POLOKWANE // A French team in disarray will face a Mexico lineup who are growing in confidence in match that could be crucial in determining who progresses from Group A.
Mexico scored a late equaliser in the tournament's first match against South Africa, taking some of the gloss of the opening day celebrations for the host nation. France opened later that day with a lacklustre scoreless draw against Uruguay that did not encourage anybody except their group rivals.
"They have their names, we have ours. But names don't play, men do," Gerardo Torrado, the Mexico captain, said. "Nothing short of a win is good for us."
Eric Abidal, the France defender, said "things will become even harder if we have a bad result" because the French then have to take on South Africa in their last group game, played in front of passionate home supporters.
France are usually slow starters, having failed to win their opening match at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and at the European Championship two years ago.
Although France went on to reach the final at Germany 2006, Raymond Domenech's team seem dispirited and dishevelled amid rumours of a row between the coach and Florent Malouda.
"Football is simple. You have to win matches, and once you win matches everyone is beautiful and the best friends in the world," Malouda said.
"As soon as results become more difficult, you see stories appearing left and right. The only answer is to win games and then everyone will be smiling at you."
Malouda is pushing for a place in Domenech's starting lineup after being dropped to the bench against Uruguay the day after a heated training session where Domenech told him not to fly so heavily into tackles. Meanwhile, Fifa turned down France's request to draft in a replacement for their injured back-up goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso, who tore his left hamstring in training Monday.
* AP
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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
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Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
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