Giroud and Fekir on target for France

Olivier Giroud and Nabil Fekir were on target as France stepped up its World Cup preparations by beating the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in Paris on Monday evening.

Chelsea striker Giroud bundled in the opener at the Stade de France, and Lyon captain Fekir, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool, got the second just before the break, with a helping hand from Ireland goalkeeper Colin Doyle.

It was a very comfortable victory for Didier Deschamps’ side in the first of three friendly matches before it heads to Russia.

Les Bleus will also host Italy in Nice on Friday and the United States in Lyon on June 9, with their opening World Cup fixture against Australia in Kazan on June 16.

“The game maybe didn’t meet all my expectations, but we controlled it well, got the breakthrough before half-time and our movement was good, so there were plenty of good things to take from it,” said Deschamps.

France’s strength in depth, showcased here on a night of torrential rain, thunder and lightning, means it is among the contenders to win the World Cup, 20 years after becoming world champion on home soil.

Mario Balotelli got new Italy coach Roberto Mancini off to a winning start by scoring the opener in a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in a pre-World Cup friendly in Saint Gallen on Monday.

The results: Italy 2 (Balotelli 21, Belotti 69) bt Saudi Arabia 1 (Al-Sherhri 72); Portugal 2 (Silva 22, Mario 34) drew with Tunisia 2 (Badri 39, Ben Youssef 64); France 2 (Giroud 40, Fekir 43) bt Republic of Ireland 0; Mexico 0 drew with Wales 0; Nigeria 1 (William Troost-Ekong) drew with DR Congo 1 (Issama Mpeko-pen 78); United States 3 (Zimmerman 37, Sargent 52, Weah 59) bt Bolivia 0.