Reuters Sports News Summary

Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Mbappe’s star power looms large in home city Bondy

As French soccer star Kylian Mbappe gears up for the World Cup final on Sunday in Qatar, the striker's presence is also felt strongly in Bondy, the unassuming satellite city of Paris where he grew up. "Ah, Kylian, the rising star - the star of the stars," said Kamel Ghehioueche, 41, bundled up in front of the city hall, an austere, concrete building from the 1960s, as parking agents cleared a lot for the Christmas market.

Soccer-Virus-hit France focused on finishing the job against Argentina - Deschamps

France have not been overly troubled by the virus that has hit several players in the past few days, coach Didier Deschamps said, as the squad prepare to finish off their World Cup campaign in Sunday's final against Argentina. Defenders Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate, Raphael Varane, midfielder Adrien Rabiot and forward Kingsley Coman were all infected during the week, although most of them have recovered.

NBA roundup: Nets prevail on Kyrie Irving's last-second trey

Kyrie Irving hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer at the buzzer and the visiting Brooklyn Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors 119-116 Friday night. Irving finished with 32 points and Kevin Durant added 28 for the Nets, who have won five straight and nine of 10.

Soccer-Orisic gives Croatia halftime lead against Morocco

Mislav Orsic curled in a brilliant goal in the 42nd minute to give Croatia 2-1 lead over Morocco at halftime in an open and entertaining World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday. Croatia went ahead after seven minutes with a clever free kick routine as Ivan Perisic peeled away then headed the ball back across goal for the masked Josko Gvardiol to meet it with a diving header from 13 yards out.

Soccer-Stopping the stars won't be enough to win World Cup

Despite the high profile performances of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in Qatar, Argentina and France can create danger all over the pitch, so stopping the superstars is only one battle in Sunday's World Cup final war. In the early group games, Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were both raiding out wide, operating almost as old-fashioned wingers, with Olivier Giroud holding a traditional centre-forward role and Antoine Griezmann given licence to roam.

Soccer-Whatever the ending, Qatar World Cup duly delivered

A World Cup that has defied all expectations reaches its climax on Sunday when Lionel Messi could join Diego Maradona in Argentine immortality by taking the south Americans to the title or France could become the first nation to retain it since 1962.

Both scenarios would be an appropriate final act to the first World Cup staged in an Arab country.

Soccer-Beware the penalty specialist if final goes to shootout

If Sunday's World Cup final becomes the third to go to penalties then coaches Didier Deschamps of France and Argentina's Lionel Scaloni should avoid the temptation to throw on a "penalty specialist" at the end of extra time - because it never works. Data analyst Nielsen Gracenote looked at the relatively recent trend and found that of the seven players brought on at the end of extra time in the World Cup or European Championship to take a penalty, all seven missed, with five of their teams losing the shootout.

Factbox-Soccer-10 memorable impressions from the Qatar World Cup

The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month, with shocks, great goals, incredible celebrations and record-breaking feats served up by the assembled cast. Here are 10 of the highlights as chosen by the Reuters team of reporters covering the tournament.

Brittney Griner says she will advocate for Americans detained abroad, resume career

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who on Friday left an Army medical center where she had been recuperating following her release from a Russian penal colony as part of a prisoner swap, said she would work to help bring other detained Americans home and planned to resume her WNBA career. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star, left the Brooke Army Medical Center a week after she arrived at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, CNN reported.

Soccer-Croatia and Morocco make several changes for third-place playoff

Croatia and Morocco made several changes to their starting lineups for their World Cup third-place playoff at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday, with both coaches giving opportunities to players benched during the tournament. Morocco will be without skipper Romain Saiss who lasted only 21 minutes in the semi-final defeat by France before he was substituted, with head coach Walid Regragui saying it was a risk worth taking at the time but not for the playoff.

Reuters Sports News Summary
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