lunt message for his teammates ahead of the European Championship quarterfinal against Iceland: Wake up.France has failed to score in the first half at Euro 2016 and has been scraping thro

CLAIREFONTAINE, France -- France defender Patrice Evra has a blunt message for his teammates ahead of the European Championship quarterfinal against Iceland: Wake up.France has failed to score in the first half at Euro 2016 and has been scraping through with gutsy second-half performances.But one day, that formula may not work.We react instead of taking the initiative, the 35-year-old left back said on Thursday. I get the impression that we only play well when we have our backs to the wall. I hope were going to start (the game) well and not wait until the second half before we step on the accelerator.He fears another stifled performance might prove costly.We should be telling ourselves that one day it wont come off for us, and that it might be against Iceland, said Evra ahead of Sundays game at Stade de France. We need things to be boiling up inside us -- we need to wake up before the game.France needed an 89th-minute winner from Dimitri Payet to beat Romania 2-1, then last-gasp goals from Antoine Griezmann and Payet to see off Albania 2-0. Against Ireland in the round of 16, France overturned a 1-0 halftime deficit to win 2-1.I cant repeat exactly what was said (at halftime). But weve had enough of just reacting, said Evra. What you cant take away from us is that we keep going until the last second. But we cant rely on that.Evra bristled at his news conference when it was suggested that France has been somewhat fortunate -- considering it had a relatively weak group, followed by unheralded Ireland and Iceland in the knockout stages.If we beat Iceland, then well play Germany or Italy (in the semifinals), he said. You call that luck? I dont.Evra stands to win his 78th international cap against Iceland. But he was not part of the squad that reached the 2006 World Cup final.Ive never won a quarterfinal with France, whereas at club level Ive lost count, said Evra, who has won a multitude of trophies with Manchester United and Juventus. I am putting myself under pressure. If I dont go through to the next round it will feel like Im standing still.Evra thinks that the vitriol directed at Englands players after the 2-1 defeat on Monday was very unfair -- on Iceland.People say England underestimated them but that takes credit away from Iceland. They beat Holland home and away in qualifying, Evra said. They have very good players. I played against (midfielder) Gylfi Sigurdsson when he was at Tottenham. People talk about their long throws, but they know how to get it down and play football.Still, Evra will be wary of midfielder Aron Gunnarsson -- for his dangerous long throws.During his United career, Evra dealt with a similar threat from Stokes Rory Delap.The famous javelin thrower. We worked on that in training at Manchester United. We had to, Evra said. Its a weapon. I think (Iceland) scored twice from throw-ins, so weve been warned. Well have to really concentrate so that we dont fall into the trap like other teams. Hydro Flask 21 Oz Standard Mouth . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Hydro Flask Coffee Cup . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.hydroflask32oz.com/coffee-flasks/12-oz-coffee.html . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Water Bottle . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Hydro Flask Black Friday Sale 2018 . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. RIO DE JANEIRO -- With fireworks forming the word Rio in the sky, performers decked in silver and sweet, sultry music, Rio de Janiero is welcoming the world to the first Olympic Games in South America with a message: Lets take better care of our planet.After one of the roughest-ever rides from vote to games by an Olympic host, the city of beaches, carnival, grinding poverty and sun-kissed wealth lifted the curtain on the games of the 31st Olympiad with a three-hour gala that celebrated Brazils can-do spirit, biodiversity and its indigenous people. It will trace its history from forested land, through colonization by Portugal, and into a nation of astounding diversity and contrasts.Before the show, in a video broadcast inside the 78,000-seat Maracana Stadium, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the games celebrate the best of humanity and appealed for an Olympic truce, calling on all warring pries to lay down their weapons during the two weeks of sporting achievement.Performers decked in silvery suits folded and unfolded glittering silver sheets that transformed into giant cushions they then beat like drums. Fireworks lit up the skies and the peace symbol, tweaked into the shape of a tree, was projected on the floor of the stadium where Germany won the World Cup in 2014.As well as a showcase for Brazils history, culture, diversity and hopes, the gala also represents a triumph, because there were times after the International Olympic Committee selected Rio ahead of Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid in 2009 when it seemed that the city of 6.5 million people might not get its act together for the worlds greatest sporting mega-event.But with more than a dash of gambiarra, the Brazilian art of quick-fixes and making do, Rio de Janeiro is ready.Just.The honor of declaring the games open will fall to Michel Temer, Brazils unpopular interim president, standing in for suspended President Dilma Rousseff. Her ouster less than four months out from the games for alleged budget violations was one of the many complications that roiled Brazils Olympic preparations and impacted the opening ceremony itself. Fewer than 25 foreign heads of state were expected, with others seemingly staying away to avoid giving the impression of taking sides amid Brazils leadership uncertainty.As Brazilian officials took their places, there were shouts of out with Temer from sections of the crowd.Athletes from 205 nations and territories were set to march behind their flags. Theyll be joined by a first-ever Refugee Olympic Team of 10 athletes, displaced from Syria, South Sudan, Congo and Ethiopia. Their flag-bearer, Rose Nathike Lokonyen, fled war in South Sudan and ran her first race in a refugee camp in northern Kenya.ddddddddddddMichael Phelps will lead the U.S. team, the largest with 549 competitors. Historys greatest Olympian will be looking to add to his record haul of 22 medals, in three individual swims plus relays, before the Aug. 21 closing ceremony.On behalf of all 11,288 competitors (6,182 men; 5,106 women), a Brazilian athlete will pledge an oath that they wont take banned drugs -- a promise likely to ring false to many fans after the scandal of government-orchestrated cheating in Russia.While it escaped a blanket ban, Russia is paying the price in the shape of a smaller team, whittled down from a 389 athletes to around 270.Iran picked a woman, archer Zahra Nemati, as flag-bearer for its team made up overwhelmingly of men.After the grandeur of Beijings opening ceremony in 2008 and the high-tech, cheeky inventiveness of Londons in 2012, Rios was expected to be more earthy, with funk, samba and joie de vivre laced with more serious messages from the country with the worlds largest forest, the Amazon, for the need to protect the planet. Grammy award winners Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, and supermodel Gisele Bundchen were expected to star.The world is very tense and so is Brazil. We are also willing to tell the world to stop attacking our home. The world is threatened because of global warming. We are calling for action, said Fernando Meirelles, one of the directors of the show.After Brazils most famous athlete -- soccer star Pele -- said he will not appear, the Olympic mystery of who might light the cauldron remained intact.The cauldron was designed by American sculptor Anthony Howe, who told The Associated Press he was inspired by life in the tropics. There will be two cauldrons in Rio, one at the Maracana soccer stadium that is hosting the opening ceremony and another open to the public in downtown Rio.The cauldron in central Rio is expected to be lit by a runner after the opening ceremony is finished, Howe said.In all, 4,800 performers and volunteers will be involved in the show designed to showcase Brazil as a garden of the world.Smile is the approach the Brazilians have toward life, said Marco Balich, the executive producer. Brazil is not a grand nation. Theyre saying in this ceremony, we are who we are, with a lot of social problems, a lot of crises in the political system, etc.NBC will broadcast the opening ceremony on a one-hour tape delay because it wants the entertainment spectacle to be shown completely in U.S. prime time. Rio is one hour later than Eastern time. 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