PARIS — On a night of terrifying violence in Paris with two explosions going off outside the stadium, France beat Germany 2-0 on Friday in a game overshadowed by the events around the city.
The explosions could be heard inside the Stade de France as they went off nearby in the first half. Police said more than 120 people were killed in shootings and explosions around Paris, but the match was not halted.
French President Francois Hollande, who was in the stadium, was evacuated and immediately held an emergency meeting.
"We’re all shaken and shocked," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "For me personally, the game and the sport loses importance. We’re at a loss. We don’t know what to do."
Olivier Giroud and substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac scored a goal each in the friendly match.
The German team, which was evacuated from its hotel in western Paris on Friday morning following a bomb scare, remained in the stadium long after the match.
Fans also remained inside the stadium after the final whistle, then went on the field as news of the violence spread and the sound of wailing sirens could be heard outside. The stadium announcer told fans which exits to use, but more and more walked onto the grass, reluctant to go outside as news poured in of a shocking night of violence.
More than 30 minutes after the game, there were about 2,000 fans on the field as the stadium announcer reassured them that it was safe to leave and use public transport as usual, and directed them to exit gates. The atmosphere was calm but they were slow to filter out.
In the morning, the German team was evacuated from its hotel following a bomb scare, spending a few hours down the road at Roland Garros, the home of the French Open.
In what might have been a chilling coincidence, two loud explosions were heard outside Stade de France just minutes apart midway through the first half, followed by the sounds of wailing police sirens.
The atmosphere during the match was increasingly muted and a sickening feeling seemed to have already gripped the fans.
Post-match media activities were cancelled, as were Saturday’s scheduled media events at the team’s training camp in Clairefontaine.
France’s afternoon training session, which was scheduled to be open to the public, was also cancelled and will now be held behind closed doors.
French sports daily L’Equipe’s Saturday edition was a simple black backdrop alongside the words "L’Horreur" (Horror).
France’s players did not seem aware of the events until after the match, at which point television images showed some gathering to watch the news unfolding, looks of shocks on their faces.
"The French Football Federation shares the pain of the bereaving families and their loved ones," FFF president Noel Le Graet said.
Spain ends England’s unbeaten streak thanks to Mario Gaspar’s superb volley
ALICANTE, Spain — Mario Gaspar scored with a remarkable spinning volley from the top of the area to lead Spain to a 2-0 win over England in a friendly on Friday.
After a high pass by Cesc Fabregas in the 71st minute, Gaspar swiveled his body and struck a right-footed volley to send the ball into the top corner past England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who could only watch it fly over his outstretched arms.
It was the second goal in as many matches with Spain’s national team for the Villarreal right back. He had scored in his international debut in a European qualifier against Ukraine last month.
Santi Cazorla sealed Spain’s victory with a low shot from outside the area in the 84th.
The result put an end to England’s 14-game unbeaten streak, which dated back to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It had won 12 games, including all 10 in Euro 2016 qualifying, and drawn twice, in friendlies against Italy and Ireland this year.
The game in the southeastern city of Alicante featured two teams that will be under the spotlight at next year’s European Championship — with Spain bidding for a third consecutive European title and England hoping to build on its impressive run in qualifying.
Both squads were depleted by injuries, though, and couldn’t fully measure up to expectations. Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque was missing Sergio Ramos, Francisco "Isco" Alarcon, David Silva, Juanfran Torres and Dani Carvajal, among others, while England manager Roy Hodgson was without forwards Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck and chose not to start Wayne Rooney.
To make things worse for Del Bosque, midfielder Thiago Alcantara had to be substituted because of an injury in the 25th, while Hodgson lost Michael Carrick in injury time.
Spain controlled possession and had most of the significant scoring chances throughout the match at the Jose Rico Perez Stadium.
Striker Paco Alcacer nearly opened the scoring after entering the area in the 29th, missing just wide, and two minutes later Diego Costa came close to finding the net with a curling shot that went past the top corner.
England relied mostly on counterattacks. One of its best chances was a long-range shot by Harry Kane in the 67th, and Wayne Rooney’s strike from inside the area in second-half injury time struck the crossbar.
