Argentina terminate Sampaoli’s contract

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has announced Jorge Sampaoli will not continue as national team head coach following a chaotic World Cup.

A 3-0 group stage defeat to Croatia following a 1-1 draw with Iceland left Argentina on the brink of a humiliating exit in Russia, before just about squeezing through to the knockout phase thanks to a 2-1 triumph over Nigeria. 

That luck failed in the last 16 against France, however, when they were beaten 4-3 by the eventual tournament winners.

Sampaoli got the Argentina job after building a solid reputation in charge of Universidad de Chile, Chile and Sevilla, leaving the Spanish club at the end of the 2016-17 season after guiding them to Champions League football.

Given the regard many held Sampaoli in, there was great optimism that he would end Argentina’s period of underachievement and finally find the balance between getting the best out of Lionel Messi and making the team a success.

But very little has gone well for Sampaoli and Argentina since he took charge in May 2017, with the coach’s continuous tactical tweaks and strange selection choices baffling many.

Throughout the World Cup, Argentina’s deficiencies through the middle and at the back continued to be exploited and France tore them apart at times, taking full advantage of their lack of pace, but Sampaoli failed to make alterations to address the problems.

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World Cup winner Giroud ends tournament without shot on target

World Cup winner Olivier Giroud has ended his campaign without a single shot on target in 546 minutes of action.

The Chelsea striker played 81 minutes of Les Bleus’ thrilling 4-2 final win over Croatia on Sunday where his woes in front of goal continued.

After failing to start France’s first game against Australia, Giroud was introduced into the starting XI for the second group clash against Peru – a position he did not relinquish for the remainder of the tournament.

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While he failed to pose much in the way of a goal threat, his physical presence allowed Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to flourish, the duo causing havoc for defences throughout Russia 2018.

The closest Giroud came, interestingly, was in the only match of the tournament which ended goalless – France’s clash with Denmark – which can be seen in the video below.

At the other end of the pitch, previously unheard of right-back Benjamin Pavard got himself into the stat books for all the right reasons, having never lost a match whilst representing his country.

Unlike goalshy Giroud, young Pavard will no doubt have an abundance of suitors lining up for his signature this summer after having scored one of the goals of the tournament against Lionel Messi’s Argentina to announce his arrival on the grandest of stages.

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France outcast Benzema delights in World Cup win

Outcast forward Karim Benzema congratulated France on their thrilling World Cup final triumph on Sunday.

Les Bleus won their second title in Moscow as Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe starred and scored in a 4-2 win over Croatia.

Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic, who had opened the scoring for France with an own goal, scored for the defeated finalists in a thrilling final.

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France were without Benzema, who has not played for his country since 2015 having been investigated in relation to an alleged attempt to blackmail his international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.

His replacement at centre-forward then came under the spotlight in Russia for a curious record. 

Olivier Giroud failed to net a single goal at the World Cup, and indeed did not register a shot on target for the duration of the tournament.

That deficiency did little to slow down Les Bleus, with Griezmann and Mbappe pitching in with four goals to fire their nation to the trophy.

And the Real Madrid star was among those to revel in France’s victory.

 

Felicitation les gars!!! Well done. World champs

A post shared by Karim Benzema (@karimbenzema) on

He took to Instagram shortly after full-time to post a message: “Congratulations, guys! Well done. World champs.”

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‘Congratulations Africa!’ – Nigerians celebrate France 2018 World Cup triumph

Nigerians have taken to social media to celebrate France’s second Fifa World Cup title after beating Croatia 4-2 at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Didier Deschamps’ men outclassed their European counterparts after Mario Mandzukic’s own goal and efforts from Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe bagged an all-important victory at this year’s global tournament final.

Sunday’s victory in Moscow meant Les Bleus had defeated the two opponents that thrashed the Super Eagles in Russia – Argentina [4-3] and Croatia [4-2]. 

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Aside from that, Didier Deschamps’ side boast of an array of players of African descent, and Nigerians have taken to Twitter to rejoice as a victory for Africa at large.

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Modric wins World Cup Golden Ball as Mbappe named best young player

Luka Modric has been named the 2018 World Cup Golden Ball winner, while France star Kylian Mbappe was named as the best young player at the tournament. 

Modric helped Croatia to the World Cup final with his outstanding play in the middle of the park, as the nation of just over 4 million people made a fairytale run through the competition with wins over the likes of Argentina and England along the way. 

Modric edged out Belgium’s Eden Hazard and France’s Antoine Griezmann, who finished second and third respectively, for top honours. 

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Mbappe was also impressive throughout the tournament and was among the scorers in the final as Les Bleus ran to a 4-2 win over Modric and Croatia. 

The 19-year-old also scored a brace in a  4-3 win Argentina in the round of 16, with his World Cup exploits at such a tender age matching the likes of Pele in their historical relevance.

England’s Harry Kane claimed the Golden Boot for the competition with his six goals for England, who made it all the way to the semi-final before being knocked out after extra time by Croatia. 

Griezmann was the man nearest Kane at the top of the scoring charts, with Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku finishing third. 

Lukaku’s team-mate Thibaut Courtois was named as the tournament’s top goalkeeper, winning the Golden Glove award, and Spain claimed the FIFA Fair Play trophy. 

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