France and Switzerland took to the field in the second of today’s three World Cup Qualifiers; less than an hour after England were confirmed as being knocked out of the competition, it at least gave English fans something to watch to take their minds off the disappointment. These two sides couldn’t have had more different opening games as France were very well organised and picked Honduras apart whereas Switzerland put in a stubborn performance to overcome Ecuador in the dying seconds of their match. How would they get on when they faced each other? Read on to find out!
Karim Benzema had the first half-chance of what was a very even opening 10 minutes of the game. Matuidi called for a give-and-go running away from goal but Benzema didn’t give it back before coming across the top of the box looking for an angle to shoot; he seemed to have it but hesitated and sent his shot floating wide. It was a scrappy affair in the middle of the park as France somewhat missed Pogba’s presence through the middle as most of France’s better play was coming from the wide players who drifted in occasionally.
Nonetheless, France’s first goal came inside 20 minutes and it was a case of Déjà vu for the Swiss defence as they suffered from more set-piece shenanigans. Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side conceded a goal almost, committing almost identical mistakes to the ones committed when Valencia managed to score for Ecuador in the Swiss’ opening game. Olivier Giroud got the run on a pretty static defence before leaping up near the penalty spot and burying his header in the far corner; it was a lovely delivery by the excellent Valbuena.
France doubled their lead seconds later as the Swiss switched off and gave the ball to Benzema almost directly from the kick-off. He then proceeded to charge towards the Swiss box before playing in the tireless Matuidi who finished off the move by tucking the finish inside the goalkeeper’s near post; Hitzfeld didn’t look like he knew what had hit him on the side-lines as France led 2-0. It really wasn’t going Switzerland’s way as they soon had the ball in the back of the net courtesy of Xhaka however it was, rightly, disallowed for offside.
Switzerland did have a brief spell of creating good chances though as France looked to have took their foot off of the gas a bit after going ahead so quickly. Shaqiri was one of few bright sparks for Hitzfeld and made a real nuisance of himself when Switzerland managed to have a sustained period of possession. A quick counter-attack was the best of Switzerland’s chances in the first half and the Bayern Munich winger was at the centre of it, running across Varane before having the ball played into him on the left-hand side of the box but could only drag his shot wide.
France missed a glorious chance of their own too from the penalty spot. Cabaye capitalised on a misplaced pass inside his half before releasing Benzema who was free to roam down the left-hand side given Liechsteiner’s advanced position before making his way towards the box and being fouled by Johan Djourou. Giroud stepped up to take the spot-kick but had his shot saved. Valbuena lashed at the rebound but hit the bar with his effort; a goal there from the French would surely have killed the game off.
France soon got that killer goal though and it came on the verge of half-time from a fantastic counter-attack, helped along a lot by another tactical error by the Swiss. Switzerland seriously over-committed after winning a corner, leaving no players in their own half and only two players a good distance away from the box and Deschamps’ men capitalised. Varane escaped his box with possession before sending a beautiful pass to Giroud down France’s left-flank. The French had a man over during the counter and made that advantage count as the Arsenal forward squared the ball for Valbuena who tucked the ball away into the top corner from close range, more or less killing the game off as a contest, making it 3-0.
The second-half started very timidly but the tempo grew and grew before reaching a high level at the 60 minute mark. Valbuena, Matuidi, Benzema and Giroud were all involved in some great interplay around the Switzerland box but were unwilling to pull the trigger when the opportunity presented itself and instead elected to try shots when the avenue to goal was much more crowded. Switzerland soon had a great opportunity again and had it not been for some tremendous goalkeeping by Hugo Lloris they may well have scored. The chance comes out of nothing really as Mathieu Debuchy completely misses a headed clearance on a cross coming in from Switzerland’s right; the ball landed at the feet of Mehmedi who had almost no time to get the shot away as Lloris was there to smother the effort almost instantly. Against a less agile keeper, Switzerland may well have scored there.
Switzerland saw the result go beyond all doubt moments later though as France scored again. This move started, much like most of France’s better play in the first game, with some great interplay down the right before Valbuena found Pogba, who was completely unmarked, before the substitute hooked a looping ball with the outside of the foot towards Karim Benzema. Phillippe Senderos threw a leg at the pass in an attempt to clear it but didn’t get anything like a solid connection on it and the ball found its way through to Benzema regardless who expertly tucked away between the keeper’s legs for France’s fourth.
France weren’t done there though and soon had a fifth goal to add to their impressive tally and it developed after some good work down France’s left this time. Evra played in Valbuena who fed Matuidi to run down the left flank. The PSG midfielder squared to Benzema who then found Sissoko completely free coming into the box from the right flank before hitting the ball first time into the far bottom corner.
The Swiss grabbed a consolation goal with 10 minutes to go from a set-piece after the French wall did a poor job stopping a free-kick. Koscielny was charged with a foul on Shaqiri about 35 yards out and Dzemaili stepped up to tuck the free-kick away after his effort went through Karim Benzema, low in the wall and caught Hugo Lloris by surprise. Xhaka then scored Switzerland’s second with a perfectly timed run and equally well-timed volley to have Lloris picking the ball out of the back of the net for the second time in less than a few minutes.
Switzerland then finished with a flourish but it was deservedly France’s win. France were that keen to score that Benzema was even desperate to score after the final whistle! Again, they were absolutely excellent: very physical, technically very good, composed and full of creativity. Dark Horses for the tournament? Maybe a bit premature to say that! Stick with us here at Fortitude to find out how they get on!