    The Real Madrid attacker had to withdraw from their World Cup squad due to an injury on the eve of the tournament.

    However, Lugano believes the Real Madrid star’s exit may be a blessing in disguise for Les Bleus.

    “I am certain, because I was a team-mate to some [France players] that they are very happy with the departure of Benzema,” he told ESPN.

    “[That kind of reaction] would never happen in Uruguay, Brazil or Argentina.

    “It depends a lot on the way the team was put together and on the care that the coach has with the player profiles, not only technical, but personality.

    “It has a lot to do with that.”

  • Arsene Wenger reveals 2022 World Cup favourites

    Arsene Wenger reveals 2022 World Cup favourites

    Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has declared France as favourites for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

    Wenger told wettbasis.com: “My number one favourite is France.

    Not because I’m French by birth, but because this Equipe Tricolore has the best offence.

    “If Didier Deschamps manages to ensure the necessary stability on the defensive, then the reigning world champion will have a good chance of successfully defending his title.

    “In the past 12-15 months, the Brazilian national team has made the best impression. A very experienced side with a leader like Neymar who has been in fantastic shape for the last six months.

    “Argentina will certainly also be a factor to be reckoned with. Lionel Messi will do everything to break this curse and finally become world champion.”

  • WATCH VIDEO: France’s president, Emmanuel Macron slapped again

    WATCH VIDEO: France’s president, Emmanuel Macron slapped again

    The President of France, Emmanuel Macron on Sunday faced an embarrassing moment once again after he was slapped in the face by a protester.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this would be the second time in two years Macron would be slapped in the public glare.

    In a video that is now viral on Twitter, Macron, dressed in a white shirt and a pair of black trousers with a nose mask, was slapped by a woman before she was overpowered by the president’s guard.

    It took the efforts of the security guards to shield Macron from being further assaulted by the woman, as seen in the video attached below.

    Recall French President Macron was slapped in the face by a man in a crowd on June 8, 2021, evoking a global uproar. The man, later identified as Damien Tarel, was tried in court and sentenced.

    Watch video below:

  • Qatar 2022: Pogba will be a big miss – France captain, Lloris

    Qatar 2022: Pogba will be a big miss – France captain, Lloris

    France captain Hugo Lloris says Paul Pogba’s absence from the World Cup will be a blow for the Les Bleus.

    The Juventus midfielder is out of Qatar 2022 after undergoing knee surgery.

    Lloris said, “There was always hope of seeing him again. He is a very important player, more than important for the team.

    “He’s been struggling with injuries for a few months, he didn’t play much last season. Of course, it will be a big miss.

    “Now the coach will make his choices. When you start a competition, you have to have great confidence in all the players selected. Then it will be up to all the selected ones to create this synergy and to make us strong together.”Fr

  • World Cup: Paul Pogba to miss Qatar 2022

    World Cup: Paul Pogba to miss Qatar 2022

    France midfielder Paul Pogba will miss their FIFA World Cup title defence after failing to recover from knee surgery in time for the tournament in Qatar, his agent has said.

    Pogba had an operation on a damaged meniscus in September but his agent Rafaela Pimenta said that, following a medical review, he would not be able to return to action for now.

    He said Pogba would not be able to return to the Juventus squad or join up with France before the Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 World Cup.

    “Following Sunday and Monday’s medical review in Torino and Pittsburgh, it is extremely painful to inform that Paul Pogba will still need recovery time from his surgery,” Pimenta said.

    “For this reason, Paul will not be able to join the Juventus squad before the World Cup break nor the French national team in Qatar. If wishful thinking would change things, Paul would be playing tomorrow.”

    The 29-year-old Pogba’s hopes of returning to action with Juve before the World Cup were shot down early in September.

    That was when manager Massimiliano Allegri said the Italian club would realistically get him back only in January.

    Pogba moved back to Juventus in the close season after his contract with Manchester United expired.

    But he has yet to feature for the Serie A club after sustaining the knee injury during their pre-season tour.

    Juventus released a statement saying “in (the) light of recent radiological examinations… (Pogba) needs to continue his rehabilitation programme.”

    France had already lost Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, who was ruled out for four months after having an operation on a hamstring injury this month.

    Pogba was one of France’s most influential players in their 2018 World Cup triumph, scoring in the final victory over Croatia as they won the title for the second time.

    France, who are in Group D at this year’s World Cup, begin their campaign against Australia on Nov. 22 before playing Denmark and Tunisia.

  • I’m not too far from returning to coaching – Zidane

    I’m not too far from returning to coaching – Zidane

    Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has revealed he will return to coaching soon.

    Zidane has remained out of football since leaving Real at the end of the season 2020/21 season.

    “When will you see me on a bench again? Soon soon. I’m not far from doing it again,” declared Zidane.

    Zidane assured that right now he is “enjoying” his life away from the bench, but he also added that he is not “far” from returning to work as a coach.

     

  • Confusion over Atiku’s health as aide insists, he travelled over biz deals

    Confusion over Atiku’s health as aide insists, he travelled over biz deals

    There is panic over the exact reason for the trip of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, to Europe.

    While a statement said he travelled on business in the middle of campaigns, the All Progressives Congress said he collapsed and was flown out.

