BRASILIA, Brazil - After being touted as one of the World Cups entertainers, it was a gritty performance which got France through to the quarterfinals in a 2-0 victory over Nigeria on Monday. Nolan Arenado Jersey . Frances forward line had made headlines with eight goals in its opening two group games, but there was little flair on display in a hard-fought contest against the African champions. France needed a late header from midfielder Paul Pogba and an injury-time own goal from defender Joseph Yobo to overcome a robust Nigeria. The reward is a quarterfinal against Germany on Friday at Rio de Janeiros Maracana stadium, following the Germans 2-1 victory over Algeria. Pogbas goal in the 79th minute followed Nigerias best spell of the match and came soon after France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had made a crucial save to deny Peter Odemwingie. "Were not the prettiest or the best, but we can do good things," France coach Didier Deschamps said after the game. "The deliverance came late. There was a lot of tension because we were up against a very athletic side and there were a lot of challenges." Nigeria, which had a goal ruled out for offside in the 19th minute after Emmanuel Emenike poked home Ahmed Musas cross from the left, wasted a lot of second-half possession. Four years ago, France crashed out of the group stage, shamed a nation by going on strike and was jeered by its own fans and lambasted by politicians in the fallout from an embarrassing tournament. Its very different situation now. "Im proud of my players because were coming back from very far. I think weve given a lot of pleasure back to our fans," Deschamps said. "I think there were 5,000 here and millions back home who will feel proud." Pogbas crucial goal came after Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had just made a superb save to tip over Karim Benzemas header. But he he flapped at the ball from the ensuing corner and Pogba pounced in the 79th minute for his first World Cup goal. That atoned for placing a volley too close to Enyeama in a scrappy first half. Scoring such a crucial goal will boost his confidence heading into the last eight game. "We have four days left to prepare for another battle," Deschamps said. Yobo, who announced his international retirement after the game, turned the ball into his own net in stoppage time under pressure from France substitute Antoine Griezmann. At the final whistle, Frances relieved players danced in front of their fans as dreams of a repeat run to the final — just like in 2006 — moved a step closer. "We had the whole country behind us," Pogba said. "Its one of the proudest moments of my life." France started slowly and finished strongly in the second round match. "Ive yet to see a team play well over the whole 90 minutes," Deschamps said. "Nigeria dropped off a bit and that allowed us to get on top." After Griezmann came on, Benzema finally came alive in the 70th, opening up the defence after a clever one-two with the France substitute. After Enyeama blocked Benzemas initial shot, his follow-up effort was hacked clear by Victor Moses. Video technology confirmed that the ball had not crossed the line. France failed to show the attacking flair of previous games, with Giroud skewing a shot wide early on. He also appeared to elbow John Obi Mikel in an off-the ball incident, having done the same in last weeks 0-0 draw with Ecuador after coming on as a second-half substitute. "The referee saw it and didnt even give him a warning. Not a yellow card, nothing," Mikel said. "The intention was there." Keshi was highly critical of American referee Mark Geigers handling of the game. "The ref is a human being, but a lot of mistakes were questionable," he said. "Giroud elbow, Pogba foot up ... he decides what happens on the field. Im not happy with the ref." Two chances were missed late in the half. Full-back Mathieu Debuchy smacked a shot wide and into the back of a steward, and Emenike saw his sharp drive from the edge of the area palmed away by Lloris. With Nigeria starting to dominate possession, Deschamps made a key change in the 62nd, taking Giroud off and bringing on Griezmann, freeing Benzema to play through the middle. Nigeria continued to push forward and centre half Laurent Kocielny cut out Musas dangerous cross from the right. But toward the end, it was all France as Griezmann boosted the attack. He almost made it 2-0 in the 85th that Enyeama tipped over brilliantly. Instead, it fell to Yobo to inadvertently add Frances second goal. ___ Lineups: France: Hugo Lloris; Mathieu Debuchy, Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielny, Patrice Evra; Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye, Blaise Matuidi; Mathieu Valbuena (Moussa Sissoko, 94th), Olivier Giroud (Antoine Griezmann, 62nd), Karim Benzema. Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama; Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo, Joseph Yobo, Juwon Oshaniwa; Ogenyi Onazi (Ruben Gabriel, 59th), John Obi Mikel; Ahmed Musa, Peter Odemwingie, Victor Moses (Uche Nwofor, 89th); Emmanuel Emenike. DJ LeMahieu Jersey . Louis Cardinals have agreed to a one-year contract. Colorado Rockies Jerseys . He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep. http://www.rockiesapparelsshop.com/customized-c-3/ . Al Harrington, another former Knicks forward, scored 22 of his 24 points after halftime for the Nuggets, allowing them to withstand Anthonys attempt to rally the Knicks after his poor shooting had them behind until the final minutes of regulation. Anthony finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, missing 20 of 30 shots in the Knicks sixth straight loss.Gerrie Nel, lawyer for the prosecution, finally got the opportunity hes been waiting for: cross-examining Oscar Pistorius. And he didnt waste any time getting down to business. In what was a relentless cross-examination, Nel set the stage early: Nel: "You killed a person. You killed Reeva Steenkamp, thats what you did. You shot and killed her. "Say Yes - say I killed Reeva Steenkamp." Pistorius: "I have a responsibility to Reeva and myself to tell the truth." Nel: "You will not hide things from the court." Pistorius: "Im human, I have faults, I have sins. Im a Christian. The Lord came down to this world for people who have sinned." Nel: "As a Christian you will not lie." And so the most critical confrontation of this trial began: seasoned litigator Nel versus Olympic double amputee Pistorius. Here are the key points covered in this first day of cross-examination. Pistorius: Intent To Kill Pistorius testified that not only did he not intend to shoot Steenkamp, he didnt intend to shoot anyone. Heres what he said, and as youll see, he made sure he was clear about it: Pistorius: "The discharge was accidental. I believed there was someone in the toilet coming out to attack me. I never intended to shoot anyone ... I went to the bathroom and felt in danger. I didnt have much time to think. I just discharged my firearm. I didnt intend to shoot someone. I shot out of fear. I didnt shoot at someone. I didnt intend to kill anyone...I didnt have time to think about what I was doing. I had finger on my trigger. I didnt intend to shoot anyone. I fired before I had a moment to comprehend what was happening." Nel: "Was the only way out for you to shoot an intruder?" Pistorius: "I didnt have time to think or not think about shooting an intruder. My life was in danger and I was worried what could happen to Reeva. People had been tied up on the estate before. Before thinking I fired four shots. When I realised the scale of what was happening I stopped firing. It was an accident, the way I discharged the firearm. I didnt intend to shoot." This is a massively important piece of testimony for Pistorius and a critical component of the trial. Heres why. Pistorius can still be convicted of murder if it can be shown that he intended to kill - period. It doesnt matter who - just that he intended to kill someone and that the force he used was disproportionately excessive given the circumstances. Remember, in order to make out the charge of murder against Pistorius, it must be shown that he had the requisite intent to kill and followed through on tthat intent. Carlos Gonzalez Jersey. If convicted of murder, he would face 15 years in prison. So he wants to avoid a murder conviction and look to settle on a lesser charge of culpable homicide, which means killing someone by accident. If convicted on culpable homicide, he would likely only go to jail for five to 10 years. So despite firing four shots through a locked bathroom door at 3am, Pistorius repeatedly declared that he "didnt intend to shoot anyone" and the discharge was an "accident". These statements are designed to establish that Pistorius lacked the intent needed to make out a conviction of murder. Its not enough to say he didnt intend to shoot Steenkamp; he needs to say that he didnt intend to shoot anyone. Pistorius testimony shows that he was well prepared by his lawyers. He hit on the key legal points in ordinary English. However, the issue of plausibility remains. As Nel pointed out, "was the only way out for you to shoot the intruder?". For example, he could have grabbed Steenkamp and fled. This is the most important element from Day 1 of the cross-examination of Pistorius. Zombie Stopper Nel was relentless in his cross-examination. In part, that was designed to try and break Pistorius and push him to admit he intended to kill Steenkamp. One way Nel tried to apply pressure on Pistorius was by presenting the Melon Video. The video was also produced because it helped paint Pistorius as reckless and gun-crazed. In the video, Pistorius and friends blow up melons with guns and Pistorius is heard saying this: "Its a lot softer than brain but its like a zombie stopper." This was followed by Nels blunt question: Nel: "One can see the effect the ammunition had on a water melon. It exploded. You know the same thing happened to Reevas head?" Reconstruction or Reworked Evidence Nel also focused on inconsistencies in Pistorius statement to police right after the death of Steenkamp. Nel accused Pistorius of "reconstructing" or "reworking" his evidence. For example, in Pistorius bail application, he said that he went to the balcony to retrieve a fan. However, on the stand today he denied that. While some of these inconsistencies may not seem important, Nel told Pistorius they were in fact not "insignificant" as they show "you are lying." Before the trial was adjourned for the day, Nel made a point of referring to todays testimony as "Day 1" of the cross-examination of Pistorius. This suggests that the cross may continue for days. Indeed, there is more in store for the most critical witness of this trial. NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap Authentic Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '