Nepal times

Belgium beat England to secure third place finish ST PETERSBURG  – Belgium beat England 2-0 in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday to secure their best ever finish at a World Cup and send Gareth Southgate’s side home with a second straight loss. A fourth-minute goal from Thomas Meunier and an 82nd minute Eden Hazard strike earned Belgium the victory and the third-place, which improves on their previous best performance of a fourth-place finish in 1986. England were on top for most of the second half but with captain Harry Kane looking tired, Belgium’s greater sharpness in the final third proved decisive. Meunier’s goal came after Romelu Lukaku swung the ball out left to Nacer Chadli who burst down the wing and slipped the ball across the face of the goal and the midfielder confidently slotted past Jordan Pickford. The goal means Belgium have had 10 different goalscorers at this World Cup — equaling the record set by France in 1982 and Italy in 2006. W...

France beat Uruguay 2-0 to reach semi-finals Jul 6, 2018-Raphael Varane's glancing header and a goalkeeping blunder that gifted Antoine Griezmann a soft goal gave France a 2-0 victory over Uruguay in the first World Cup quarter-final on Friday and a set up a last-four tie with Brazil or Belgium. Varane's 40th-minute header from a Griezmann free kick was only the second goal Uruguay had conceded all tournament. The South Americans went close to equalising just before the break only for Martin Caceres's goal-bound header to be brilliantly turned onto a post by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. But it was an error by Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera that settled it when he tried to palm a routine long-range, swerving Griezmann shot after 61 minutes but misjudged it and allowed it to slip past him. Uruguay, hard-hit by the absence of injured key striker Edinson Cavani, showed plenty of commitment trying to find a way back but France controlled the ball well to secure...

Brazil outclass Serbia to set up Mexico clash        REUTERS Goals in each half secure top spot in Group E Brazil through to face Mexico in last 16 Serbia finish third and go out MOSCOW:  After Germany’s exit and Argentina’s nerve-shredding escape, Brazil  made more serene World Cup progress on Wednesday when goals by Paulinho and Thiago Silva earned them a 2-0 win over an outclassed Serbia and a knockout tie against Mexico. The five-times champions rarely hit the heights against tough, dogged opponents who had qualification hopes of their own but, in this World Cup of shocks and late drama,  Brazil  will be delighted to have made it through a potentially awkward game with the minimum of fuss. The victory, and Switzerland’s 2-2 draw with Costa Rica, meant  Brazil  finished top of Group E on seven points, two ahead of the Swiss who will face Sweden in the last 16. Serbia ended third on three points and a...

Champions Germany crash out of World Cup at group stage KAZAN  – Champions  Germany  were sent crashing out of the World Cup after suffering a stunning 2-0 defeat by a tenacious South Korea on Wednesday that saw them eliminated in the first round for the first time in 80 years. Germany  would have progressed with a win at the Kazan Arena but barely looked capable of scoring against the Koreans, let alone going on to successfully defend the title they won in Brazil four years ago. Stoppage-time goals from Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min finished off Joachim Loew’s sorry Germany  side, who finished bottom of the group on three points. They have won four World Cup titles and also finished runners-up four times and entered this year’s tournament heavily backed to retain their title. Instead, they will head home after a stunning failure, having been unable to break down the South Koreans and after a shock 1-0 loss to Mexico in their opening gr...