Ni la lluvia evita el triunfo francés sobre Irlanda: 2-0

A "B" France, full of players called to form the team's reserve at the World Cup that begins in three weeks, easily defeated Ireland 2-0, having fun under the torrential rain that fell on Saint Denis with goals from Olivier Giroud and Nabil Fakir.

Didier Deschamps' "Bleus" took a good taste of this first test before the World Cup, although few conclusions, because neither the opponent was up to par nor the team selected by the French coach resembles the one that, a priori, will defend their colors in Russia.

The coach chose to use his star, forward Antoine Griezmann, as a substitute, and France did not miss him. The trio formed by Kylian Mbappé, Olivier Giroud and Nabil Fakir was enough to annihilate an Ireland that also appeared with many new faces.

WITHOUT Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, Portugal let victory slip away in their first rehearsal before the World Cup, wasting a two-goal lead against Tunisia, and failing to go beyond a 2-2 draw.

The European champion went ahead with goals from André Silva and Joao Mario, but, despite their dominance of the match, Tunisia was able to equalize the result through Badri and Ben Youssef.

Coach Fernando Santos, who, in addition to Ronaldo, could not count on Rui Patricio, Gelson Martins and Bruno Fernandes from Sporting, decided to bet on Ricardo Quaresma and Silva in the attack, and made defender Rubén Días debut.

IN ISTANBUL, the Iran national team, Spain's opponent in Russia 2018, suffered their first defeat on the way to the World Cup after losing 2-1 to Turkey, in a match in which the Iranians paid for their lack of bite.

Cenk Tosun put the Turks ahead 2-0 with a double, with Ashkan Dejagah reducing the deficit near the end with a penalty.

SON HEUNG-MIN, forward for Tottenham in England, acted as leader and star of the South Korea national team, which played its first friendly match in this final stage of preparation with a 2-0 win over an inferior Honduras in Daegu.

The star of the South Korean team, Mexico's opponent in Group F of the World Cup, sent the ball into the net in the 61st and 73rd minutes.

In other results, Italy, who will not be attending the World Cup, won 2-1 against Saudi Arabia; and the United States, another absentee in Russia, beat Bolivia 3-0. - EFE