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Ribery spoils Beckham century
27/03/2008 07:47 - (SA)
Stade de France - A first-half penalty from Franck Ribery spoiled David Beckham's 100th appearance for England by giving France a 1-0 friendly win at the Stade de France on Wednesday.
Midfielder Ribery marked a superb performance by scoring from the spot against the run of play in the 32nd minute after Nicolas Anelka was brought down by keeper David James.
The 32-year-old Beckham started the match to become only the fifth English player in 136 years of international football to achieve a century of appearances for his country.
He worked tirelessly on the right wing and sent over a series of trademark crosses and long passes but also received a first-half booking for checking Ribery before being replaced by David Bentley after 63 minutes.
He left the field to a standing ovation from both the French and English supporters.
England, who failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals and have not beaten France in Paris in five matches since a 3-1 friendly win in 1949, fought bravely before the break but gradually conceded midfield possession to the French who finished the stronger side.
Clever exchange
Despite being at fault for the penalty which was similar to the one James conceded against France in Euro 2004 when he upended Thierry Henry, the goalkeeper had a good game and thwarted numerous French scoring chances in the second half.
France took the lead after a clever exchange of passes in midfield freed up right-back Francois Clerc.
Anelka was first to react to Clerc's long speculative forward pass and got a touch to the ball before being clattered by James and sent flying into the air.
Ribery made no mistake from the penalty spot - then earned himself a yellow card for taking off his shirt as he celebrated his goal.
England spurned three chances to score in the 15 minutes before France took the lead - all three fell to Steven Gerrard who sent two headers over the bar, while one wayward shot was also too high and wide to trouble goalkeeper Gregory Coupet.
England took control of the match after a bright start by France saw Anelka head a Ribery free-kick wide after eight minutes, but both Anelka and David Trezeguet saw increasingly less of the ball as England dominated the midfield for most of the first half.
Beckham went close to scoring when he chased a low cross from Ashley Cole after 15 minutes that just eluded the golden boots he was wearing to mark his century milestone.
As the match moved into its later stages, France inspired by the tireless Ribery began to look like the contenders they could well be at the Euro 2008 finals in June while England's midfield struggled to maintain their earlier dominance.
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Rugby
