ePaper_2nd Edition_October 12, 2016

DT
28
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
Sport
RESULTS
Belarus 1-1 Luxembourg
Savitskiy 80 Joachim 85
Sweden 3-0 Bulgaria
Toivonen 39, Hiljemark 45,
Nilsson-Lindelöf 58
Netherlands 0-1 France
Pogba 30
Latvia 0-2 Hungary
Gyurcso 10, Szalai 77
Andorra 1-2 Switzerland
Martinez 90+1
Schaer 19-P,
Mehmedi 77
Faroe Islands 0-6 Portugal
Silva 12, 22, 37,
Cristiano Ronaldo 65,
Moutinho 90+1,
Cancelo 90+3
Estonia 0-2 Greece
Torosidis 1, Stafylidis 61
Bosnia 2-0 Cyprus
Dzeko 70, 80
Gibraltar 0-6 Belgium
Benteke 1, 43, 55,
Witsel 19, Mertens 51,
Hazard 79
France’s midfielder Paul Pogba (C) vies
with Netherlands’ midfielder Kevin
Strootman during their FIFA World
Cup 2018 qualifying match at the
Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam on
MOnday
AFP
Pogba fires France as Belgium, Portugal run riot
• AFP, Amsterdam
A searing first-half strike from Paul
Pogba handed France a 1-0 win at
rivals the Netherlands as Belgium
and Portugal clocked up 6-0 victories
and Christian Benteke grabbed
a slice of World Cup qualifying history.
Criticised by coach Didier Deschamps
for his performance in Friday’s
4-1 win over Bulgaria in Paris,
the world’s most expensive footballer
emphatically replied with a
towering display for Les Bleus in
Amsterdam in the most eye-catching
fixture on Monday.
Australia draw
against Japan
• AFP, Melbourne
Australia came from behind
through a Mile Jedinak penalty to
grab a 1-1 draw against Japan to remain
unbeaten in Asian World Cup
qualifiers in Melbourne on Tuesday.
The Blue Samurai rocked the
Socceroos with a fifth-minute goal
from midfielder Genki Haraguchi
but skipper Jedinak retrieved a
point in a tense game with his spot
kick.
Australia have not beaten Japan
for seven years, while the Japanese
have still to win a World Cup qualifier
in Australia. •
The Manchester United midfielder’s
powerful hit from 25
metres out after half an hour left
diving Dutch goalkeeper Maarten
Stekelenburg able to get his hands
to the fizzing ball but unable to
stop it.
“I didn’t speak to him (Pogba),
I just said a few words to him before
entering the changing rooms,
‘I have confidence in you,’” said
Deschamps.
“The match confirms what he is
able to do. Pogba was much better
in everything he did. He showed
what he can do.
“We never doubted he could do
Genki Haraguchi of Japan in action with Ryan McGowan of Australia in Melbourne,
Australia yesterday
REUTERS
it. We mustn’t forget Paul is relatively
young and he can still progress.”
France, losing finalists on home
soil at Euro 2016, are equal on seven
points at the top of Group A with
Sweden, who beat Bulgaria 3-0 at
home in Solna. The two countries
will play on November 11 at the Stade
de France.
Pogba, 23, was imperial in front
of a central defence made up of
Raphael Varane and Laurent Koscielny,
who pushed back wave after
wave of Dutch attacks.
And Pogba nearly doubled his
account with a header off a Dimitri
Payet corner on 66 minutes just
lacking power.
“If the team has a good match, I
have a good match,” said a defiant
Pogba. “If it’s a bad match, I have a
bad match.
“We’re not going to talk about
individual performances. It’s true
it’s not always nice to hear criticism,
‘bad things’ about myself.
There wasn’t any answer. Today it
was a good team effort.”
The French had a slight scare in
the final minute but Hugo Lloris
did well to keep out a Memphis Depay
effort on the line.
“It’s an important win for us,
even if we could have had a larger
lead,” said Deschamps.
“We could have hurt them more
in the first half. It’s good to have
got these two victories.”
The Dutch failed to make it to
the Euros and now sit third in the
group, needing to improve fast
if they are to make it to Russia in
2018.
“Our goalkeeper made a mistake
which he never makes in training,”
said coach Danny Blind.
“We played better in the second
half and we should have had
at least a point because we had
chances at the end of the match.”•
Pogba willing to do the
hard yards to help Utd
• Reuters
Paul Pogba feels more comfortable
in an attacking midfield role but is
willing to work on the defensive
side of his game in order to adapt
to manager Jose Mourinho’s tactics
at Manchester United.
Pogba, who joined the Premier
League club for a world record fee
from Juventus in August, has been
utilised in a deeper role by Mourinho
and is yet to produce his best
form at Old Trafford.
“I try to adapt. I am a player
who would rather go forward. The
coach gave me instructions, I try to
follow them,” Pogba told reporters
after scoring the winner in France’s
1-0 victory over the Netherlands in
a World Cup qualifier on Monday.
Pogba, 23, has played as one of
two holding central midfielders for
United, scoring one goal in eight
matches and failing to control games
in the way Mourinho would have
hoped after paying $111m to sign him.
“I have to retrieve balls and make
defensive efforts,” he said. “It cost
me a bit to play differently, much like
Pirlo. I have to play, be there to recover
and play more for the team.”•