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PARIS -- France reached the World Cup against the odds after beating Ukraine 3-0 on Tuesday, overturning a first-leg deficit with a performance full of pride and confidence after most observers had written the team off. Backs to the wall after a 2-0 defeat last Friday, France started at a frenetic pace and never let up against a dispirited Ukraine that played most of the second half with 10 men. France was already leading 2-0 by then after Mamadou Sakho scored his first international goal midway through the first half and Karim Benzema added a close-range finish in the 34th. "Ive experienced some great moments but this one is special. Its fabulous, especially after the first game and the bad result we got there," France coach Didier Deschamps said. "The players should get all the credit because they did something special." Ukraine went down to 10 men when fullback Yevhen Khacheridi was red-carded for fouling Franck Ribery in the 47th minute. France sealed qualification in the 72nd when Ukraine subsitute Oleg Gusev turned a cross into his own net under pressure from Sakho. "We should have worked harder and been more organized," Ukraine coach Mykhailo Fomenko said. "I warned my players before the match to avoid the yellow and red cards but this was very difficult." There were delirious scenes at the end as France players rushed off the bench to celebrate. Bullied all night in Kyiv last Friday, the French responded brilliantly in a performance full of bravery, panache and determination. "Its the magic of football. Four days ago we were bad, very bad," Deschamps said. "Tonight the players were present and I had no doubt they would be." The players, under intense pressure in the build-up to the game, grabbed flags and sprinted around the field in jubilation as France avoided the embarrassment of failing to qualify for a major tournament for the first time in 20 years. "Its been a very long time since we saw the Stade de France like this," Ribery said. "We took a big slap in Ukraine and we woke up. We were stuck together until the end and we showed it on the pitch." Olivier Giroud grabbed a microphone and got the crowd singing along to the national anthem as pent-up emotions were well and truly released. "Weve suffered so much, theres been so much sadness," Ribery said. "This is wonderful, magnificent." In a match four years ago, 10,000 travelling Irish fans drowned out the home support. But there was no danger of that this time from Ukraines considerably smaller following. Pre-match footage on the stadiums big screen showed clips of glory days: the Platini years, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Perhaps this was an attempt to jog the crowds memory, a last-ditch plea to get them to rally behind the team. Or perhaps it was a simpler message: "This is how to win, remember?" The words to "La Marseillaise" then popped up on the screen, offering further encouragement to show their support. It seemed to have the desired effect as France poured forward and had Ukraine firmly on the back foot from the outset, with Mathieu Valbuena going close with a rising shot and Paul Pogba and Benzema heading over from good positions. Piatov had kept eight consecutive clean sheets but his resistance was finally broken when Sakho pounced to turn the ball in from close range after Piatov pushed away Riberys shot from the edge of the penalty area. The way Sakho sprinted to the bench, thumping his chest with pride, showed just how intense the strain had been on the French since Friday. Some of the tackling was ferocious, as this time France stood up to the physical challenge after their battering in Kyiv. "I know the French team is very strong and can play at a very high level. They were playing at home and their fans were very good," Fomenko said. "I regret a few things. We werent good psychologically. We needed to be ready and I dont think we were." Piatov was well beaten for the second goal when Cabayes attempted shot deflected favourably into the path of Benzema and he stroked it into the bottom corner. Moments before halftime, Sakho stretched his leg high to poke the ball away from Roman Zozulya as he was about to shoot and, from the resulting corner, Andriy Yarmolenkos goal-bound hit Mathieu Debuchys chest. The French bench rose in unison when Gusev turned a cross into his own net and substitute Giroud almost made it 4-0 but his point-blank header was superbly saved. Fake Panthers Jerseys . Josh Mazzola drove in five runs to lead the Goldeyes (20-12) past the Capitales 11-5 Friday night at Le