    A statement by the Media Adviser of the former Vice President, Mazi Paul Ibe, on Tuesday said Abubakar travelled to Europe on business.

    The statement said: “Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has travelled to Europe on business.

    However, one of the spokespersons of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, claimed that Abubakar collapsed after his trip to Kaduna, Kaduna State and had to be hurriedly flown out.

    In the claim on Twitter, Fani-Kayode tweeted: “After his outing in Kaduna yesterday @atiku fell ill.

    “He complained of dizzy spells& severe pains in his head& all over his body throughout the flight to Abuja.

    “After landing at Abuja airport he collapsed.

    “He was flown to Paris for medical attention immediately.

    “God be with him.

    “For the purposes of damage control they took pictures of him with others the following morning from Paris but please do not be fooled.

    “There is something very wrong with the PDP pres. candidate in terms of his health & they don’t want the Nigerian public to know.

    “Pray for him.”

  • BREAKING: Karim Benzema wins 2022 Ballon d’Or award

    BREAKING: Karim Benzema wins 2022 Ballon d’Or award

    France international Karim Benzema has won the 2022 Ballon d’Or award for the first time.

    Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane came second behind Benzema.

    Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne came third and Robert Lewandowski came fourth.

    The Real Madrid striker scored 44 goals in 46 games as he helped the Los Blancos win the Champions League and La Liga in 2021-22.

    Lionel Messi (seven) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five) had won the award on 12 of the previous 13 occasions.

    Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas retained the Women’s Ballon d’Or, awarded to the best best female footballer of 2022.

    England Euro 2022 winner and Arsenal forward Beth Mead was second.

    Premier League champions Manchester City, who had six nominees at the ceremony, were awarded Club of the Year ahead of Liverpool.

    The Ballon d’Or is awarded to the best footballer of the year, based on performance over the 2021-22 season.

  • Christian Eriksen surprised me – France coach, Deschamps

    Christian Eriksen surprised me – France coach, Deschamps

    France national team coach, Didier Deschamps has hailed Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen after defeat to Denmark on Sunday.

    The Danes won 2-0, with Deschamps impressed by Eriksen’s performance.

    “There is an attacking player who even surprised me, and not just because of what had happened that could have been dramatic for him, and obviously it’s Christian Eriksen,” said Deschamps.

    “But the ability that he shows with his club in the position he plays, because he has always been someone who has a remarkable technical ability.

    “But to play so frequently for his club in the midfield, to see the volume of games he plays, this ability even to recover is impressive. And he has always had the ability to score goals, to make other players score – he has always had that.”

  • Paul Pogba’s brother, Mathias exposes Juve star from prison

    Paul Pogba’s brother, Mathias exposes Juve star from prison

    Mathias Pogba, the older brother of Juventus star, Paul Pogba has returned to social media to launch a series of stunning accusations at the French international.

    Mathias was arrested last week, along with four others, as part of an investigation into alleged extortion of his younger brother, who left Manchester United for Juve this summer.

    He has now posted a lengthy video on social media this morning while in custody:

    “If you have been reading it means that my other bot worked. Be honest with each other and banish hypocrisy so as not to experience the same tragedy. Now, here are some of the long-awaited revelations, which I hope will shed new light and lead you to understand why there is so much determination to shut me up and discredit me because what I have to say is not limited to (Kylian) Mbappé.

    “But do not do this at the expense of several innocent families who risk being destroyed by a spoiled little prince, selfish, hypocritical and full of himself. Because doing so, sooner or later, will obscure and eclipse that radiance. Protect the image of France, the French team, the French world champions and to want the world championship is completely normal, because the influence for France will be immense.

    “He is someone willing to use the stories of real victims to portray himself as a victim. A person ready to trample everything and everyone, his family, his pleasure, his image and his success. Those who really want to understand, just try to put themselves in my shoes considering that everything I say is true. Take the time to listen all I have to say, so you might understand what a deeply unhealthy being you are dealing with.

    “It got to the point that Kylian was about to make his next PSG contract conditional on Paul going to play there. And meanwhile, behind him, Paul was doing witchcraft to sabotage these games. The same sorcerer said that he had to stop the witchcraft he was doing with Kylian at the risk of destroying his career, knowing that he had been paid for the work.”

    Mathias also stated in a series of videos posted today:

    “Many will be shocked and will have a hard time believing it, but it’s the truth. That’s why our family and loved ones are in danger today. My brother […] has always had criminals and delinquents around him and continues to do so today. […] The problem is that he used those relationships and their names to protect themselves on the street and do business with them to do things and shed blood for him. I was not aware of that until he betrayed his henchmen and fled without telling anyone, leaving me and our mother to our fate, leaving his family and those close to him to become the target of these bandits.”

    But Mathias Pogba does not stop there: “Some of our relatives had already been attacked and shot because of him. The only reason we did not turn to the authorities was for fear of reprisals, since we had no way of protecting ourselves [. ..] I had to blame Paul for his behavior before deigning to keep our mother out of harm’s way by taking care of her and abandoning the others.

    “Of course, he makes her live alone without any protection, while he is quiet in his fortress behind his bodyguards. Also, it wasn’t free. My mother had to side with him and plead on his behalf. Which she unfortunately accepted.”