Key events
‘Violent disorder’ in London after French win
Police battled football fans in central London early on Friday after France beat Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final. Per AFP:
One police officer was injured and four people were arrested following the “violent disorder”, London police said.
Images shared on social media showed dozens of people stood in Edgware Road, near Hyde Park, and some throwing bottles and other objects at police. Police said the trouble started after people blocked traffic in the road.
“The incident then escalated with the group throwing bottles and setting off fireworks,” a spokesman said. “One officer was taken to hospital for head injuries, it is believed he had been hit by a glass bottle.”
Jonathan Wilson
First up, here’s Jonathan Wilson’s match report from Boston.
“What is a defence supposed to do? Perhaps France have gone too early. Perhaps they will not be able to sustain this form. But if they do, it is going to take something remarkable to prevent them winning their third World Cup in 28 years.”
Preamble
Good morning/afternoon/evening! We have our first World Cup semi-finalist and, to no surprise, it’s Didier Deschamps’ France. What looked a tough quarter-final turned into a fairly routine 2-0 win over Morocco and the tournament favourites look hard to stop.
France play the winner of Spain v Belgium which is today’s game before the other side of the draw takes centre stage on the weekend: England v Norway and Argentina v Switzerland. Build-up to those games and all your other World Cup news is on its way right here!
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