Dembele gem caps France win over Italy

Nice, June 2 

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Ousmane Dembele scored a terrific goal in an impressive display for France as the World Cup contenders defeated Italy 3-1 in a friendly here.

Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti grabbed the opening goal after eight minutes at the Allianz Riviera on Friday, converting a rebound from close range after Kylian Mbappe’s volley was saved by Salvatore Sirigu.

N’Golo Kante fired against the post from distance as Sirigu produced a fine fingertip save, but Antoine Griezmann added a second from the penalty spot following a foul on Lucas Hernandez by Rolando Mandragora.

Italy cut the deficit before the break when Leonardo Bonucci alertly followed up after Hugo Lloris failed to deal with a powerful Mario Balotelli free-kick.

Balotelli forced Lloris to save low with his foot within seconds of the restart after half-time, while Dembele rattled the crossbar moments later having burst past a pair of Italy defenders.

But the Barcelona forward sealed victory on 63 minutes, curling a sublime first-time shot into the top corner after Mbappe’s searing run was halted on the edge of the area.

“There are lots of things that pleased me beyond the three goals,” France coach Didier Deschamps said after the match.

“It could have been a bigger scoreline. If we had been more efficient we could have been at ease a bit earlier. We’re not going to get carried away, there’s still a second part of our preparation ahead of us.” 

The match was just the second in charge for Italy coach Roberto Mancini, who took the job last month after Gian Piero Ventura was sacked following the four-time world champions’ failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first since 1958.

“We made some errors but France are among the best teams,” said Mancini, whose side beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Switzerland on Monday.  — AFP 

Neymar fitness in the spotlight 

Liverpool: Brazil will keep a close eye on the fitness of star striker Neymar when the World Cup contenders face Croatia in a friendly at Anfield tomorrow. Neymar, who scored four goals in the 2014 World Cup, has not played any form of football since February after breaking his foot. The 

26-year-old Paris Saint Germain ace sat out training on Thursday as a precaution. But his Brazil teammate Fernandinho has given a positive assessment of Neymar’s condition just two weeks before the start of the World Cup on June 14. 

Ramos releases WC anthem for Spain 

Madrid: Captain Sergio Ramos has released an anthem for Spain’s 2018 World Cup campaign which he co-wrote with Spanish flamenco fusion singer Demarco Flamenco. The 32-year-old on Friday uploaded on his Instagram page a short video teaser of the song, which he is seen performing with Flamenco, a former gas canister distributor. The mid-tempo ballad called “Otra estrella en tu corazon”, or “Another star in your heart” was made available on iTunes and other online platforms on Friday.