Mbappé Plays 20 Minutes as France Draws with Canada in Its Last Euro 2024 Warmup 

France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappé (C) runs with the ball during the International friendly football match between France and Canada at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux, on June 9, 2024. (AFP)
France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappé (C) runs with the ball during the International friendly football match between France and Canada at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux, on June 9, 2024. (AFP)
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Mbappé Plays 20 Minutes as France Draws with Canada in Its Last Euro 2024 Warmup 

France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappé (C) runs with the ball during the International friendly football match between France and Canada at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux, on June 9, 2024. (AFP)
France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappé (C) runs with the ball during the International friendly football match between France and Canada at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux, on June 9, 2024. (AFP)

Kylian Mbappé got some rest ahead of the European Championship, playing only about 20 minutes as France drew 0-0 with Canada on Sunday in its final warmup.

The match in Bordeaux marked Olivier Giroud's last home game for France. The striker, who is moving to Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer, is retiring from the French national team after Euro 2024, which starts Friday in Germany.

Mbappé entered in the 74th minute and failed to spark France to victory. He had played the entire friendly against Luxembourg on Wednesday, when he scored in France's 3-0 win in what was his first match since his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid was finally confirmed.

France's opening game at Euro 2024 is on June 17 against Austria.

Mbappé reportedly was not fully fit after the game against Luxembourg and had missed some training sessions during the week but is expected to play a key role for France in Germany.

France, runner-up to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, is in Group D along with Poland and the Netherlands.

Defending European champion Italy beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 at home.

Davide Frattesi scored the only goal with a neat volley from inside the area in the 38th minute in Empoli.

Italy won Euro 2020 but missed out on qualifying for the last two World Cups. It begins its Euro 2024 campaign on Saturday against Albania. The other teams in Group B are Spain and Croatia. Spain routed Northern Ireland 5-1 on Saturday, while Croatia defeated Portugal 2-1.

Also Sunday, Slovakia routed Wales 4-0 with goals from Juraj Kucka, Robert Bozenik and Laszlo Benes, as well as an own goal by Ethan Ampadu, intensifying the pressure on Wales manager Rob Page.

Slovakia will start its Euro 2024 campaign on June 17 against Belgium. Group E's other teams are Romania and Ukraine.

Montenegro lost 3-1 at home to Georgia, which is in Group F with Portugal, Türkiye and Czech Republic.



PFL Announces Fight Card for Riyadh's 'Battle of the Giants'

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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PFL Announces Fight Card for Riyadh's 'Battle of the Giants'

A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has finalized the fight card for its highly anticipated "Battle of the Giants" event, set to take place in Riyadh on October 19, SPA reported.
The main event will feature a heavyweight clash between mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar Francis Ngannou and reigning PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira. This title fight will determine the inaugural PFL Super Champion.
In the co-main event, women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will face off against Larissa Pacheco, the two-division PFL champion, in a highly anticipated match to crown the greatest fighter in MMA history.
The card also includes a rematch between middleweight world champion Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards, who also faced off in 2023, with Eplin securing victory via technical knockout.
Former featherweight world champion A. J. McKee will square off against rising star Paul Hughes in another exciting matchup. Hughes, with an impressive professional record of 11 wins and one loss, is considered a dangerous contender in the featherweight division.
The "Battle of the Giants" promises to be an action-packed event featuring top-tier MMA talent.