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Saudis Face Lebanon, Palestine and Hong Kong Friendlies before Asian Cup

The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.
The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.
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Saudis Face Lebanon, Palestine and Hong Kong Friendlies before Asian Cup

The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.
The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.

Saudi Arabia will play friendlies against Lebanon, Palestine and Hong Kong before the Asian cup, which starts in Qatar next month, the Saudi soccer football federation said on Sunday.
All three matches will be held in Doha, Qatar, where the Saudi national team, led by Italian coach Roberto Mancini, will hold a camp from Dec. 31 to Jan. 11, Reuters said.
The Saudi team will play against Lebanon on Jan. 4, Palestine on Jan. 9, then face Hong Kong the following day.
Three times Asian Cup champions Saudi Arabia will play in Group F with Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.
Qatar will open the Asian Cup against Lebanon on Jan. 12.

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France Into Euro 2024 Quarterfinals after Late Goal Beats Belgium 1-0

France's forward #12 Randal Kolo Muani (C) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between France and Belgium at the Duesseldorf Arena in Duesseldorf on July 1, 2024. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)
France's forward #12 Randal Kolo Muani (C) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between France and Belgium at the Duesseldorf Arena in Duesseldorf on July 1, 2024. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)
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France Into Euro 2024 Quarterfinals after Late Goal Beats Belgium 1-0

France's forward #12 Randal Kolo Muani (C) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between France and Belgium at the Duesseldorf Arena in Duesseldorf on July 1, 2024. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)
France's forward #12 Randal Kolo Muani (C) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between France and Belgium at the Duesseldorf Arena in Duesseldorf on July 1, 2024. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

Kylian Mbappé and France advanced to the European Championship quarterfinals after Randal Kolo Muani's deflected shot secured a 1-0 win over Belgium on Monday.

Kolo Muani sent in an effort in the 85th minute that looped up off Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen and over stranded goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
France will play Portugal or Slovenia in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Mbappé, again wearing a mask to protect his broken nose, had five shots but none were on target in a low-quality match between the teams ranked No. 2 (France) and No. 3 (Belgium) who largely canceled each other out.

The French won ugly but, for coach Didier Deschamps, it was “beautiful.”
“We played a tough game against a great team, it was close,” he said. "Although I think we had a lot more possession and a lot more chances. Kolo is Kolo!
“We have to savor it. We mustn’t underestimate this achievement. We’re in the quarterfinals.”
Add a fortunate deflected shot to an own-goal and a penalty — scored by Mbappé — as France's only goals at Euro 2024.
That will do little to stop the growing dissent of France's fans who feel more can come from a talented bunch of players headlined by Mbappé, playing on the day he officially became a Real Madrid player.
Mbappé will be playing in his first ever quarterfinal at the European Championship, with France having lost on a penalty shootout to Switzerland in the last 16 at the last tournament in 2021.
It was also a nice moment for Kolo Muani, whose last big moment at a major tournament came when he bore down on goal in the last seconds of extra time in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina. His shot was saved by Emi Martinez, when a goal would surely have won the title for France.
“I was lucky enough to get my shot on target,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying of his decisive intervention against Belgium. “It was blocked but it went in. We’re very, very happy and very, very proud.”
Belgium heads home after a fairly miserable Euro 2024, during which the players were jeered loudly by their own fans following a 0-0 draw with Ukraine at the end of the group stage.
Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne was deployed as a deep-lying midfielder in a bid to help control the game, with the Belgians intent on not leaving it open for France's quick attackers like Mbappé.
The tactic would have been a masterstroke had Belgium won.
It didn’t, and more criticism is likely heading coach Domenico Tedesco's way.