Both teams play top sides again on Tuesday, with Spain travelling to face Belgium in Brussels and England hosting France in London for its final game of the year.
England will also play Germany and the Netherlands in March, while Spain will face Italy and Romania that same month in preparations for Euro 2016.
With goal and assist, De Bruyne leads Belgium past Italy to mark first game as FIFA No. 1
BRUSSELS — Kevin De Bruyne scored one goal and added an assist in Belgium’s 3-1 victory over Italy which underscored its position as FIFA’s top-ranked team and further established it as a leading challenger for next year’s European Championship.
After Antonio Candreva gave Italy an early lead, Belgium came back with goals from Jan Vertonghen, De Bruyne and Michy Batshuayi in a sparkling performance.
By the end of game, Belgium was toying with the Azzurri, a four-time World Cup winner clearly looking in need of rebuilding ahead of next year’s tournament in France.
Belgium, meanwhile, continues to impress with a cast of players that dominate the English Premier league and have a big impact in the French and Italian leagues too.
And even in the absence of injured goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet proved he is an adequate replacement with several key saves when the game was still tight.
"I have an excellent goalie," Belgium coach Marc Wilmots.
Italy took the lead in the third minute when Graziano Pelle tested Migolet with a low drive and Candreva swooped in ahead of the flatfooted Belgian defence to slot home the rebound.
But the Azzurri couldn’t live up to their reputation for being the best to protect any lead. After 13 minutes, De Bruyne placed a curling corner kick on the forehead of the unmarked Vertonghen and the bouncing header from the defender left Gianluigi Buffon with no chance.
And in the 74th, Leonardo Bonucci gave away the ball in defence and De Bruyne capitalized by bouncing it past Buffon.
Belgium capped its comeback when Yannick Carrasco and Batshuayi combined through the centre for another excellent goal.
"The spirit of the group is perfect," Wilmots said. "Collectively, we kept our cool, came back, and won."
The game came to a complete halt in the 39th minute, when the sellout crowd started applauding for the 39 mostly Italian victims of the 1985 Heysel drama who scrolled across the public address screens. The King Baudouin Stadium is the rebuilt Heysel Stadium, where fan violence at the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus killed 39 people.
In the second half, Italy came closest to scoring when Eder hit the underside of the bar in the 61st minute before a slew of substitutions by both sides.
It was Belgium’s first game as leader in the FIFA rankings but Wilmots treated it very much like a preparation game for next year’s Euros with several experiments. In the absence of captain Vincent Kompany, the defence often looked wobbly, especially with Trabzonspor’s Luis Pedro Cavanda insecure on the right.
Italy was without the injured Marco Verratti and is struggling to find a replacement at playmaker, meaning the 36-year-old Andrea Pirlo could still play a major role in this team.
Arjen Robben double seals hard-fought victory for Netherlands against Wales
CARDIFF, Wales — Arjen Robben scored twice to lead the Netherlands to a 3-2 victory against Wales in a friendly match in Cardiff on Friday.
The Netherlands, which failed to qualify for next year’s European Championship in France, went ahead through striker Bas Dost’s header after 32 minutes.
Joe Ledley equalized for the hosts on the stroke of halftime, converting a rebound after Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen parried a penalty by Joe Allen.
Robben restored the visitors’ lead nine minutes into the second half, before Wales levelled again on 70 through a header from midfielder Emyr Huws.
But Robben won the match with his second goal in the 81st minute, racing clear of the Wales defence and slotting past goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams with a composed finish.
Wales coach Chris Coleman, who is preparing for his team to play at the Euros next year, was encouraged by his squad’s display despite the defeat.
Wales was missing its two biggest stars in Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, through injury.
"We scored two goals without Bale and Ramsey, which is a big thing when you look at who was getting the goals for us in the qualification campaign," Coleman said. "We are building and these lads need minutes if they are to come with us to France."
Netherlands coach Danny Blind was pleased with the response from his players in the team’s first match since missing out on next year’s championship.
"It was a hard job to motivate them after we missed out on the Euros but the team were focused and put a lot of energy in the game," he said.