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WORLD CUP 2014

GERMANY

‘We can’t stop now’: Les Bleus focus on Germany

After beating Nigeria 2-0 to book their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup France’s players and supporters are confident they can go even further in the competition. That would mean knocking out the Germans on Friday.

'We can't stop now': Les Bleus focus on Germany
Mathieu Valbuena celebrates with teammate Blaise Matuidi after France beat Nigeria. Valbuena says he wants to win the World Cup. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP

By beating Nigeria on Monday France coach Didier Deschamps admitted that his team had met its objectives that were set before the tournament began.

But now with a quarter-final clash to come against neighbours Germany, Deschamps and his players are having to set new targets.

"We had objectives, which went up after each match – reach the last 16, finish top (of the group). Today it was to reach the quarter-finals.

"From what we've been through, to be here among the last eight shows something. But we won't get carried away.

"I'm very proud of the players. But the adversity will increase. It's another step and we'll do everything to climb that,” Deschamps said.

After the hard-fought win over Nigeria, which came thorough two late goals, Deschamps’ players are eager to experience that winning feeling again.

“We are satisfied to have qualified but we want more. We don’t want to stop there,” said the right-back Mathieu Debuchy.

His teammate Mathieu Valbuena echoed those thoughts. “The World Cup is not yet a success [for France]. We always want more. I’m not going to hide that.

“We want to go to the end and win the WorldCup. But there’s no delusion. The closer we get,the more complicated it will be.”

Valbuena is correct on that point. The reality is, France have yet to be really tested in this World Cup. Their strolled through their opening two group games against Honduras and Switzerland, before their goalless draw with Ecuador with qualification having already been almost guaranteed.

Although the quarter-final with Nigeria proved more difficult than many had predicted, the Super Eagles did not represent the kind of stern test that the Germans will provide.

But Les Bleus will take hope and perhaps inspiration from seeing how Algeria rattled the Germans in their own quarter-final on Monday night.

Algeria took Germany to extra time before goals from Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil killed off the resistance from the Desert Foxes.

Germany coach Joachim Loew admits that his team will have to improve when they play France in the Maracana stadium on Friday.

"We must be better for the match against the French," admitted the 54-year-old Germany head coach.

The Maracana clash will be a mouth-watering showdown between two of European football's powerhouses.

It stirs memories of the 1982 World Cup semi-final which finished in adramatic 3-3 draw before West Germany went through after their 5-4 win in the penalty shoot-out.

"I wouldn't want to talk about France-Germany in 1982, but those have always been dramatic classics between the team," said Loew.

"Didier Deschamps has turned them around since 2010, they have good playerslike (Karim) Benzema and (Olivier) Giroud who can decide games on their own.

"We're looking forward to another classic."

That 1982 clash is etched into footballing folklore thanks to the collision between German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher and French substitute Patrick Battiston, who had to be stretchered from the field.

The collision left him with two teeth knocked out, three cracked ribs, and damaged vertebrae. Battiston didn’t regain consciousness for 30 minutes and eventually slipped into a coma.

The incident still appears in lists of the World Cup's most shocking moments.

See the video for yourself.

The omens may be with Les Bleus. France have never been knocked out of a quarter-final of the World Cup. 

Didier Deschamps at least has history on his side.

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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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