This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/mar/26/france-v-brazil-live
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| France v Brazil – live! | France v Brazil – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.24pm GMT20:24 | |
| Goal! France 1-0 Brazil (Varane 21) | |
| And that miss proves costly! France go straight down the other end and win a corner, which Valbuena puts in again from the left. Varane, looking far more determined in the aerial challenge than Miranda, attacks it strongly and thuds a header down to Jefferson’s left! Excellent header, but Brazil look ropey on set pieces here. | |
| 8.23pm GMT20:23 | |
| 20 min: Neymar comes close! He finds space just outside the area after a Schneiderlin error and runs inside the box but, in trying to weigh his shot past Mandanda, doesn’t quite get it right and the goalkeeper dives to his left to save well. | |
| 8.20pm GMT20:20 | |
| 18 min: Now Brazil try to break at speed but Willian, head down, is robbed by Schneiderlin. | |
| 8.18pm GMT20:18 | |
| 16 min: It’s cleared, and France’s attempts to counter founder upon a rather agricultural tackle on Valbuena from Filipe Luis. | |
| 8.18pm GMT20:18 | |
| 16 min: Brazil win a corner now, Neymar’s attempted through ball to Firmino taking a deflection and running behind... | |
| 8.17pm GMT20:17 | |
| 15 min: Nothing is really happening at the moment, but Brazil are still popping it about pleasantly enough. That nearly results in Neymar charging down a Varane clearance, but the ball spins away. | |
| 8.15pm GMT20:15 | |
| 13 min: Not a lot of pattern to this really. That Jefferson save was quite something – I’d already made to type “Goal!” – but apart from that it could be a World Cup game, with two sides feeling each other out early on. | |
| 8.13pm GMT20:13 | |
| 11 min: Better now, though, as Neymar runs down the left before finding Firmino in space centrally. He has quite a bit of time for a shot and perhaps overthinks it in the end, striking from 22 yards but allowing Sakho to block. | |
| 8.12pm GMT20:12 | |
| 10 min: Sakho gives away a throw-in under close attention from Firmino, but Brazil are yet to show too much here except for a couple of fairly harmless spells of passing. | |
| 8.10pm GMT20:10 | |
| 8 min: ....taken by Valbuena from the left, and how is that not a goal?! It’s nodded on at the near post by Varane and Benzema, all alone at point blank range at the back post, must score! But goalkeeper Jefferson somehow extends a trailing hand and paws it away. Benzema could, should, have got more purchase on his header but what a save that is! | |
| 8.09pm GMT20:09 | |
| 7 min: Luis Gustavo gives away a free-kick on the right and it’s swung in by Valbuena. Danilo heads behind – corner.... | |
| 8.08pm GMT20:08 | |
| 6 min: In case the jobbing guitarists out there were rather depressed by that Eugene’s Trick Bag video, Matt Dony hastens to add – | |
| “Just to clear up, although Ralph Macchio learnt a lot of gee-tar for the role, he mimed that piece, and the actual fingering looks much less impressive. I miss the 90’s for so many reasons, not least of which is the fact that I had time to waste learning flashy pieces I couldn’t hope to play today. Also, I really dislike Neymar. Come on, France!” | |
| 8.07pm GMT20:07 | |
| 5 min: Firmino’s first involvement is to rather undercook a pass towards Willian, who was in loads of space on the right. Evra picks it up. | |
| 8.06pm GMT20:06 | |
| 4 min: In the meantime, Willian is down after a challenge with Matuidi. Might just have turned his ankle a bit but seems ok. | |
| 8.05pm GMT20:05 | |
| 4 min: Charles Antaki is looking forward to seeing/saying Firmino. | |
| “Thank heavens for Firmino. A Brazilian I’ve never heard of, who might play for an obscure club, be fantastic, and who has a pleasingly exotic name. In other words, not Fred, Jo, Bernard, Larry or Colin (all right, I made those last two up).” | |
| 8.05pm GMT20:05 | |
| 3 min: Some good early possession for the Brazilians, finally snuffed out when Sagna sticks a foot in ahead of Oscar. | |
| 8.03pm GMT20:03 | |
| 1 min: Neymar slips over early on when trying to get onto a crossfield ball. Then Filipe Luis, backing up, does the same. | |
| 8.02pm GMT20:02 | |
| Peeeeeep! Now we are off. Brazil do the honours. | |
| Enjoy. | |
| 8.01pm GMT20:01 | |
| A minute’s silence now, after the tragic air disaster that occurred on Tuesday. | |
| 8.00pm GMT20:00 | |
| Before that, Matt Dony gives us his snapshot of a bygone time: | |
