Deschamps reveals Dembele calf worry as Areola gets France start

By Sports Desk September 24, 2022

France boss Didier Deschamps could be without Ousmane Dembele for Sunday's Nations League clash with Denmark after the Barcelona winger reported a calf problem.

The game in Copenhagen will see Deschamps make a number of changes, with the trip coming just two months before the teams meet again in the World Cup group stage.

France are eager to get the win, as that would guarantee they avoid relegation from the top tier of the Nations League, but Deschamps will not push anyone into playing.

"Ousmane felt discomfort in a calf and will train separately," said Deschamps on Saturday evening.

"We will review after the session. I will make changes, but I won't decide tonight. I will wait for the medical return and the feelings of the players. There will be changes, but I won't tell you how many."

France and Denmark will be joined in Group D at Qatar 2022 by Australia and Tunisia, and they are due to go head-to-head on November 26 in the second round of games.

Denmark got the better of Deschamps' side at the Stade de France in June in their first Nations League encounter, with Andreas Cornelius hitting a double after Karim Benzema had put the hosts ahead.

According to Deschamps, there will be little to be gained on Sunday with a view to the World Cup game, though.

"The only advantage is for players who are there and who will have the possibility of starting or coming on," he said. "I'm not going to get any particular benefit from it otherwise.

"In Qatar, it will be another game, but the teams will know each other well, that's true."

With Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan coming off injured in the 2-0 win against Austria on Thursday, West Ham's Alphonse Areola has got the nod to start against the Danes.

Areola came into the fray for the second half against Austria, with first choice Huge Lloris out through injury.

The 29-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain stopper has made five appearances for West Ham this season, albeit with four of those coming in the Europa Conference League and just one in the Premier League.

"He will start," Deschamps said. "I see goalkeepers starting in the national team and not in the club. Alphonse has been more or less a starter. Every time he plays, he performs well. Alphonse is there because he has quality."

Related items

  • Joao Felix sinks parent club Atletico Madrid as Barcelona move third Joao Felix sinks parent club Atletico Madrid as Barcelona move third

    Joao Felix undid his parent club as a first-half finish from the Portugal international earned Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium.

    Felix lifted the ball over goalkeeper Jan Oblak in deft fashion in the 28th minute as Xavi’s men replaced Atletico in third in the LaLiga table, with a four-point gap to leaders Real Madrid and second-placed Girona

    Sevilla were held 1-1 at home by Villarreal, Hector Bellerin was shown a red card in the 27th minute of Real Betis’ goalless draw at Almeria, and Mallorca and Alaves also drew a blank.

    Kylian Mbappe inspired 10-man Paris St Germain to a 2-0 victory over Le Havre to send them four points clear of Nice at the top of Ligue 1.

    PSG found themselves down to 10 men after just 10 minutes when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was sent off for a high challenge on Josue Casimir.

    The visitors went in front in the 23rd minute through Mbappe and while the hosts did their best to find an equaliser, Vitinha scored against the run of play in the 89th minute to seal three points.

    Goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier saved two penalties as Lille claimed a 2-0 win at home to Metz. The 22-year-old denied Simon Elisor before two goals in first-half stoppage time from Yusuf Yazici and Jonathan David put Lille in control.

    More heroics from Chevalier 10 minutes into the second half to keep out Lamine Camara’s penalty helped preserve victory for the home side.

    Third-placed Monaco are two points behind Nice following a 2-0 win over 10-man Montpellier, who saw Boubakar Kouyate sent off in the second half, while Brest beat Clermont 3-0 and Toulouse played out a 1-1 draw with Lorient.

    Both sides were reduced to 10 as Marseille beat Rennes 2-0 at home, Christopher Wooh being dismissed for the visitors just past the hour mark and Iliman Ndiaye going soon after.

    Marseille’s goals came via an early Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty and Azzedine Ounahi effort between the red cards.

    Inter Milan moved back above Juventus to the top of Serie A with a 3-0 win at defending champions Napoli, with Hakan Calhanoglu, Nicolo Barella and Marcus Thuram on the scoresheet.

    Rasmus Kristensen scored the winner for Roma as they came from behind to beat Sassuolo 2-1.

    Matheus Henrique fired in a first-half opener for Sassuolo, but it all came undone after the break when Daniel Boloca was dismissed and Paulo Dybala scored from the spot, before Kristensen fired home a second.

    A Lucas Beltran spot-kick and further goals from Riccardo Sottil and Giacomo Bonaventura earned Fiorentina a 3-0 victory over Salernitana, while Udinese and Verona drew 3-3.

    Bologna looked poised for victory at Lecce but had to settle for a point after Roberto Piccoli’s penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time cancelled out Charalampos Lykogiannis’ 68th-minute opener.

    In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund were on course to leapfrog fourth-placed Leipzig with a vital victory at leaders Bayer Leverkusen after Julian Ryerson fired the visitors ahead after five minutes, but Victor Boniface salvaged a point when he levelled late in the second half.

    Elsewhere, Augsburg beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 and Freiburg won 1-0 at Mainz.