Stade Municipal in Quebec City. Cheap Panthers Jerseys . Bradley is one of eight players selected to the team who also played in this years World Cup in Brazil. The MLS all-stars will compete against German giants Bayern Munich in Portland on Aug. https://www.panthersjerseycheap.com/.com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. Florida Panthers Shirts . When Reyes signed a US$106-million, six-year deal with Miami last month, there was speculation Ramirez was unhappy about being supplanted at short. But new manager Ozzie Guillen sold Ramirez on the idea. Panthers Jerseys 2021 .Inter Milan and Napoli also advanced to ensure there will be at least three Italian clubs in the last 32 of Europes secondary competition.Spurs victory, secured by Benjamin Stamboulis 49th-minute winner, was overshadowed by a succession of pitch invasions that forced the referee to halt the game after 41 minutes.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The lack of comments by the Sacramento Kings players on a jump ball with less than 2 seconds left silently said enough about what they thought of the call. Mike Conley had 25 points and six assists, then grabbed possession of the jump ball to help the Memphis Grizzlies secure a 91-90 victory over the Kings on Friday night. While the Kings players dodged the question, it was evident Sacramento coach Michael Malone disagreed with the call, crossing the court after the final horn to scream at official Marc Davis. "I thought it was an awful call," Malone said in his postgame comments. "I didnt see a jump (ball). It looked like to me the official made the call and was running the other way." The call was important in a tight game that included 17 ties, 11 lead changes and came down to the final possession. Courtney Lee added 17 points for Memphis, which won its season-best fifth straight. Marc Gasol, in his third game back after missing 23 games with a knee injury, finished with 16 points, and Zach Randolph had 12 points and nine rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 22 points and 17 rebounds, while Rudy Gay scored 19 points, 11 of those in the fourth, as the Kings built their lead. Isaiah Thomas finished with 14 points and nine assists. Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams had 10 points each. The jump ball between Gay and Tayshaun Prince on the Kings end of the court with 1.9 seconds left ended up in Conleys hands. Gasol actually smacked the ball away in the post-jump scramble before Conley grabbed it. "They tipped it to DeMarcus and (Gasol) was able to get his hand on the ball," Conley said. "I knew if I touched it, Im just trying to get it out of my hands and throw it as far as I can so I wouldnt get fouled." The Kings players were very careful not to criticize the jump ball call. "Itt was a rough game down the stretch," Cousins said, "thats all I can really say.dddddddddddd" When asked about the last call, he replied: "It was a jump ball. I saw what yall saw. What (did) yall see?" Gay responded by saying: "No comment. Anybody that saw it at home saw what happened. You (can) make up whatever you want to make up about that." Memphis trailed 88-81 with about 4 minutes left, but outscored the Kings 10-2 the rest of the way. In fact, the burst started right after Grizzlies coach David Joerger got a technical, also called by Davis. Gay took over to start the fourth, scoring the first eight points by Sacramento, then Thomas scored on a reverse layup and a 3-pointer. That matched the Kings biggest lead at 84-77. The Kings still held a seven-point advantage after Joergers technical for arguing a call against Gasol with 4:01 left. Memphis scored 10 straight points to retake the lead 91-88 with 54.2 seconds remaining. Gays rebound basket cut the lead to 91-90 with 39 seconds left, setting the stage for the final jump ball. Neither team was able to build a lead in the game of more than the seven points the Kings held with 4 minutes left. "We got stops seven of the last eight possessions, and I think Im counting 10 of the last 13," Joerger said. "So, going down the stretch, the intensity was good. We got deflections, got our hands on basketballs, and came up with loose balls." NOTES: Memphis has won 13 of the last 15 in the series. ... Cousins has double-doubles in his last 13 games, matching LaSalle Thompsons 13 straight in the mid-80s for the most in Sacramento franchise history. . At 20-19, Memphis is above .500 for the first time since being 9-8 on Dec. 3. .The 90 points by Sacramento marked only the second time in the last 15 games that the Kings scored less than 100. ' ' '