France locked horns with Switzerland at the Arena Națională earlier tonight as they looked to secure a win and book a place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA European Championships. The French players made a sloppy start to the contest as they conceded the opening goal in the 15th minute when Haris Seferović scored with a great header. Vladimir Petković’s men held on to their narrow advantage and went into the halftime break one goal to the good.
Les Bleus came roaring back in the second half and completed the turnaround via a quick-fire brace from Karim Benzema. Paul Pogba gave France some breathing room when he found the back of the net with an excellent strike in the 75th minute. However, the Swiss players showed a lot of heart and got a goal back just six minutes later when Seferovic scored with another good header. Mario Gavranović made it 3-3 as he netted a dramatic 90th-minute equalizer for Switzerland to take the match to extra time.
The contest ended 3-3 after extra-time as Switzerland went on to win the penalty shootout by a 5-4 margin which knocked France out of the Euros.
Let’s take a look at how each France player fared during the match against Switzerland.
GK: Hugo Lloris – 6/10
The French keeper made a couple of saves but couldn’t do much about either of Switzerland’s three goals tonight. The veteran goalie failed to make a save in the shootout which will disappoint him.
CB: Raphael Varane – 6/10
He won a couple of aerial duels and made several important clearances during the game. It was still a far from convincing performance from him defensively tonight.
CB: Clement Lenglet – 6.5/10
The Barcelona defender was strong in the air and won the ball back a couple of times during the game. He won’t be happy after letting in three goals in normal time.
CB: Presnel Kimpembe – 7/10
Kimpembe was a dominant presence inside his half and stepped up to convert a high-pressure penalty in the shootout.
RM: Benjamin Pavard – 7/10
Pavard got stuck in with multiple crunching tackles and cleared his lines when needed. However, he was a bit underwhelming in the final third.
CM: Paul Pogba – 8/10
The Manchester United midfielder caused all kinds of problems for the Swiss defenders and scored a brilliant goal with a curled effort in the second half. He also deserves credit for converting a penalty in the shootout.
CM: N’Golo Kante – 7/10
Kante stuck to his job and won the ball back several times for his side. He made a couple of promising runs in the Swiss half but struggled to create too many chances for his teammates up top.
LM: Adrian Rabiot – 6.5/10
Rabiot was exposed defensively a few times during the game but he stood up to the test and delivered a solid display down the left wing. However, he lacked the cutting edge in the final third.
CAM: Antoine Griezmann – 7/10
The Barcelona attacker engineered a few decent opportunities for his teammates to score. However, he didn’t do enough to get himself a goal.
ST: Karim Benzema – 8/10
Benzema scored a quick-fire brace in the second half to put his team in a commanding position. However, he got substituted in the 93rd minute and never got a chance to take a penalty in the shootout.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 6/10
The Paris Saint-Germain forward orchestrated some meaningful openings in the attacking end of the field. However, he did not have his shooting boots on tonight and ended up costing his team the match when he missed the final penalty of the shootout.
Substitutes:
LM: Kingsley Coman – 7/10
He offered some natural width out on the wide areas.
CM: Moussa Sissoko – 6/10
Sissoko added a lot of energy to France’s midfield.
ST: Olivier Giroud – 6.5/10
He got a golden chance to win the game for his team in extra time but squandered it. Giroud kept his calm to convert a penalty in the shootout.
LM: Marcus Thuram – 6/10
Thuran scored his penalty but it was not enough for his team to win in the end.
