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LONDON -- France needs an unprecedented comeback to avoid missing its first World Cup in 20 years. No European team has ever qualified for the World Cup through the playoffs after losing the first leg 2-0. Two decades after France failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup following a shock home defeat against Bulgaria, Les Bleus lost to Ukraine for the first time in the first leg by a two-goal margin. That means the odds are indeed heavily stacked against Didier Deschampss team ahead of Tuesdays return game at the Stade de France. The French players display was so poor on Friday that it led the French media to question if the national sides performance had been the "worst in history." To turn around the result, France needs to rediscover its attacking potency as Deschamps - who won the 1998 World Cup and the European championships two years later as a player, must decide who to play up front against an extremely well organized Ukrainian side. "Well need to have that bit of folly that will make for an exceptional match," Deschamps said. "Its up to the players to get into that mentality. But we also have to realize they wont play with 10 players at the back. We have to put them under pressure from the start and show a lot of determination and keep the high tempo going until the end." Flourishing in the Premier League this season, Loic Remy had a poor game on the right wing in Kyiv and could be replaced with Karim Benzema, meaning that Deschamps could keep Olivier Giroud as his central sriker. Samir Nasri had a quiet game and may be replaced in the playmakers role by Mathieu Valbuena. Franck Ribery will also need to raise his game with the national team to prove that he fully deserves the FIFA Ballon dOr. Ribery who struggled to make any meaningful impact in Ukraine, has been tipped to claim the FIFA accolade after helping Bayern Munich to the Champions League. "Obviously, Ukraine knew how dangerous Ribery could be," Deschamps said. "They were very aggressive toward him. They made a lot of fouls that went unpunished. Ukraine eliminated Franck. He had very few chances to take on his opponent one-on-one. There was always a midfielder around to provide back-up." With Laurent Koscielny suspended after his sending off, Deschamps has a major headache in defence and must decide who will play alongside Eric Abidal. With Raphael Varane struggling with a sore knee, Deschamps must pick between the inexperienced Mamamdou Sakho and Bacary Sagna. Sagna plays at right back for Arsenal but has played centre half before. "We were shaken over there against a very committed team who played at a very high level while we were average," Deschamps said. "We took a slap and the situation is favourable for them. It wont be easy. Were obviously not in a good position. We have to reverse the trend and believe in this now." After winning the first round of his duel with Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he scored the winner in Portugals 1-0 win over Sweden, Cristiano Ronaldo is hopeful he can again steal the show at the Swedish national stadium on Tuesday night. While Ibrahimovic failed to impress in Lisbon, Ronaldo dived to glance in a left-wing cross for his 44th goal in 108 international appearances, and almost added another when he headed against the crossbar late on. Portugal, which beat Sweden at home for the first time in its history, missed automatic qualification for a major international tournament for the third time in a row after qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 through the playoffs. "It was an important goal and it gave us victory," Ronaldo said. "We could have scored one or two more goals but this advantage gives us confidence for the second leg. Nothing is settled yet. Its 50-50." All four return playoffs matches take place on Tuesday, with Greece in a comfortable position following its 3-1 win over Romania in the first leg and Iceland having kept alive its hopes of reaching a first ever World Cup with a 0-0 home draw against Croatia. Several friendly matches involving European powerhouses having already qualified for the finals in Brazil are also scheduled on Tuesday, with England facing bitter rival Germany in Wembley for the showcase match of the evening. The Germans will be missing Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil, Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer after coach Joachim Low decided to try "new tactical variations and personnel." NEW YORK -- Matt Harvey has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, a potentially devastating injury for the pitcher that had given the foundering New York Mets reason to be hopeful about their future. For now, the 24-year-old Harvey and the Mets hope that he will be able to avoid reconstruction surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament. A full prognosis will not be made until swelling in the elbow goes down in about two weeks. "It was tough. Obviously it was the last thing I was expecting when I went this morning," Harvey said Monday. "I am