Explosion Show

MESUT Ozil has been passed fit to start Germany’s World Cup
opener.

The defending champions begin their quest to retain the crown
against Mexico in the Luzhniki Stadium tomorrow.
Arsenal ace Ozil was a major doubt with a knee injury that ruled
him out of Germany’s final warm-up friendlies.
But coach Joachim Low revealed today the Gunners star is fit for
consideration - although he did not give away any team news.
Low said: “All the players are fit.
“Mesut Ozil had two extra training sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday.
“The overall impression is good. He is fit.
“I still have two or three options in terms of who is in the team but I
want to announce it to the players first before disclosing it.”
Ozil has been in the line of fire back home after he and Manchester
City’s Ilkay Gundogan posed for pictures with Turkish President
Recep Erdogan, with calls from some for the pair to be dumped from
the squad.
That was never going to happen but if Ozil is given extra time to be
fit his place would probably be taken by Paris St Germain schemer
Julian Draxler.
Draxler said: “Mesut is very important player for us. That’s a fact.
“The debate over his body language has raged for a couple of years.
“But he is an exceptional player with unparalleled technical abilities
and our most creative player on the pitch. He will be there when we
need him and he will be delivering in this tournament.”
Low admitted he was thrilled by Portugal’s stunning 3-3 draw with
Spain last night.
The German boss added: “We enjoyed watching Russia in the opening
match and seeing the euphoria reach stellar dimensions.

Juventus have opened the bidding for Arsenal target Aleksandr
Golovin.

The CSKA Moscow star impressed for Russia in their 5-0 thumping of
Saudi Arabia on Thursday night.
Arsenal have been linked with a move for the 22-year-old but
Juventus have attempted to steal a march by tabling an offer.
The Serie A side are willing to pay £13million plus add ons for
Golovin's signature, but the Russian outfit are understood to be
holding out for another £10m, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Golovin was on the scoresheet as the hosts made a storming start to
their World Cup campaign in Moscow on Thursday.
The midfielder scored eight times in 38 games for CSKA last season,
but it wasn't enough to pip rivals Lokomotiv Moscow to the title.

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Lionel Messi has taken a leaf out of Cristiano Ronaldo's book by
criticising Iceland's in-your-face football.
display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1613429250165401" data-ad-slot="2607981819" data-ad-format="auto">Argentine ace Messi missed a penalty as the Scandinavian underdogs
snatched a 1-1 draw against one of the tournament favourites on
Saturday night.
Two years ago, Ronaldo blasted the Icelanders for having a “small
mentality” when they grabbed a draw against Portugal at 2016.
And Messi struck a similar chord when he claimed: “Iceland
practically did nothing.
display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1613429250165401" data-ad-slot="2607981819" data-ad-format="auto">“All they did was defend and attack with nothing but long throw-ins.
“I think we deserved to win the game, but there are some positives
that we can take beyond the result.
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“We leave with a feeling of bitterness and anger.
display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1613429250165401" data-ad-slot="2607981819" data-ad-format="auto">“I feel responsible for not being able to take the three points. With
the penalty we could have done.
“We really felt we were in a complicated group and we knew it would
be a difficult game.
“Physically Iceland are very strong, but now we must only think about
what is ahead.
“We must rest, prepare well, and not waste any more time thinking
about this game.”
Ronaldo (in red) taking on Iceland player Gylfi Sigurdsson in
Euro 2016 match. [Photo/Courtesy]
Argentina legend Diego Maradona urged their fans to chant for Messi
from his seat in the stand after the Barcelona forward had his
second-half spot-kick saved by Iceland keeper Hannes Halldorsson.
display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1613429250165401" data-ad-slot="2607981819" data-ad-format="auto">And afterwards the Hand of God took to his Instagram account to
post a reminder that his Argentina side went on to reach the final in
1990 despite falling to a shock defeat to Cameroon in their opening
game.
Maradona wrote: “I started a World Cup losing, not drawing, in the
opening game of Italia '90.
“And, despite the injuries, despite everything, we reached the final.”
Diego Marathon confident that Argentina will make it through
despite drawing the opening match. [Photo/Courtesy]
The South Americans had 27 efforts on goal and 78 percent of the
possession, but their progress towards the last 16 has been made
much more difficult after Croatia took a grip on the group by beating
Nigeria 2-0.
display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1613429250165401" data-ad-slot="2607981819" data-ad-format="auto">Messi said: “I am grateful for that the fans sang my name.
“The stadium was full of Argentines because our people live for these
competitions.
“We are disappointed not to start with three points, but we must now
keep calm and think about the games that are coming.
“Croatia are a great team and Nigeria are also good.” display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1613429250165401" data-ad-slot="2607981819" data-ad-format="auto">

FORTUNATE France were left relying on World Cup technology to see
off battling Australia in the opening Group C game in Kazan.

Didier Deschamps’ team were on the receiving end of the first VAR
penalty in the tournament’s history.
France were fortunate to see of Australia in a VAR-affected game
Paul Pogba's winner barely scraped over the line to hand France
three points
And then they were awarded an 81st minute by the goal-line
technology after the Aussies had levelled with a spot-kick of their
own.
The men from Down Under were fuming when Uruguayan ref Andres
Cunha awarded France their 58th minute penalty after Griezmann
went down under Josh Risdon’s challenge as they chased Paul
Pogba’s through ball.
But he was persuaded to look another look at the incident by VAR
official Mauro Vigliano and after studying the action on the pitch-
side TV ruled that Ridson had caught Griezmann’s trailing leg.
Ridson argued that the contact was purely accidental but Griezmann
was not to be distracted as he buried his shot past keeper Mat Ryan.
France scored late through a heavily-deflected Paul Pogba strike
Yet just when it was beginning to look as though the French were
going to get away with a lucky victory, they were stopped in their
tracks by Samuel Umtiti’s moment of madness.

Adrian Mooy’s probing free-kick into the box was heading towards the
forehead of French centre-half Raphael Varane until Barcelona
defender Umtiti inexplicably punched the ball away.
Ref Cunha seemed to take an age to make up his mind before
presenting Aston Villa veteran Mile Jedinak with the chance to send
Hugo Lloris the wrong way with his 62nd minute spot-kick.
France, though, were not to be denied and claimed an ill-deserved
victory when Pogba’s shot took a deflection off Aussie defender Aziz
Behich and looped over Ryan.
VAR was called to award a France penalty in the second-half
The Brighton keeper snatched the ball after it bounced down off the
bar but not before the cameras had spotted that it had already
crossed the line.
It was a bitter blow for the Aussies after they had survived an early
onslaught to give French boss Deschamps some serious concerns.
The Concacaf champions knew they were in for a busy afternoon right
from the start, with keeper Ryan forced into four saves in the first
eight minutes alone.
The pick of the bunch came when Kylian Mbappe got in behind centre-
half Mark Milligan for a fierce angled shot which Brighton star Ryan
did well to push around his near post.
Yet totally against the run of play, the men from Down Under almost
snatched a shock 17th minute lead when Adrian Mooy’s free-kick was
flicked on by Mathew Leckie.
French midfielder Corentin Tolisso tried to clear the danger but only
succeeded in diverting Leckie’s header towards his own goal and it
took the remarkable reactions of Hugo Lloris to claw the ball away.
It was the first sign that this young French team could be susceptible
to stage fright in what for many of them was their first appearance
at a major international tournament.
And they clearly did not fancy their opponents’ no-nonsense
approach, with Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Lucas Hernandez
regularly going to ground whenever challenged.

Having battled through 22 qualifying matches to get to Russia,
Australia clearly were not going to go down without a fight.
But it wasn't quite enough as they were seen off right at the death by
Pogba's late winner.