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WORLD CUP

WORLD CUP

France await World Cup play-off fate

France will find out later on Monday which team will stand in the way of a place at the World Cup in Brazil next year. French coach Didier Deschamps said he hoped to avoid Portugal in the draw for the two legged play-off to be held in November.

France await World Cup play-off fate
Who will stand in the way of France's path to Brazil 2014? The World Cup play off draw takes place at 3pm Paris time on Monday. Photo: Vanderlei Almeida / AFP

UPDATE: France to face Ukraine in World Cup play offs. Click here for the results of the draw.

France manager Didier Deschamps, who captained France's 1998 World Cup-winning side, is praying the footballing gods smile on his team in Monday's eight-team European zone play-off draw.

Deschamps has publicly expressed his annoyance that France missed out on being seeded and as a result are in danger of being pitted against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, Euro 2004 winners Greece, Croatia or Ukraine in the draw at FIFA'S Zurich headquarters.

Joining the French in the unseeded 'pot' are the Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Sweden, Romania and surprise packet Iceland.

Deschamps, asked which team he wanted to avoid, said: "It's legitimate to say Portugal because they have Cristiano Ronaldo, who's a great player and a big influence.

"But playing Greece, Croatia or Ukraine, they're more based round teamwork but not easier or simpler to play."

He was speaking after France's closing victory over Finland with his side already assured of the runners-up spot in Group I behind world champions Spain. 

Deschamps will be counting on his side sealing their Brazil berth in less controversial fashion than they did their ticket to South Africa.

France owed their appearance at what was to prove a disastrous 2010 World Cup to a play-off success over the Republic of Ireland, with a little help from Thierry Henry's hand.

Henry admitted to deliberately handling the ball to set up William Gallas's decisive goal to seal France's presence in South Africa, as shown in this video.

France's build up to the all important play-off match has been hit by controversy after left back Patrice Evra slammed French TV pundits, including French World Cup winner Bicente Lizarazu for being "parasites" and "tramps".

"There are some pundits with whom I will soon settle my differences with them… they want to sell a lie to the French people that Evra is disliked. But that is not the case at all.

"I do not know what Lizarazu has against me. Me I was twice voted best left-back in the world, four times the best left-back in the Premier League.

"Him I don't even know if he was ever voted best left-back in the world.

"I recall my first call-up to the national side, all the others shook my hand apart from him. Thierry Henry said to him 'Oh Liza, here is the opposition'. And Lizarazu looked at me and said 'Why? Someone told you that I was already retired?'

"People have a good impression of me, it won't be these tramps who dirty my image. They must stop lying to the French people," said the Senegal-born defender, who then classed them as parasites.

Evra has since been summoned  to explain his comments to the French FA.

SEE ALSO: French fans call their footballers "rude, stupid and overpaid." 

Portugal hoping to continue play-off success

Portugal meanwhile will be hoping to continue their success in play-offs having successfully navigated their way through the two-legged process to get to the last World Cup and Euro 2012s both at the expense of

Bosnia-Herzegovina, who made no mistake this time round qualifying by right.

Manager Paulo Bento will be relieved at the return of star striker Ronaldo, who missed out on his country's final 3-0 win over Luxembourg which sealed the runners-up spot in Group F behind Russia.

Like Portugal Sweden go into Monday's draw secure in the knowledge that talismanic leader Ibrahimovic is back after being suspended for last week's 5-3 loss to Germany.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward said after that game: "I am not worried. In the play-offs we will have two completely different games.

"I liked the way the team fought. If I had been on the pitch, it would have been the same result.

"Everything is possible," said Sweden coach Erik Hamren.

"There are some good teams in the pot, but we will do all we can to realise our dream of going to the World Cup."

Croatia go into Monday's lottery with a new man at the helm after running out of steam with defeats in their final two qualifiers.

Coach Igor Stimac paid the price after offering to stand down in the wake of last week's 2-0 loss to Scotland, which came four days after a 2-1 home defeat to Group winners Belgium.

He was replaced by Niko Kovac, who skippered the side at Euro 2004 and 2008 as well as at the 2006 World Cup.

"We had to something due to poor results and the ruining of the Croatian team's reputation," explained Davor Suker, president of the Croatian Football Federation.

Iceland, one of the revelations of the eurozone qualifiers, secured their place in their first-ever play-offs, with a closing 1-1 draw with Norway to finish as Group E runners-up behind Switzerland.

The two-legged ties which will take place on 15 and 19 November. Monday's draw is at 1300 GMT, 3pm Paris time.

Are France right to fear Portugal more than the other teams they could face?

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SPORT

Norway’s football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott

Will Norwegian football star Erling Braut Haaland stay home or play on what fans have dubbed a "cemetery?" This Sunday, a meeting of Norway's football community will decide whether to boycott next year's World Cup in Qatar.

Norway's football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott
Norway's forward Erling Haaland (L) and teammates wear jerseys reading "Fair play for migrant workers" before the international friendly football match between Norway and Greece at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga in preperation for the UEFA European Championships, on June 6, 2021. JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Under pressure from grassroots activists the Norwegian Football Federation(NFF) has decided to hold an extraordinary congress to decide on whether to pass up football’s showpiece event all together.

The games on the pitches in the Middle Eastern emirate will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery,” according to Ole Kristian Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), invoking a commonly used metaphor among opponents of Norway’s participation.

Norway, which has not qualified for a major international competition since Euro 2000, is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group behind Turkey, the Netherlands and Montenegro. 

So while qualification seems an uphill task, the result of the vote could have an impact on whether Norway and its young star Haaland — one of the rising stars of world football — continue to play qualifying matches. 

The movement calling for a boycott began north of the Arctic Circle when football club Tromso IL spoke out against turning a blind eye to alleged human rights abuses at the end of February.

“We can no longer sit and watch people die in the name of football,” the first division club proclaimed.

Qatar has faced criticism for its treatment of migrant workers, many of whom are involved in the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, with campaigners accusing employers of exploitation and forcing labourers to work in dangerous conditions.

Qatari authorities meanwhile insist they have done more than any country in the region to improve worker welfare.

“There is no doubt that this World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar,” Tom Hogli, a former professional footballer turned public relations officer for Tromso IL, told AFP.

“The conditions there are abominable and many have lost their lives,” he added.

In March, a spokesman for the Qatari organisers put the number of deaths on the construction sites at “three” since 2014, with another 35 having died away from their workplaces, challenging the heavy toll reported by some rights groups.

Push from fans
The Tromso call began gathering pace in Norway, where clubs operate under a democratic structure, and under pressure from fans, many teams now say “nei” (no).

According to Sandvik, the fans feel that the deaths on the World Cup sites would have been avoided “if they had not had to build hotels, railways and stadiums”.

Nearly half of Norwegians, 49 percent, now say they are in favour of a boycott, while only 29 percent are against it, according to a poll published by newspaper VG on Wednesday.

The Nordic country’s national squad has already protested conditions in Qatar, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.

Before recent Norway games, Borussia Dortmund superstar Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and the rest of the team have worn t-shirts with slogans like “Human rights on and off the pitch.”

Other countries, like Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have also followed suit.

FIFA, on the other hand, argue that awarding the hosting of the World Cup in Qatar has opened the door to social progress.

“We know there is still work to be done, but we need to recognise the significant progress achieved in a very short time,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in May.

‘Few successes’ 
While the executive committee of the NFF have said they regret Qatar being awarded the World Cup, they oppose a boycott.

President Terje Svendsen said he thought it was “not the right tool to improve the human rights situation or the working conditions in Qatar,” when speaking at the federation’s ordinary annual congress in March.

According to the NFF, a boycott could end up costing Norway 205 million Norwegian kroner ($24 million, 20 million euros) in fines and compensation as well as lost revenue.

Feeling the pressure from grassroots campaigns, the NFF referred the matter to an extraordinary congress which on Sunday will bring together the eight members of its executive committee, representatives of 18 districts and of hundreds of professional and amateur clubs.

The discussions will be revolve around the findings of an expert committee which, with the exception of two members representing fans, has also come out against a boycott.

“For a boycott to succeed, you need a critical mass behind it, an opposition that calls for it in the country, the UN to put pressure on the
authorities, the business world, the trade unions and civil society to put pressure on it in the long term,” committee chairman Sven Mollekleiv said in a debate hosted by broadcaster TV2.

“Historically, there are few successes,” he said.

Rather than a boycott, the committee recommended 26 measures to consolidate and further the gains made in Qatar but also to ensure that FIFA doesn’t become complicit in so called “sportswashing” — the polishing of a country’s public image through a major sporting event.

Some initial supporters of a boycott, like Tromso’s Hogli, have since sided with these conclusions, although calls for a complete boycott remain.

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