going to do everything I can to avoid surgery." The National Leagues All-Star game starter on his home field this July, Harvey has been experiencing forearm tenderness for a month or two but could not pinpoint exactly when it began. The discomfort increased during his start Saturday against the Detroit Tigers, when he allowed a career-high 13 hits. Harvey admitted he was tired against the Tigers, the 26th start of his first full season in the major leagues. Manager Terry Collins said he noticed Harveys pitches werent as crisp, a sign of fatigue. But Collins didnt know Harvey had any issues with his forearm until Sunday and the ace went for an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery a day later. "Nothing is shooting in my elbow at all. Thats not the issue," Harvey said. "When I heard the news, I was pretty shocked. Im still very optimistic." Harvey wasnt the only one in the Mets organization stunned by the news. "This was a surprise to all of us," general manager Sandy Alderson said. "Forearm pain can foretell problems with the elbow, but in this particular circumstance there had been no indications of that." Harvey wasnt immediately placed on the disabled list. Carlos Torres will take his spot in the rotation and face the Phillies on Thursday. Torres got two outs on Monday night in the Mets 2-1 loss to Philadelphia that dropped New York to 58-71. The No. 7 pick of the 2010 draft, Harvey is 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA. He has a league-leading 191 strikeouts in 178 1-3 innings pitched and was a top candidate for the NL Cy Young Award. "It put everybody down," catcher Travis dArnaud said. "When we heard the news everybody was just speechless. I just feel terrible, man." The Mets were working on limiting Harveys innings to a little more than 200 this season. Alderson said there is no real scientific basis for managing young pitchers careers. "These innings limits are not a guarantee of anything. Theyre certainly not based on any science," Alderson said. "This is a kind of progressive injury that isnt a function of, we dont believe in this case a specific incident or quote overuse. Its an anatomical fact that these things happen." The blow is paarticularly tough for an organization that has not been to the playoffs since 2006, and hasnt had a winning season in its new ballpark that opened in 09.dddddddddddd But Harvey was the first of several top young pitchers who were supposed to help lead New York back to the post-season, and Mets captain David Wright cited the talent in the minor leagues as one of the reasons he signed a big contract to remain in New York last winter. One of those rising stars, Zack Wheeler, started for the Mets on Monday and took the loss. Wheeler pitched impressively into the seventh inning, giving up two runs and five hits. But Collins lifted him with two outs even though Wheeler was about to face Phillies lefty Cliff Lee. "We said before the game that 105 was the limit," Collins said. "Obviously, after what happened earlier today were sticking to it." Harvey made a marvelous big league debut last season, striking out 11 in 5 2-3 innings against the Diamondbacks and has been even more dominant this season. Big like classic power pitchers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, with a fastball that regularly reaches 98 mph, Harvey flirted with no-hitters several times this season. The excitement at Citi Field every time he pitched was not present on most other nights, and the Mets took to calling his starts "Harvey Day." "This is a great loss for the Mets. Matt Harvey has given us a lot of hope this year for the future. Hes been our shining star this year," said David Greenfield of Fairlawn, N.J., a self-professed Mets fan since their first season of 1962. "Hes a class guy, and Mets fans need something to hang our hats on." The news about Harvey comes just days after the same doctor, David Altchek, recommended Tommy John Surgery for teammate Jeremy Hefner. Also, right-hander Jenrry Mejia returned from elbow-reconstruction surgery last September. After making just five starts this year, he went back on the DL and is likely going to have an operation to remove bone spurs from the elbow. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana had his second shoulder surgery and is out for the season. While Harvey hopes to avoid surgery by strengthening the muscles in the shoulder and arm, Alderson was a bit more realistic in discussing the elbow. He said this type of injury can worsen over time and that even if the ace with a Russian supermodel for a girlfriend can keep from having an operation now, he may need it in several years. Tommy John surgery has become a fairly common procedure for pitchers. Recovery time usually takes at least a year, and many have made successful returns. Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg had the operation after a tantalizing debut. His teammate Jordan Zimmermann, an All-Star this year, also made a successful return. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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