FIFA 2014 World Cup: France vs Honduras - Player Ratings
France began their tournament in the second match of Group E against Honduras after Switzerland won their first match against Ecuador. The French were unsettled in the initial minutes of the game after Honduras made a good start to the match. But after 15 minutes had gone by, Les Blues started to settle in and hit the cross bar on two occassions as the match began to progress gradually.
The deadlock was broken when Karim Benzema scored a penalty to give France a 1-0 lead going into half-time. With one man less on the pitch, Honduras struggled to offer a comeback but continued to play with a physical approach. Goal-line technology was called into play for the first time after Benzema’s shot was fumbled over the line by goalkeeper Noel Valladares. With 18 minutes to go, Benzema scored France’s third goal to finish off the Hondurans and begin their group stage with a comfortbale 3-0 win.
Here are the player ratings from the match.
France
Hugo Lloris: 6/10
The Tottenham keeper didn’t have much to do. Was alert when called upon. Made good judgements while coming out to collect the ball.
Mathieu Debuchy: 6.5/10
Pushed forward throughout the game to give an extra to France’s attack. Was rarely troubled while defending in the flanks.
Patrice Evra: 6.5/10
Was unsettled initially but put up a good defensive show overall. Kept the Honduras attack at bay.
Raphael Varane: 7/10
Picked ahead of Laurent Koscielny. Justified his selection as he was perfect on the night. Made two key interception and distributed the ball cunningly from defence.
Mamaudo Sakho: 6.5/10
Performed his duties in defence and was aware of the space behind him. A commendable display from the Liverpool man.
Biase Matuidi: 7/10
Mobile and a dynamic presence all over the pitch. Ran back-and-forth and popped up in attacking positions to support the forwards. Forced an early save which tipped off the bar. Finishing could have been better by the PSG midfielder.
Yohan Cabaye: 6.5/10
The PSG midfielder was precise with his passing and troubled the oppostition with his good movement. His pass to Pogba led to the penalty. Substituted in the second half.
Mathieu Valbuena: 7/10
An impressive showing by the Marseille man. His pace and trickery troubled the opposition.
Paul Pogba: 6/10
Tried to retaliate Honduras’ physical approach as he reacted to a tackle from Wilson Palacios. Could have seen a red card but was lucky not to. Contributed towards France’s penalty and was sharp in possession. Substituted in the second half.
Antoine Griezmann: 7/10
Filled in for the injured Frank Ribery and had a good game. Linked up well with the attackers and played some delightful passes. Hit the cross bar in the first half and was threatning throught the match.
Karim Benzema: 9/10 – Man of the match
Scored 2 official goals on his World Cup debut as the Real Madrid man was the star performer for his team. Responsible for the third goal decided by the goal-line technology.
Substitutes:
Moussa Sissoko: 5/10
Created a couple of opportunities as he came on in the second half.
Rio Mavuba: 4/10
Carried on his duties well as he slotted into a tired midfield.
Honduras
Noel Valladeres: 3/10
Had a poor outing in front of goal. Fumbled Benzema’s effort whic led to an own goal.
Brayan Beckeles: 3.5/10
Preferred to be physical rather than tactical as he kicked Valbuena and struggled with the pace and cleverness of the French.
Victor Bernandez: 4/10
Put in a good performance in the first half. Had to be substituted due to an injury at half-time.
Maynor Figueroa: 5/10
Was the best defender among the Hondurans. Tried hard to limit the chances of the oppostiton but the French attack was too much to handle for him.
Emilio Izaguirre: 4/10
Ineffective while pushing forward as the Celtic left-back committed into making several fouls in the game.
Roger Espinoza: 4/10
Limited to defending after his team went down to 10 men. Overall, it was a night to forget for the Wigan midfielder.
Andy Najar: 4.5/10
Sat back more often as his team had no chance to attack. Came off in the second half.
Wilson Palacios: 2/10 – Flop of the match
Risked himself with heavy tackles from the first whistle. Immature display from the team’s most experienced player. Red carded after barging into Pogba that led to the penalty.
Luis Garrido: 3.5/10
Failed to assert himself in midfield after Palacios was sent off. Booked unneccesarily in the second half.
Jerry Bengston: 4/10
Largely absent in the first half without any attacking support. Substituted in the second half.
Carlo Costly: 4/10
Isolated up front and failed to do anything substantial.
Substitutes:
Boniek Garcia: 3/10
Brought in as a replacement for the injured Bernandez but failed to stop France from scoring two more goals.
Jorge Claros: 4/10
Came in as a substitute for Najar and made a few waves in an otherwise indifferent cameo.