France
If France beat Ecuador in tomorrow’s Group E match, it will be the first time they have won all three group games in a major competition since 1998, the year they went on to win the World Cup. This kind of talk worries France’s coach Didier Deschamps, who captained the 1998 side and who has been trying to play down the swelling enthusiasm for his team’s chances, after their 5-2 thumping of Switzerland last Friday. French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet joined Deschamps in trying to quell rising expectations, saying on Sunday that “things are going quicker than I’d imagined. I think a bit too quickly and there’s a little bit of excess”. France started the tournament with attacking intent, scoring eight goals in two games after opening with a 3-0 win over Honduras. But Deschamps is wary of dismissing Ecuador, pointing out how the World Cup is becoming such a wide-open tournament. “Who would think that Costa Rica would have six points, in the group they’re in? No one,” he said.
United States
Jurgen Klinsmann says the US will be playing to win on Thursday when they face a Germany team managed by his old friend Joachim Loew. The 2-2 draw with Portugal in Group G on Sunday left Klinsmann’s side level with the Germans on four points heading into their final game. A draw in Thursday’s match in Recife would see Germany qualify as group winners with the US finishing runners-up. That scenario has brought back memories of the notorious 1982 group match between West Germany and Austria. In that game, both teams qualified at the expense of Algeria after a mutually beneficial 1-0 German victory where both sides went through the motions. “You’re talking about a game that is decades ago,” Klinsmann said. “That is only a part of Germany’s history and not part of the United States’s history. I think if you look at the past of the US team, we always try to make things happen. We have that fighting spirit, and we give everything in every game.””
Cameroon
Fifa has banned Cameroon midfielder Alex Song for three games for elbowing Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic in the back during a 4-0 loss on Wednesday. Song was already automatically suspended for Cameroon’s final Group A match against Brazil last night. Fifa says Song will complete his ban in Cameroon’s next two official matches, which will be 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September against Ivory Coast and Congo.
Germany
Germany defender Jerome Boateng and midfielder Sami Khedira have been cleared to return to training after picking up injuries in the 2-2 draw with Ghana. Boateng did not return for the second half of Saturday’s match after injuring his left thigh. Khedira strained a left knee ligament. The Real Madrid midfielder missed six months of the Spanish season after surgery on the same knee.
Ecuador
Ecuador are expecting to be overworked in defence in their clash with France at the Maracana tomorrow. France have scored eight goals in two games and midfielder Christian Noboa is expecting to be called in for defensive duties in their final Group E match in Rio de Janeiro. “They scored eight goals in one match,” Noboa said, referring to an 8-0 thumping of Jamaica in a World Cup warm-up. “Scoring a goal in a World Cup is difficult and scoring eight, that gives you a guide to what France are all about.”
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