Full time: France2-0 Nigeria 90+5 The referee blows the final whistle to end the game. It's France two, Nigeria nil as the Europeans go through to meet either Germany or Algeria who face off later on the day. 90+3 The Nigerian fans are apparently dismayed after their team looked really promising tonight! 90+1 Valbuena moves across the byline and gets into the area before crossing low for Griezmann who touches the ball before hitting defender Yobo finds his own net! 90+1 GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!!! France two!!! 88' Nigerio coach Keshi takes off Moses and introduces Nwofor. 84' Griezmann played in through on goal by a superb defense-splitting pass from Pogba but again keeper Eneyeama palms the substitute's effort over. 80' Nigeria bossed possession for most of the half but failed to mount real threat on goal, while France were able to create nearly three gilt-edged chances before scoring the opener. 79' Pogba heads in from close range after keeperEnyeama came out of goal to parry a corner kick away as the ball fell into the French's path! 79' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLL!!!! France one!!! 77' OFF THE BAR!!! Cabaya chests the ball down outside the area before dispatching a thunderous strike that rattled the post!! 75' KeeperEnyeama parries away Griezmann's dangerous cross, out for corner. 73' Benzema strikes a low shot wide... 70' WHAT A CHANCE!!! Benzema goes clear on goal following a superb one two, but the French forward sees his strike denied by keeperEnyeama before Moses cleared off the line!! 68' Musa breaks through the right handside of the area before sending in a dangerous cross which was cleared by Koscielny. 65' Odemwingie cuts inside across the penalty box's edge to finally unleash a powerful shot that was parried by keeper Lloris! The Nigerians are completely having the upper hand!! 62' Unexpectedly, Nigeria have been dictating play during those past few minutes! 62' Griezmann replaces the ineffectual Matuidi 60' Emenike fires from outside the box but his surprising effort goes wide. 58' Ruben Gabriel now replaces the injured Onazi. 56' Onazi is receiving treatment as he will be stretchered off. 55' Matuidi handed the first booking of the game following a cynical foul on Ambrose. 52' Emenike sees a header go wide from inside the six yards after hitting Varane. 47' Nigeria now attack from the right as they win a corner kick, just a minute after France looked determined to pose threat seconds into the half. The second half kicks off. 45+2 The referee blows the whistle, ending the first half. 44' Emenike hits a powerful strike from just outside the box as Moses handles the ball before attempting from point blank range but the referee whistles. 43' France on the attack now! 40' WHAT A CHANCE!!! Debuchy fires wide from onise the area following a pass from Valbuena!! That was a certain goal! 39' A corner for Nigeria but awfully executed...now goal kick. 32' Paul Pogba robs Mikel of the ball but again the attack comes for nothing. 30' Olivier Giroud was caught attempting an elbow on Premier League rival Obi Mikel... 28' Play has been restricted to midfield during those past minutes, both teams look lively on the break but lack the final touch. 23' WHAT A STUNNING SAVE!!! Nigeria Enyeama delightfully parries Pogba's volley from inside the area after Valbuena was released down the right. 20' Benzema flagged for offside... The Real Madrid forward even failed to connect with the cross coming from the right before the referee's whistle! 19' GOALLL!! No! The linesman rules out Eminike's goal for offside! 18' Eminike strikes wide! 18' Matuidi concedes a free kick following a rash challenge on Odemwingie from nearly 30 yards. 15' Odemwingie plays it but an awful header from a teammate sees the ball eventually collected by the keeper. 13'Eminike surging down the left but Cabaye fouls him to concede a free kick near the byline. 10' The Nigerians pounced on a blunder from Benzema in midfield to charge forward but the attack is eventually scuffed out. 10' After 10 minutes, it's clearly obvious France are mainly relying on their right flank in launching their attacks. 6' Nigeria are brilliantly dominating possession in midfield...Great from the Africans so far.. 4' Pogba breaks into the area from the left but his following cut-back is cleared away. 3' The first corner kick of the game is for Nigeria. The match gets underway. 17:53 Nigeria reached the second round on their first two World Cup appearances in 1994 and 1998 but were eliminated at the group stage at their two subsequent finals in 2002 and 2010. 17:53 The national anthems are currently being played. 17:52 Team officials said on Friday promises of quick payment from the country's president had resolved the situation but it is hardly the best way for the African champions to prepare for the France game. 17:51 Nigeria's preparations have been disrupted after they became the latest African country to be embroiled in a money row and the players threatened not to train. 17:50Both teams have lined up outside their dressing rooms as they prepare to take to the field. 17:45 "Benzema has extraordinary movement which underpins the team's play," Deschamps told reporters. ## 17:42 Both teams are currently warming up now. 17:40 Benzema came into the World Cup following a fine season with Real when he netted 24 goals in 52 games in all competitions and helped the world's richest club win a 10th Champions League crown and the King's Cup. 17:35 He has earned effusive praise from coach Didier Deschamps and his team mates and France will need the 26-year-old to maintain his form if they are to beat Nigeria in Brasilia and set up a quarter-final against Germany or Algeria. 17:30 France will be relying today on Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema who produced some stunning displays in the World Cup, steering his side to thumping victories over Honduras and Switezerland. Starting lineups: France: Hugo Lloris; Mathieu Debuchy, Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielny, Patrice Evra; Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Yohan Cabaye; Mathieu Valbuena, Olivier Giroud, Karim Benzema. Nigeria:Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo (c), Efetobore Ambrose, Ahmed Musa, Osazemwinde Odemwingie, Emmanuel Emenike, John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses, Juwon Oshaniwa, Ogenyi Onazi, Kenneth Omeruo 17:00Koscielny could line up in central defence alongside Raphael Varane at the Mane Garrincha National Stadium as Mamadou Sakho is doubtful due to a thigh injury. 16:30He added "We are competitors and we are ambitious, but we know that we have opponents against us and that we might lose. "We're aware of our qualities. Something changed after the Ukraine game, but anything is possible in a knockout match and for the moment we're only focusing on the last 16." 16:00It is only seven months since France had to overcome a 2-0 deficit to beat Ukraine in their qualifying play-off and the Arsenal defender says that it would be unwise to look too far ahead. "The first objective was to get through the group phase. Now it's to go as far as possible," he said. 15:40Both Bacary Sagna and Morgan Schneiderlin suggested that France were potential champions after the stalemate at the Maracana, but centre-back Laurent Koscielny has since introduced a note of caution as Les Bleus prepare for Monday's game in Brasilia. 15:20While Didier Deschamps's side garnered plaudits by sweeping past Honduras 3-0 and crushing Switzerland 5-2, a much-changed team could only draw 0-0 in their final Group E fixture against Ecuador on Wednesday. 15:00In previous World Cups, France have always reached at least the semifinals after qualifying from the group phase, but circumspection has become the order of the day in the French camp this week. Match will start at 16:00 GMT (18:00 Cairo time). Stay tuned. Venue: Estadio Nacional de Brasilia (Brasilia, Distrito Federal) Officials: Referee: M. Geiger (USA) Assistants: M. Hurd (USA), J. Fletcher (Canada) Fourth official: A. Faghani (Iran) For the match preview, click here (For more sports newsandupdates,followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter [email protected]_Sportsand onFacebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/105114.aspx
