France play Nigeria as the teams look to seal their Quarterfinal berth in FIFA World Cup 2014
Kareme Benzema celebrating his goal against Honduras
France and Nigeria have met once in an international Friendly in 2009. Nigeria was the winner then by 1-0. Joseph Akpala scored the only goal in the half an hour mark for the African team. The teams are vastly different here and a win is a must get for both the team.
France topped their group fater ending the group stag undefeated and just two goals conceded. They opened their World Cup campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Honduras and were involved in a goal fest in their second match, where they defeated fellow European country by 5-2. France however were denied by heroics of Ecuador Goalkeeper Dominguez as they were held on to a goalless draw in their final match against Ecuador.
Nigeria ended as runners up in their group behind Argentina with four points in their name. They played Iran in the first match of the Group Stage and were held for a goal less draw.Peter Odemwingie scored a lone goal in their second match, where they beat spirited Bosnia Herzegovina by 1-0. They however had a poor end to their group stage as they lost to Lionel Messi’s brace inspired Argentina by 3-2 despite equalizing twice in the match with Ahmed Musa in the score sheet both the time.
Team News:
Deschamps rested his key players in the previous match but they could all regain the place in this crunch tie. Sakho is still suffering from thigh injury but is fit enough to start the game. Griezmann and Giroud are vying for a place up front which will also decide Benzema’s fate in positioning.
Michael Babatunde is sure to miss after he broke his arm in the match against Argentina. Victor Moses is still a doubt for the match after failing to play in previous match too.
Probable Starting Lineup:
France:
Formation: 4-3-3
Hugo Lloris: Mathieu Debuchy, Laurent Koscienly, Mamadou Sakho, Patrice Evra: Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye: Kareme Benzema, Griezmann, Mathieu Valbuena
Nigeria:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Eneyama: Yobo, Ambrose, Omeruo, Oshaniwa : Musa, Mikel, Onazi, Odemwingie, Azeez : Emenike
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments