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WORLD CUP WARM-UP

WORLD CUP

Benzema scores twice in France-Jamaica friendly

Karim Benzema hit two spectacular goals as France romped to an 8-0 victory over Jamaica in a bid to ease the blow of losing star striker Franck Ribéry for the World Cup.

Benzema scores twice in France-Jamaica friendly
France's forward Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring a goal during the friendly football match between France and Jamaica. Photo: Denis Charlet/AFP

Blaise Matuidi and Antoine Griezmann also scored twice in France's final World Cup warm-up game before 49,000 fans in Lille.

While Jamaica barely put up any serious opposition, the result was a welcome boost for Didier Deschamps' team two days after being rocked by Ribéry's withdrawal with a back injury.

"Ribéry is a loss, but we have to stop talking about it and get on without him," said Paris St Germain's Matuidi, who scored his first brace for France.

Coach Deschamps insisted that France remained united even without star Bayern Munich striker Ribery, who said that leaving the squad was like "a death in my soul."

"We have lost a world class player," said Deschamps. "The French team is stronger with him when he is at 100%, but there are other players. They form a collective."

"A victory was what we needed before leaving. It gives us confidence," added Real Madrid's Benzema. "Everyone is happy. We showed a lot of good things."

Benzema and Matuidi scored a goal in each half of the festive farewell to their French fans before heading to Brazil on Monday. France play their first World Cup Group E game next Sunday against Honduras, who held England 0-0 on Saturday.

Benzema's first goal was a curling shot from the corner of the penalty area. The second was another shot from the edge of the area past hapless Jamaica goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett.

Benzema also hit the post and made a goal for Matuidi and Arsenal's Olivier Giroud.

Griezmann, a rival to Giroud for Ribery's place, came on as a second half substitute and scored twice in 12 minutes. Yohan Cabaye opened the score in the 17th minute.

France are now unbeaten in five games and looked strong.

"We know that it is going to be a different kind of match next Sunday, but it was good to finish like that. It gives us confidence," said Matuidi.

For Deschamps, the match was a last opportunity to try Benzema, roaming more freely, with Giroud up front in place of Ribéry.

"I wanted to see them together again, but it is not just about them," said Deschamps. It was also important to see how the pair worked with France's midfield, he added. But Deschamps acknowledged that Benzema and Giroud look in "excellent physical condition."

Giroud clearly feels that he will be first choice to link up with Benzema in the Brazil campaign. "I am going to be playing in my first World Cup — and in Brazil," he said. "I am like a kid at Christmas."

The only worry for France was left back Mathieu Debuchy's exit at half-time. "It was a blow to the back of the thigh. He struggled to finished the first half," said the coach. "I didn't want to take any risks. There is no real worry."

Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin, called into the squad after injuries to Ribéry and midfielder Clement Grenier, came on for the final three minutes to gain his first cap.

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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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