Euro 2016: Switzerland 0-0 France - Player ratings
Hosts France secured their place into the knockout stages of Euro 2016 along with opponents Switzerland as both teams played out a goalless draw at Stade de Lille in their final fixture in Group A. France manager Didier Deschamps made five changes to his line-up from the win against Albania where his star player Dimitri Payet started on the bench. Paul Pogba had a good game and came close to scoring for the hosts as he hit the crossbar.
Payet also hit the crossbar after coming off the bench. But neither team could manage a good opportunity to score and seemed satisfied with a point. The draw means that France top the group with 7 points, whereas Switzerland finish as the 2nd placed team with 5 points and are assured of a place in the last 16.
Here is how we rate the players’ performance in the last group game:
Switzerland
Yann Sommer – 6/10
The Swiss goalkeeper was busier than his counterpart. He made several saves to deny the hosts and kept his side in the game. But he did not seem assured when dealing with high crosses.
Stephan Lichtsteiner – 6/10
The Juventus right-back was very well equipped in attack but had a tough outing taking his crossing into consideration.
Fabian Schar – 7/10
The central defender had a great game for the Swiss. He was commanding at the back and moved the ball forward to start some attacks when the midfielders could not find space.
Johan Djourou – 6/10
The former Arsenal man dealt well with the threat of Gignac. He formed a good partnership with Schar and won the aerial duels to avoid complications.
Ricardo Rodriguez – 6/10
The Wolfsburg player could not help his attackers with decent crossed but defended his flank well against the likes of Bacary Sagna and Antoine Griezmann.
Valon Behrami – 5/10
The 31-year-old midfielder underperformed and gave space to the likes of Paul Pogba to run into. But he made up for it with a good 2nd half where he tackled well, bursting the ball on one occasion with a challenge on Griezmann.
Granit Xhaka – 8/10
The Swiss midfielder was very good when his side defended as he broke up the play on several occasion whilst protecting his defenders. He commanded his teammates as well and showcased his wide range of passing.
Xherdan Shaqiri – 4/10
The Stoke City midfielder struggled to get his feet sorted and gave away possession far too often and could not produce any good crosses for his teammates. He was put out of his misery when he was substituted late into the second half.
Blerim Dzemaili – 5/10
The Genoa man started the game very brightly for his team and himself but faded as the game progressed. He seemed to lose patience as refereeing decisions went against him throughout the match.
Admir Mehmedi – 5/10
The midfielder had a tough outing as he did not find much room against Sagna. He did well to get in a few crosses but without any results.
Breel Embolo – 7/10
The 19-year-old forward looked sharp and troubled the French with his powerful runs. He was strong physically and gave Moussa Sissoko and Pogba some competition. His speed also got him in behind the French defence on a couple of occasions.
Substitutes
Haris Seferovic – 5/10
The 24-year -ld forward replaced Embolo upfront but could not find any real opportunity.
Gelson Fernandes – NA
The defensive midfielder came on to replace Shaqiri for the final 10 minutes and saw the game off for his side.
Michael Lang – NA
The winger came on very late to replace Mehmedi and contributed with a threatening cross into the box.