France recorded their third consecutive UEFA EURO 2012 win

France recorded their third consecutive UEFA EURO 2012 win and a second in three days as goals from Karim Benzema and Yoann Gourcuff accounted for ten-man Luxembourg.

Having secured a confidence-boosting victory against Romania at the weekend, Laurent Blanc's team consolidated their position at the top of qualifying Group D with a comfortable triumph over the bottom team. The outcome rarely seemed in doubt from the moment Benzema struck midway through the first half and, after the visitors lost captain René Peters to a red card, Gourcuff made sure of the points on 76 minutes.

Playing in Metz, just 50 kilometres from Luxembourg, Luc Holtz's charges may momentarily have felt like the home side, yet they were quickly pushed on to the back foot by the former world champions. Gaël Clichy and Abou Diaby fired shots off target before Jonathan Joubert pushed a Philippe Mexès strike wide. From the resulting corner, the F91 Dudelange goalkeeper was beaten, Benzema brilliantly controlling Gourcuff's cross at the far post and volleying in left-footed.

Joubert, formerly of Metz, was otherwise impressing on his return to Lorraine. The 31-year-old twice clung on to long-range efforts from Diaby before the break and made a sharp intervention moments after the restart, saving at Guillaume Hoarau's feet as the striker burst through.

There appeared to be a danger of Les Bleus running away with proceedings when Peters was shown a second yellow card in the 54th minute, but Joubert kept his side in touch by pulling off a stunning point-blank stop to deny Gourcuff. Having drawn with Belarus in their previous game, Luxembourg threatened to equalise on 75 minutes, Guy Blaise directing an audacious overhead kick straight at Hugo Lloris.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed seconds later, however, when Gourcuff struck his second goal in the space of three days. The Olympique Lyonnais playmaker collected Dimitri Payet's quickly-taken free-kick and beat Joubert with a low, swerving shot from 20 metres.

Two-time European champions France to the top of UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group D.

Late goals from substitutes Loïc Rémy and Yoann Gourcuff secured a deserved victory for France against Romania and propelled the two-time European champions to the top of UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group D.

It looked as though Razvan Lucescu's well-organised side had done enough to earn a point when Rémy was sent clear by Alou Diarra in the 83rd minute. However, the Olympique de Marseille striker − who had only been on for 15 minutes − outstripped Cristian Chivu before firing a superb low shot beyond Costel Pantilimon. Gourcuff then emulated Rémy by collecting debutant Dimitri Payet's pass and rifling home in added time to confirm a second successive win for a resurgent France.

The capacity crowd was whipped into a frenzy by world rally champion Sébastien Loeb, who drove round the pitch before kick-off, yet the hosts struggled to click into gear once the action started. Indeed, it took Laurent Blanc's team 19 minutes to carve their first clear opportunity, Samir Nasri's clever chip finding Florent Malouda, who shot into the side netting.

The visitors, who had failed to beat Les Bleus in their eight previous attempts, operated with caution, defending in numbers and relying on the assured Chivu to keep Karim Benzema quiet. The Real Madrid CF striker was enduring a frustrating night, although he nearly opened the scoring four minutes before the break, grazing the outside of the post with a delightful curling shot.

George Florescu rifled in Romania's first effort in the opening minute of the second period, forcing a sharp save from Hugo Lloris, but France were soon on top again. Pantilimon reacted brilliantly to parry Mathieu Valbuena's 58th-minute shot against the crossbar, then looked on with relief as Chivu cleared acrobatically off the line.

Nasri raced clear of Gabriel Tamaş to force another fine double stop from Pantilimon, before Romania created their best chance, Cristian Săpunaru stroking a shot against the post in the 71st minute. If the home fans were fearing a repeat of the opening-day defeat by Belarus, Blanc's players had other ideas the substitutes wrapping up the win that takes France to the summit, a point clear of second-placed Albania, ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Luxembourg.

Abou Diaby set to feature in France’s Ahead Of upcoming Euro 2012 qualifier

The 24-year-old had been expected to miss the clashes against Romania and Luxembourg after picking up the knock in Sunday’s 2-0 loss away to Chelsea.

France coach Laurent Blanc had initially allayed fears that the injury was serious and, despite missing training on Tuesday, suggested on Monday that he would still be fit.

"The news is generally reassuring," he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

"As I could see, he took a blow to his ankle, which wasn't in a very good state.

"But after the first examinations, although his ankle is sore, there's nothing worrying."

He should go and see Steven Spielberg because he'd be good in the cinema says Alaeddine Yahia for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifier

PARIS (AFP) - Lens defender Alaeddine Yahia was on Tuesday summoned to appear before the national ethics board of the French Football Federation (FFF) after apparently accusing an assistant referee of faking injury.

The official in question, Emmanuel Boisdenghien, was struck by an object thrown from the crowd during Lens' 4-1 defeat at home to local rivals Lille on September 11, in which two players from the home side were sent off.

The incident occurred shortly after the dismissal of Issam Jemaa at the beginning of the second half and prompted a delay of several minutes.

"The assistant referee needs to stop dramatising," said Yahia in an interview with local newspaper La Voix du Nord several days later.

"I saw exactly what happened. He was only hit by a ball of paper, which had been used for the 'tifo' (fans' display) before the match, with three chips inside.

"He should go and see Steven Spielberg because he'd be good in the cinema. But he has to stop saying that he can't sleep at night anymore and that he sees (Lens' stadium, Stade) Bollaert in his sleep.

"I don't condone the act because it was cowardly and it was done when his back was turned, but for me, all of that was just cinema!"

Boisdenghien was granted five days' leave from work following the incident.

Yahia will appear before the FFF's ethics committee on October 18.

Karim Benzema will miss France's Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus

PARIS: Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema will miss France's Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus because of an ankle injury, the French Football Federation said on Friday, a few hours before the game at the Stade de France.

"After a last test on Friday morning, it has been decided Benzema will not be included in the team selected by Laurent Blanc to face Belarus," the FFF said in a statement.

"At this stage of the evolution of his right ankle, the safety of the player was essential."

The 22-year-old Benzema is still under treatment "in the hope he will be able to return to the squad for next Tuesday's game against Bosnia in Sarajevo."

Following a shock Group D defeat by Belarus in Paris on Friday − France's fourth in succession in all competitions − captain Florent Malouda insisted

New France captain Florent Malouda is urging his less experienced team-mates to come out fighting against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday as Les Bleus look to kick-start their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign following a shock opening-day defeat by Belarus.

The hosts were left reeling in Paris on Friday after Sergei Kislyak's late strike secured a stunning win for the visitors and condemned Laurent Blanc to an unexpected loss in his first competitive game in charge. With nine games remaining in Group D, France still have time to recover but find themselves under pressure ahead of the trip to Sarajevo.

Malouda knows defeat against a side that beat Luxembourg 3-0 on Friday would leave his team with a mountain to climb. "We have to get a result," the Chelsea FC midfielder stressed. "This team needs a good performance and a result that can become a reference. We know it'll be very hard but maybe we should follow the example of Belarus, who came here looking for a point and then gradually started to play with more freedom."

At 30, the left winger is one of the most experienced heads in Blanc's new-look squad and seems to be enjoying the extra responsibility. "I've been speaking to the young players a lot," said Malouda, who won his 58th cap on Friday. "But even if I didn't have the armband I'd still feel a duty to help the youngsters by being more vocal. I've tried to get everyone going again [after the Belarus defeat] and I've explained to them that we can't afford to feel downhearted after just one game."

The France squad has an average age of just 25, although that figure may rise when the likes of Franck Ribéry and Patrice Evra return after bans. Malouda, though, is refusing to use the long list of absentees as an excuse. "Getting those guys back might change something, but don't forget we also lost games at the World Cup with them playing," he explained. "I was playing, too. There isn't a messiah. The reality is that we're losing matches and we have to bring this run to an end."

Despite the result, certain new faces impressed at the Stade de France. Stade Rennais FC midfielder Yann M'Vila, 20, turned in a particularly assured display, while Mathieu Valbuena provided spark after coming on in the first half. The Olympique de Marseille playmaker hopes to get France scoring again on Tuesday.

"We created chances and tried a lot of things against Belarus," the 25-year-old told UEFA.com. "Unfortunately their goalkeeper made a lot of saves. We're all a bit down about the situation, but we have another big game coming up so we have no choice but to pick ourselves up."

Laurent Blanc France are currently going through a dark period

Laurent Blanc says France cannot leave Bosnia empty-handed but warned that they will find it difficult based on their recent results.


France are currently going through a dark period
France endured a dismal World Cup on and off the field under Raymond Domenech and, with a number of key players having retired or been suspended from Les Bleus since, former Bordeaux boss Blanc has struggled to get them back on track.

A 2-1 friendly defeat to Norway was followed by a 1-0 loss at home to Belarus in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier, and Blanc knows France now need to fight hard to keep their hopes alive.

"It is vital that we bring something back from Bosnia," he said. "We never said that we wouldn't win in Bosnia, but we must be honest based on the evidence so far, and we had difficulties against Belarus."

He added: "Bosnia are a side that likes to play possession football. We have to defend really well - something we have been having trouble in doing. If Bosnia have more of the ball, we have to defend well and to hit them on the counter attack."

Blanc has lost strikers Loic Remy, Louis Saha and Guillaume Hoarau to injury, but he has at least been boosted by Karim Benzema's return to fitness.

"He (Benzema) brings his individual qualities, his ability to score goals," he said. "He is our leading scorer in the squad, with eight goals in 28 appearances. One can safely say that scoring a lot of goals is not that easy at international level."