ROUNDUP / DAY 3
France 2, Australia 1
Technology twice helped France at the World Cup on Saturday as the 1998 champions labored to beat a gritty Australia 2-1 in their opening game in Kazan. The French team was given a controversial penalty kick, eventually converted by Antoine Griezmann in the 58th minute, after the referee watched the replay of a foul on the sideline. Paul Pogba later scored the winning goal in the 81st minute, and goal-line technology was used to confirm the ball had crossed the line after bouncing down off the crossbar. “I’m not going to complain about the use of video today,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “It helped correct a mistake.” Pogba had been unimpressive until the goal, but the Manchester United midfielder set up a 1-2 with substitute Olivier Giroud and beat Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan to give France the victory. Australia captain Mile Jedinak had briefly equalized from the penalty spot in the 62nd after France defender Samuel Umtiti handled the ball in the area. After a balanced first half in the Group C match at the Kazan Arena, France was awarded the first penalty following a VAR review. After checking images of a tackle from behind by Joshua Risdon on Griezmann, referee Andres Cunha pointed to the penalty spot. “When I received the knock I believed there was a penalty,” Griezmann said. “The referee did not bow his whistle, so I moved on with that. But when he went to see if there was a penalty I immediately thought about how I would take it.” Griezmann hit a powerful shot that left Ryan stranded, four minutes before Jedinak then sent France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way to put the teams level following Umtiti’s clumsy foul. France had controlled possession and circulated the ball well before the interval, but after four shots in the first eight minutes the French failed to get a single shot on target in the remainder of the first half. It’s the ideal start for France, whose ambition is to finish at the top of a group that also includes Peru and Denmark. A win against the South Americans next would allow France coach Didier Deschamps to rotate his players for the final game. Australia, whose goal is to survive the group stage, will need two good results to escape elimination.
Denmark 1, Peru 0
Kasper Schmeichel’s slew of saves made Yussuf Poulsen’s opportunistic second-half goal stand up in a victory over Peru in Saransk. Poulsen squeezed his goal between charging Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and the left post in the 59th minute after collecting a pass from midfielder Christian Eriksen. The victory gave Denmark a crucial advantage in Group C, in which France defeated Australia 2-1 earlier in the day. Appearing at the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, Peru had overwhelming fan support in the Mordovia Arena and the bulk of scoring chances, including a late first-half penalty shot that Christian Cueva sent sailing over the crossbar. The penalty was awarded after Gambian referee Bakary Gassama used the video assistant referee system to decide Poulsen had tripped Cueva in the penalty area. Peru striker Paolo Guerrero made his much anticipated appearance as a substitute with about 30 minutes to go and had two scoring chances, one on a header and one on a clever back-heel that rolled just wide. Peru finished with 17 attempts to Denmark’s 10, and many of the team’s shots were of the point-blank variety, forcing Schmeichel to dive or extend whatever limb he could in the ball’s path. The lone scorer also helped out on the defensive end with a clearing header in the box on a cross over Schmeichel’s head. That helped the keeper recover and leap to grab the ball as it came down with Peru players nearby looking to pounce. Later, Schmeichel’s kick save denied Jefferson Farfan’s 83rd-minute, hard drive from near the top of the penalty area. Schmeichel was also fortunate, and not only on Cueva’s missed penalty kick. In the 56th minute, Edison Flores was wrong-footed by Andre Carrillo’s tappass on the right side of the goal and he rolled a weak shot wide of a largely open net. Minutes later, Schmeichel extended his left hand to stop Flores’ sizzling shot.
Croatia 2, Nigeria 0
Even in a more defensive role, Luka Modric can still lead the attack. The Croatia midfielder scored one goal and set up the other in his team’s victory over Nigeria in Kaliningrad. Modric sent in a corner that was headed by two teammates and then deflected into the net by Nigeria midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo in the 32nd minute. “We scored at the perfect moment. After that it was easier for us to play our game,” Modric said. “After the first goal we started creating chances.” Modric later converted a penalty in the 71st after William Ekong held onto Mario Mandzukic. It was the fifth penalty awarded in four World Cup matches on Saturday. Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr felt his team also deserved a penalty. “There were also so many fouls in the other box, they could have also given a penalty for us,” Rohr said. Croatia, with Modric and Ivan Rakitic controlling the midfield, dominated most of the match and rarely allowed Nigeria to get close to goal. It took nearly an hour for the Nigerians to have an effort on target — a header by Odion Ighalo straight at goalkeeper Danijel Subasic. Croatia now leads Group D with three points and next plays Argentina on Thursday in Nizhny Novgorod. Nigeria will take on Iceland a day later in Volgograd. “We have the youngest team in this World Cup,” Rohr said. “Let them learn from this match, from this defeat.”