Govou eases French hurt

France 3 Italy 1: Olympique Lyon forward Sidney Govou scored twice as France exacted revenge for their World Cup final defeat…

France 3 Italy 1: Olympique Lyon forward Sidney Govou scored twice as France exacted revenge for their World Cup final defeat to Italy in a 3-1 win in Paris this evening.

It was a sweet victory for Les Bleus who bowed to the Italians on penalties in a controversial final two months ago.

France are second in the Group B table, level with Scotland and five points ahead of the world champions.

Italy, who were surprisingly held 1-1 by Lithuania on Saturday, got off to a terrible start when Govou struck after just 90 seconds, volleying in a cross by William Gallas.

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France increased their lead after 17 minutes when Thierry Henry slotted a superb right foot strike from close range after Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon failed to hold a powerful shot from Florent Malouda.

Italy pulled a goal back with Alberto Gilardino's header three minutes later but Govou struck again 11 minutes into the second half with a powerful header from 10 metres.