France started their World Cup campaign with a 3-0 victory over an extremely physical Honduras
side in Porto Alegre on Sunday. Honduras came into the game looking to
make up the deficit in technical quality by brute force, though that
strategy backfired when Wilson Palacios was sent off and Les Bleus took the lead on the stroke of halftime before netting two more goals in the second half.
The victors made a surprisingly
haphazard start to the match and initially struggled to break down
Honduras' robust defensive structure. Luis Fernando Suárez's side was
happy to commit tactical fouls and attempt to disrupt Les Bleus'
attacking flow, and with the exception of a Blaise Matuidi chance that
was tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Noel Valladares, they were
rather impotent early on.
Midway through the first half,
France rattled the woodwork for a second time when Antoine Griezmann
leaped to head Patrice Evra's deep cross against the bar. The team grew
ever more frustrated, and midfielder Paul Pogba was especially
unimpressed with Honduras' physicality. He kicked out at Palacios after
being repeatedly stamped on after 26 minutes, with both players lucky to
escape with only yellow cards.
However, their personal feud
didn't end there, and was reignited with significant consequences inside
the final couple of minutes of the first half. Palacios barged the
Frenchman over in the box and earned his second yellow card, as well
giving away a penalty kick. Karim Benzema stepped up to stroke the ball
into the top corner, giving a relieved France the lead on the stroke of
halftime.
Any French fears that Honduras
would make the second half as difficult as the first were allayed within
three minutes of the restart, when goalline technology awarded its
first ever World Cup goal. A close-range Benzema volley rebounded off
the post and against the hand of Valladares, with the ball crossing the
line before the embarrassed Honduras keeper had time to sweep it to
safety.
Read more: France vs. Honduras: Final score 3-0, Les Bleus win scrappy contest - SBNation.com
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