| “I remember clearly watching the 1998 final with a guitar on my lap, learning the guitar-onanism-tastic Eugene’s Trick Bag from Crossroads. And, by ‘learning’, I mean ‘trying hard to learn by playing slowly and sloppily over and over again’. It never impressed people as much as I hoped it would. France deserved the win, and I was glad they won, but the Brazilian airport advert was magnificent.” | |
| He means this: | |
| 7.59pm GMT19:59 | |
| A lusty-voiced French crowd belting out La Marseillaise is one of life’s pleasures. We’ve just enjoyed that, and now it’s time we got going.... | |
| 7.55pm GMT19:55 | |
| Anyway, the teams are out in Paris! Flags are being waved, banners hoisted, and pray | |
| for Neymar | |
| silence now for the anthems. | |
| Updated at 7.55pm GMT | |
| 7.54pm GMT19:54 | |
| This is what Edward Chukwurah was doing then. Followed by what he’s doing now: | |
| “I was a 7-year-old in Lagos, Nigeria, finally falling in love with the beautiful game - I was enthralled by Zidane and by Thuram in the semifinal against Croatia. I rooted for France, and would go on to become an Arsenal fan.“Right now I’m 24, in Chicago, and frantically seeking work as a statistician (I qualify this email as a shameless plug, by the way).” | |
| Send Edward any job offers to the address above. When this game fizzles out in the second half we can at least be nice to each other. | |
| 7.47pm GMT19:47 | 7.47pm GMT19:47 |
| So, do send your tweets and emails. What were you doing on That Balmy Summer’s Night In ‘98? What are you doing now? | So, do send your tweets and emails. What were you doing on That Balmy Summer’s Night In ‘98? What are you doing now? |
| Updated at 7.48pm GMT | Updated at 7.48pm GMT |
| 7.42pm GMT19:42 | 7.42pm GMT19:42 |
| This was another exciting game between Brazil and France. | This was another exciting game between Brazil and France. |
| And this was a not-very-exciting game between Brazil and France | And this was a not-very-exciting game between Brazil and France |
| 7.37pm GMT19:37 | 7.37pm GMT19:37 |
| A very interesting sub-plot in the France squad is the presence of Lyon’s Nabil Fekir on the bench. There’s been a lot of will-he-won’t-he over whether he represents France or Algeria – and this match won’t actually bind him to anything – so if you want to know why, look here: | A very interesting sub-plot in the France squad is the presence of Lyon’s Nabil Fekir on the bench. There’s been a lot of will-he-won’t-he over whether he represents France or Algeria – and this match won’t actually bind him to anything – so if you want to know why, look here: |
| 7.31pm GMT19:31 | 7.31pm GMT19:31 |
| The Brazil starting XI | The Brazil starting XI |
| OFFICIAL XI - Jefferson; Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Filipe Luís; Luiz Gustavo, Elias; Willian, Oscar; Firmino, Neymar. | OFFICIAL XI - Jefferson; Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Filipe Luís; Luiz Gustavo, Elias; Willian, Oscar; Firmino, Neymar. |
| Danilo and Firmino are both in, as is Chelsea’s Filipe Luis. So, too, is Thiago Silva – for his first Brazil start since the World Cup! | Danilo and Firmino are both in, as is Chelsea’s Filipe Luis. So, too, is Thiago Silva – for his first Brazil start since the World Cup! |
| Updated at 7.35pm GMT | Updated at 7.35pm GMT |
| 7.28pm GMT19:28 | 7.28pm GMT19:28 |
| The France starting XI | The France starting XI |
| La compo : Mandanda - Evra Sakho Varane Sagna - Matuiti Schneiderlin Sissoko - Griezmann Benzema (c) Valbuena #FRABRE pic.twitter.com/XnDfoho0te | La compo : Mandanda - Evra Sakho Varane Sagna - Matuiti Schneiderlin Sissoko - Griezmann Benzema (c) Valbuena #FRABRE pic.twitter.com/XnDfoho0te |
| Notable for starts given to Schneiderlin and, at full-back, old stagers Evra and Sagna. Karim Benzema is captain. | Notable for starts given to Schneiderlin and, at full-back, old stagers Evra and Sagna. Karim Benzema is captain. |
| 7.25pm GMT19:25 | 7.25pm GMT19:25 |
| Nice email from Admir Pajic to kick us off here. What exactly do France have over Brazil? | Nice email from Admir Pajic to kick us off here. What exactly do France have over Brazil? |
| “If there is ‘Angstgeigner’ (yes, it’s basically ‘a jinx team’ in English but allow me to be a bit pompous) for Brazil, it’s France. They have been responsible for three out of last six big Brazilian defeats at World Cup (1986, 1998, 2006). Even if Zidane was responsible for two of those, I’ve always thought of that French domination over the Brazilians as of the domination of Lizarazus (= hard-working players who do their job in the defence quietly and don’t get enough praise just because they don’t score one preposterous free-kick out of million attempts like Roberto Carlos) over, er, Roberto Carloses.” | “If there is ‘Angstgeigner’ (yes, it’s basically ‘a jinx team’ in English but allow me to be a bit pompous) for Brazil, it’s France. They have been responsible for three out of last six big Brazilian defeats at World Cup (1986, 1998, 2006). Even if Zidane was responsible for two of those, I’ve always thought of that French domination over the Brazilians as of the domination of Lizarazus (= hard-working players who do their job in the defence quietly and don’t get enough praise just because they don’t score one preposterous free-kick out of million attempts like Roberto Carlos) over, er, Roberto Carloses.” |
