Goals: Switzerland—Dzemaili 81’, Xhaka 87’; France—Giroud 17’ Matuidi 18’ Valbuena 41’ Benzema 67’ Sissoko 73’
Recap: A comprehensive performance saw France capture a 5-2 victory over Switzerland on Friday.
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Olivier Giroud’s superb header in the 17th minute gave the French the early lead. Blaise Matuidi doubled the advantage just 60 seconds later, pouncing on comical error from Switzerland’s Valon Behrami. Switzerland showed fight late in the match—thanks to goals from Blerim Dzemaili and Granit Xhaka—but Mathieu Valbuena, Karim Benzema and Moussa Sissoko had already put the match out of reach.
Les Bleus are on the brink of advancing to the Round of 16.
Key Moment: Responding to a goal from the opposition is the ultimate test of team's composure. Switzerland failed in every sense of the word. An inexplicable back-pass from Behrami landed safely at the feet of Benzema. The Real Madrid striker knew what to do with it from there, sending it to Matuidi and giving France an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
Man of the Match: One goal and two assists. It's been a dream 2014 World Cup campaign for France's Karim Benzema.
Lesson Learned: France is a championship contender. Talent has never been an issue for Les Bleus. Unity, however, was. Often a team divided, France has left the failures of the 2010 World Cup in the past. Advancing deep into the knockout rounds should be a goal, not a dream.
Up Next: France travels to Rio de Janeiro to face Ecuador on June 25, while Switzerland visits Manaus to meet with Honduras.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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