assist in 14 NHL games this season. In 39 AHL games, ODell has

BRASILIA, Brazil - After being touted as one of the World Cups entertainers, it was a gritty performance which got France through to the quarterfinals in a 2-0 victory over Nigeria on Monday. Frances forward line had made headlines with eight goals in its opening two group games, but there was little flair on display in a hard-fought contest against the African champions. France needed a late header from midfielder Paul Pogba and an injury-time own goal from defender Joseph Yobo to overcome a robust Nigeria. The reward is a quarterfinal against Germany on Friday at Rio de Janeiros Maracana stadium, following the Germans 2-1 victory over Algeria. Pogbas goal in the 79th minute followed Nigerias best spell of the match and came soon after France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had made a crucial save to deny Peter Odemwingie. "Were not the prettiest or the best, but we can do good things," France coach Didier Deschamps said after the game. "The deliverance came late. There was a lot of tension because we were up against a very athletic side and there were a lot of challenges." Nigeria, which had a goal ruled out for offside in the 19th minute after Emmanuel Emenike poked home Ahmed Musas cross from the left, wasted a lot of second-half possession. Four years ago, France crashed out of the group stage, shamed a nation by going on strike and was jeered by its own fans and lambasted by politicians in the fallout from an embarrassing tournament. Its very different situation now. "Im proud of my players because were coming back from very far. I think weve given a lot of pleasure back to our fans," Deschamps said. "I think there were 5,000 here and millions back home who will feel proud." Pogbas crucial goal came after Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had just made a superb save to tip over Karim Benzemas header. But he he flapped at the ball from the ensuing corner and Pogba pounced in the 79th minute for his first World Cup goal. That atoned for placing a volley too close to Enyeama in a scrappy first half. Scoring such a crucial goal will boost his confidence heading into the last eight game. "We have four days left to prepare for another battle," Deschamps said. Yobo, who announced his international retirement after the game, turned the ball into his own net in stoppage time under pressure from France substitute Antoine Griezmann. At the final whistle, Frances relieved players danced in front of their fans as dreams of a repeat run to the final — just like in 2006 — moved a step closer. "We had the whole country behind us," Pogba said. "Its one of the proudest moments of my life." France started slowly and finished strongly in the second round match. "Ive yet to see a team play well over the whole 90 minutes," Deschamps said. "Nigeria dropped off a bit and that allowed us to get on top." After Griezmann came on, Benzema finally came alive in the 70th, opening up the defence after a clever one-two with the France substitute. After Enyeama blocked Benzemas initial shot, his follow-up effort was hacked clear by Victor Moses. Video technology confirmed that the ball had not crossed the line. France failed to show the attacking flair of previous games, with Giroud skewing a shot wide early on. He also appeared to elbow John Obi Mikel in an off-the ball incident, having done the same in last weeks 0-0 draw with Ecuador after coming on as a second-half substitute. "The referee saw it and didnt even give him a warning. Not a yellow card, nothing," Mikel said. "The intention was there." Keshi was highly critical of American referee Mark Geigers handling of the game. "The ref is a human being, but a lot of mistakes were questionable," he said. "Giroud elbow, Pogba foot up ... he decides what happens on the field. Im not happy with the ref." Two chances were missed late in the half. Full-back Mathieu Debuchy smacked a shot wide and into the back of a steward, and Emenike saw his sharp drive from the edge of the area palmed away by Lloris. With Nigeria starting to dominate possession, Deschamps made a key change in the 62nd, taking Giroud off and bringing on Griezmann, freeing Benzema to play through the middle. Nigeria continued to push forward and centre half Laurent Kocielny cut out Musas dangerous cross from the right. But toward the end, it was all France as Griezmann boosted the attack. He almost made it 2-0 in the 85th that Enyeama tipped over brilliantly. Instead, it fell to Yobo to inadvertently add Frances second goal. ___ Lineups: France: Hugo Lloris; Mathieu Debuchy, Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielny, Patrice Evra; Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye, Blaise Matuidi; Mathieu Valbuena (Moussa Sissoko, 94th), Olivier Giroud (Antoine Griezmann, 62nd), Karim Benzema. Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama; Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo, Joseph Yobo, Juwon Oshaniwa; Ogenyi Onazi (Ruben Gabriel, 59th), John Obi Mikel; Ahmed Musa, Peter Odemwingie, Victor Moses (Uche Nwofor, 89th); Emmanuel Emenike. Frank Clark Chiefs Jersey . Dalton completed his only pass and led the Bengals to a touchdown in his only drive -- one that took four minutes to finish -- and the Cincinnati Bengals ended the preseason with a 27-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night. Anthony Sherman Youth Jersey . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-mecole-hardman-chiefs-jersey/ . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013. Joe Montana Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. Juan Thornhill Youth Jersey .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.The Winnipeg Jets begin a three game home stand at MTS Centre tonight with a 6:30pm ct face-off against the Vancouver Canucks. The (30-28-8) Jets and (29-28-10) Canucks each have 68 points and currently sit six points behind Dallas for a Western Conference Wild Card playoff spot. The Stars, winners of three straight, have one game in hand on Winnipeg and two games in hand on Vancouver. Due to an injury to forward John Albert Monday night in Colorado, the Jets recalled forward Eric ODell from the AHLs St. Johns IceCaps. He has two goals and an assist in 14 NHL games this season. In 39 AHL games, ODell has 16 goals and 22 assists. Chris Thorburn returns to play after missing the last three games due to an upper body injury. Ondrej Pavelec will start in goal. He has a 1-3 record lifetime against Vancouver with a 3.04 goals against average and .910 save percentage.dddddddddddd Jets Projected Lines: Ladd-Little-Frolik Kane-Jokinen-Setoguchi Byfuglien-Slater-Wheeler Thorburn-ODell-Peluso Bogosian-Enstrom Stuart-Trouba Pardy-Ellerby Dustin Byfuglien has scored three goals in his last two games. Vancouver did not have a pregame skate this morning so their lineup will not be confirmed until game time. Eddie Lack is expected to start in goal. His record is 1-1 against the Jets this season with a 2.94 goals against average and .900 save percentage. Tonight is Henrik Sedins 1000th NHL game. In 999 games, the 33 year old has 192 goals and 641 assists for 833 points. He is the first Canuck in franchise history to play 1000 games all with Vancouver. This is the third and final game of the season between these teams. Each team won on home ice, the Jets by a 4-3 score and Canucks 2-1. ' ' '