| 7.00pm GMT19:00 | 7.00pm GMT19:00 |
| Let's party like it's 1998! | Let's party like it's 1998! |
| That’s what you’re thinking, right? Zidane’s headers, Petit’s late goal, Ronaldo’s (the fat one! Not CR7! LOL) blackout, Arsenal winning the World Cup, Brazil going missing in every conceivable way, the last rites for a classic among World Cup theme tunes. Yes, it’s France v Brazil and it’s at the Stade de France – with enough “going on” to make this more than your common or garden friendly. | That’s what you’re thinking, right? Zidane’s headers, Petit’s late goal, Ronaldo’s (the fat one! Not CR7! LOL) blackout, Arsenal winning the World Cup, Brazil going missing in every conceivable way, the last rites for a classic among World Cup theme tunes. Yes, it’s France v Brazil and it’s at the Stade de France – with enough “going on” to make this more than your common or garden friendly. |
| Every day’s a schoolday for France at the moment, with their “ghost” presence in the Euro 2016 qualifiers offering some useful competitive-ish preparation for the tournament they’re hosting and certainly keeping them honest. A 1-1 home draw with Albania – who were most definitely treating the game like a qualifier – proved the point and there have also been useful workouts from the likes of Serbia and Armenia. They have beaten Spain and Sweden since the World Cup too. If Brazil are feeling it then this will be another big test and, as we’ll see, there may be an interesting name or two to conjure with as the night unfolds. | Every day’s a schoolday for France at the moment, with their “ghost” presence in the Euro 2016 qualifiers offering some useful competitive-ish preparation for the tournament they’re hosting and certainly keeping them honest. A 1-1 home draw with Albania – who were most definitely treating the game like a qualifier – proved the point and there have also been useful workouts from the likes of Serbia and Armenia. They have beaten Spain and Sweden since the World Cup too. If Brazil are feeling it then this will be another big test and, as we’ll see, there may be an interesting name or two to conjure with as the night unfolds. |
| France are unbeaten in six games since their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Germany. Brazil? Brazil are on what one resigns oneself to see being called “flames” at the moment. Six consecutive wins since that humiliation at the end of the summer, and if you’re wondering whether they flat-tracked themselves back to happiness then you couldn’t be more wrong – among those victories was an excellent 2-0 win over Argentina in October, played in Beijing. Neymar is back, albeit in slightly lower-key fashion than last summer, and exciting talents such as Porto right-back Danilo and Hoffenheim’s Roberto Firmino are coming to the fore. Dunga is freshening this side up and it might just be that Brazil’s chastening experience nine months or so back prompted a few much-needed changes. | France are unbeaten in six games since their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Germany. Brazil? Brazil are on what one resigns oneself to see being called “flames” at the moment. Six consecutive wins since that humiliation at the end of the summer, and if you’re wondering whether they flat-tracked themselves back to happiness then you couldn’t be more wrong – among those victories was an excellent 2-0 win over Argentina in October, played in Beijing. Neymar is back, albeit in slightly lower-key fashion than last summer, and exciting talents such as Porto right-back Danilo and Hoffenheim’s Roberto Firmino are coming to the fore. Dunga is freshening this side up and it might just be that Brazil’s chastening experience nine months or so back prompted a few much-needed changes. |
| Or it might not. Brazil used a heck of a lot of different players at the best of times. But come with me and see. Just like this guy back when this fixture was cool, you won’t want to miss a thing. | Or it might not. Brazil used a heck of a lot of different players at the best of times. But come with me and see. Just like this guy back when this fixture was cool, you won’t want to miss a thing. |
| 7.00pm GMT19:00 | 7.00pm GMT19:00 |
| Nick will be here shortly. | Nick will be here shortly. |