  • Inter Milan brush aside champions Napoli to return to top of Serie A Inter Milan brush aside champions Napoli to return to top of Serie A

    Inter Milan moved back to the top of Serie A in convincing style with a 3-0 win at defending champions Napoli.

    Simone Inzaghi’s side had been knocked off the summit by Juventus’ victory at Monza on Friday, but emphasised their title credentials after being set on their way by a stunning goal from Hakan Calhanoglu.

    Nicolo Barella doubled Inter’s lead just after the hour mark and Marcus Thuram made certain of all three points five minutes from time.

    The win takes Inter two points clear of Juventus and 11 in front of Napoli, who have now taken just seven points from a possible 21 at home.

    The home side in fact made a bright start and could have gone ahead in the third minute, only for Yann Sommer to produce a brilliant save from a shot from Eljif Elmas which looked destined for the top corner.

    Both sides were happy to shoot from distance and Calhanoglu went close at the other end with a left-footed effort from outside the area before the visitors briefly thought they had broken the deadlock.

    Thuram played a delightful one-two with Lautaro Martinez before firing a shot across Alex Meret and into the far corner, only to see the flag correctly go up for offside.

    Inter were forced into an early change when Stefan de Vrij suffered a thigh injury and had to be replaced by Carlos Augusto, the reshuffle possibly allowing Elmas to get free in the area moments later to bring a good save from Sommer at his near post.

    There was nothing Sommer could do about Matteo Politano’s long-range effort after 36 minutes however, and the Switzerland international was relieved to see the ball cannon back off the crossbar.

    When the opening goal finally arrived it proved well worth the wait, Denzel Dumfries heading a deep cross back to Barella to flick the ball into the path of Calhanoglu, who struck a sumptuous low volley which swerved away from Meret and nestled in the corner of the net.

    Napoli striker Victor Osimhen appealed in vain for a penalty early in the second half after tangling with Francesco Acerbi just inside the area, the ball then breaking for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to bring a good save from Sommer.

    But it was the visitors who found the all-important second goal shortly after the hour mark as Barella collected a firmly-struck pass from Martinez and slalomed past two defenders before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

    Osimhen flashed a header narrowly wide as Napoli tried to get back into the game but Thuram settled matters five minutes from time as he turned in a low, driven cross from substitute Juan Cuadrado.

  • Erling Haaland criticises referee Simon Hooper on social media after City draw Erling Haaland criticises referee Simon Hooper on social media after City draw

    Erling Haaland faces possible disciplinary action after complaining about referee Simon Hooper on social media following Manchester City’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Tottenham.

    The City striker was incensed after being denied the opportunity to play advantage in the closing moments of a thrilling Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

    Haaland was fouled but quickly got up and played Jack Grealish through on goal only for Hooper to pull play back and award a free-kick.

    Haaland was one of several City players to angrily remonstrate with the official and he continued his protests after the game by reposting a clip of the incident on X, formerly Twitter, with the comment “Wtf”.

    The PA news agency has contacted the Football Association over the matter.

    Manager Pep Guardiola was not aware of Haaland’s social media post when he spoke to reporters after the game but, speaking about Haaland’s on-field reaction, admitted he could understand the player’s anger.

    Guardiola said: “It’s normal. His reaction was the same for 10 players. The rules are you cannot talk with the referees or fourth officials, so we should have had 10 players sent off today.

    “He’s a little bit disappointed. Even the referee – if he played for Man City today he would be disappointed for that action, that’s for sure.”

    Guardiola had tried to temper his criticism, saying in a TV interview he did not want to make a “Mikel Arteta comment”, in reference to the Arsenal manager’s controversial remarks after a game against Newcastle last month.

    He added in a press conference: “I make mistakes, the players make mistakes.

    “It surprised me because in the moment Erling went down (and) if you whistle in that moment it’s fine.

    “But when he stands up and continues and the referee makes that gesture to play on, and after he (Haaland) makes the pass he then stops the game – I don’t want to criticise him.

    “On the touchline sometimes I lose my mind and my gestures are not proper but for many years as a manager I’m not a guy, when I’m refreshed, to comment.”

    City led 2-1 at half-time thanks to a Phil Foden goal after Son Heung-min had scored at both ends.

    Giovani Lo Celso levelled for Spurs and Dejan Kulusevski did likewise in the 90th minute after Jack Grealish looked to have won it for City.

    It was the champions’ third successive draw.

    Guardiola said: “It’s not the first time we have faced this situation where we are playing good but results don’t come. Always we find a solution but lately the results don’t come and we are struggling.”

    For Spurs, the result ended a run of three successive defeats.

    Manager Ange Postecoglou said: “City could have blown us away, they certainly had enough chances.

    “We were giving the ball away a lot but hung in there.

    “The effort the boys put in there in the second half was outstanding. City never got total control of the game and we scored three quality goals, which you have to against a team like that.”

    Postecoglou was asked in his press conference if he thought his side may have “got away with one” over the Haaland incident at the end.

    “Yes, I guess so mate,” the Australian said.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.