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BRASILIA, Brazil - After being touted as one of the World Cups entertainers, it was a gritty performance which got France through to the quarterfinals in a 2-0 victory over Nigeria on Monday. Cheap NFL Jerseys . Frances forward line had made headlines with eight goals in its opening two group games, but there was little flair on display in a hard-fought contest against the African champions. France needed a late header from midfielder Paul Pogba and an injury-time own goal from defender Joseph Yobo to overcome a robust Nigeria. The reward is a quarterfinal against Germany on Friday at Rio de Janeiros Maracana stadium, following the Germans 2-1 victory over Algeria. Pogbas goal in the 79th minute followed Nigerias best spell of the match and came soon after France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had made a crucial save to deny Peter Odemwingie. "Were not the prettiest or the best, but we can do good things," France coach Didier Deschamps said after the game. "The deliverance came late. There was a lot of tension because we were up against a very athletic side and there were a lot of challenges." Nigeria, which had a goal ruled out for offside in the 19th minute after Emmanuel Emenike poked home Ahmed Musas cross from the left, wasted a lot of second-half possession. Four years ago, France crashed out of the group stage, shamed a nation by going on strike and was jeered by its own fans and lambasted by politicians in the fallout from an embarrassing tournament. Its very different situation now. "Im proud of my players because were coming back from very far. I think weve given a lot of pleasure back to our fans," Deschamps said. "I think there were 5,000 here and millions back home who will feel proud." Pogbas crucial goal came after Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had just made a superb save to tip over Karim Benzemas header. But he he flapped at the ball from the ensuing corner and Pogba pounced in the 79th minute for his first World Cup goal. That atoned for placing a volley too close to Enyeama in a scrappy first half. Scoring such a crucial goal will boost his confidence heading into the last eight game. "We have four days left to prepare for another battle," Deschamps said. Yobo, who announced his international retirement after the game, turned the ball into his own net in stoppage time under pressure from France substitute Antoine Griezmann. At the final whistle, Frances relieved players danced in front of their fans as dreams of a repeat run to the final — just like in 2006 — moved a step closer. "We had the whole country behind us," Pogba said. "Its one of the proudest moments of my life." France started slowly and finished strongly in the second round match. "Ive yet to see a team play well over the whole 90 minutes," Deschamps said. "Nigeria dropped off a bit and that allowed us to get on top." After Griezmann came on, Benzema finally came alive in the 70th, opening up the defence after a clever one-two with the France substitute. After Enyeama blocked Benzemas initial shot, his follow-up effort was hacked clear by Victor Moses. Video technology confirmed that the ball had not crossed the line. France failed to show the attacking flair of previous games, with Giroud skewing a shot wide early on. He also appeared to elbow John Obi Mikel in an off-the ball incident, having done the same in last weeks 0-0 draw with Ecuador after coming on as a second-half substitute. "The referee saw it and didnt even give him a warning. Not a yellow card, nothing," Mikel said. "The intention was there." Keshi was highly critical of American referee Mark Geigers handling of the game. "The ref is a human being, but a lot of mistakes were questionable," he said. "Giroud elbow, Pogba foot up ... he decides what happens on the field. Im not happy with the ref." Two chances were missed late in the half. Full-back Mathieu Debuchy smacked a shot wide and into the back of a steward, and Emenike saw his sharp drive from the edge of the area palmed away by Lloris. With Nigeria starting to dominate possession, Deschamps made a key change in the 62nd, taking Giroud off and bringing on Griezmann, freeing Benzema to play through the middle. Nigeria continued to push forward and centre half Laurent Kocielny cut out Musas dangerous cross from the right. But toward the end, it was all France as Griezmann boosted the attack. He almost made it 2-0 in the 85th that Enyeama tipped over brilliantly. Instead, it fell to Yobo to inadvertently add Frances second goal. ___ Lineups: France: Hugo Lloris; Mathieu Debuchy, Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielny, Patrice Evra; Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye, Blaise Matuidi; Mathieu Valbuena (Moussa Sissoko, 94th), Olivier Giroud (Antoine Griezmann, 62nd), Karim Benzema. Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama; Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo, Joseph Yobo, Juwon Oshaniwa; Ogenyi Onazi (Ruben Gabriel, 59th), John Obi Mikel; Ahmed Musa, Peter Odemwingie, Victor Moses (Uche Nwofor, 89th); Emmanuel Emenike. Cheap Jerseys From China ." Hextall was promoted to general manager by the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday to replace Paul Holmgren, who was elevated to president. Wholesale Jerseys . -- Tyreke Evans is still making the adjustment from point guard to small forward for the Sacramento Kings.KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- Riley Kieser had two goals and an assist as the Edmonton Oil Kings won their ninth in a row, toppling the host Kamloops Blazers 4-1 on Wednesday in Western Hockey League action. Henrik Samuelsson and Edgars Kulda also scored for the Oil Kings (38-13-1). Matt Bellerive supplied the scoring for the Blazers (11-38-5), who are on a seven-game skid. Bolton Pouliot turned away 34-of-37 shots for Kamloops. 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Mitch Lipon, Dylan Busenius, Ryan Graham and Brett Stovin scored in the third for the Blades (15-37-4), who halted a four-game skid, while Cory Millette and Austin Adamson had the others. Jamal Watson had a pair of goals for Lethbridge (11-39-5) and Tyler Bell scored once. Jonny Hogue turned away 32-of-37 shots for the Hurricanes. --- ROCKETS 4 REBELS 3 CRANBROOK, B.C. -- Jackson Whistle made 32 ssaves as Kelowna held off Red Deer and its attempt for a third-period comeback. Wholesale NFL Jerseys. . Tyrell Goulbourne, Kris Schmidli, Marek Tvrdon and Austin Glover all scored in the first period for the Rockets (43-7-3) before giving up three goals in the final 20 minutes. Aspen Sterzer scored twice for the Rebels (27-23-4), who dropped their fourth game in a row, and Evan Polei had the other. Red Deers Taz Burman allowed two goals on Red Deers first three shots and was pulled at 1:34 of the opening period. Patrik Bartosak stopped 36-of-38 shots in relief. --- THUNDERBIRDS 4 CHIEFS 0 SPOKANE, Wash. -- Taran Kozun stopped 29 shots for his third shutout of the season as Seattle blanked the Chiefs. Justin Hickman scored three times for the Thunderbirds (34-16-5) and Alexander Delnov added the other. Spokanes (31-17-5) Jeremy McIntosh and Dominic Zwerger were each minus-2 while Mike Aviani failed to record a point for the eighth straight game, which is his longest scoring drought of the season. Garret Hughson turned away 29-of-33 shots for the Chiefs. --- HITMEN 7 ROYALS 6 (OT) VICTORIA -- Pavel Padakin scored twice, including the winner, and added an assist as Calgary came from behind to edge the Royals in overtime. Brady Brassart scored once and set up two more for the Hitmen (33-15-6), who trailed 6-3 early in the third period, while Adam Tambellini, Jaynen Rissling, Chase Lang and Mike Winther added the others. Ben Walker had a pair of goals for Victoria (35-16-4) and Steven Hodges, Logan Fisher, Austin Carroll and Axel Blomqvist each scored once. Calgarys Mack Shields made 34 saves for the win as Coleman Vollrath stopped 28-of-35 shots for the Royals.cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
