England, France friendly to go ahead despite Paris carnage

Scenes outside the Stade de France which was hosting the friendly between France and Germany on Saturday

The French Football Association (FFF) have confirmed that the friendly scheduled to take place against England at Wembley on Tuesday would go ahead as planned reports The Telegraph.

The game which was supposed to take place on Tuesday was in serious doubts of taking place due to the terror attacks which ripped Paris apart and saw the unfortunate massacre of 129 civilians which included three people dead from explosions near the Stade de France which was hosting the France and Germany friendly at the time.

Two explosions could audibly be heard during the first half of the match and it was later confirmed by the FFF of three fatalities and numerous injuries. However, the match was not halted, with France winning 2-0.

It is understood that the decision to go ahead with the tie despite the horrific attacks was made as a gesture of defiance to the terrorists who caused mayhem at the heart of France.

The FFF also said that the match will take place as per schedule barring any significant opposition from the playing staff and the coaches.

The Football Association(FA), English football’s governing body, has seconded the statement from its French counterpart.

FA chairman Greg Dyke said: "I want to express our sorrow and send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those who have lost their lives.

"After consulting with the French Football Federation and the British Government, we have decided the match should go ahead."

The FFF confirmed it had cancelled a France press conference and open training session scheduled for Saturday, with the team scheduled to train behind closed doors at their Clairefontaine base instead.

FFF president Noel Le Great said in a statement: "The French Football Federation shares the emotion that shakes the nation following the tragic events of Friday in Paris and around the Stade de France.”

"The FFF shares the grief of the bereaved families and relatives."

UEFA, Germany coach and national team express horror at attacks

Condolences and shock poured in as the world reacted to the horror that unfolded in Paris. The European football governing body Uefa, The German national team and its manager Joachim Low all expressed their disbelief and condemned the barbaric nature of the attacks on innocent civilians.

Uefa issued a brief statement on Saturday morning regarding the attacks.

It read: "Uefa is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic events which occurred in Paris last night and wishes to express its support and solidarity to France and to those affected by these horrible acts."

A Germany team statement issued today read: "We came to Paris to do what connects us all - to play football, together, against one another and in friendship. To have an enjoyable evening together with our fans, to show sporting ambition, but particularly we came for a fair and peaceful encounter. We all looked forward to playing in the Stade de France, to have a great night of football, which ended up turning into a nightmare.

"It was a dull bang, which changed everything. It produced pictures that will remain in our heads for a long time. We spent the night doing a lot of thought-processing. We asked ourselves why something like this could happen? How is such inhumanity even possible? There were a lot of answers, but none that could explain these cowardly attacks. We lost a game of football on Friday evening. But nothing is as irrelevant as that right now."

"We're all shaken and shocked," Germany coach Joachim Loew said.

"For me personally, the game and the sport loses importance. We're at a loss. We don't know what to do."