France ties with Albania in friendly

Paris, Nov 15 (IANS) Thanks to a late equaliser from substitute Antonie Griezmann, France avoided a home defeat against Albania and settled for a 1-1 draw in an international friendly in Rennes.

With the draw Friday, Didier Deschamps' side, the Euro 2016 hosts who have already earned a berth to the championships finals in two years, continue with their unbeaten streak after the World Cup in Brazil, reports Xinhua.

"We had quite a few chances," said Deschamps. "It was more in the second half, probably because they were tired, but we managed good combinations forward."

Albania's Mergim Mavraj opened the scoring in the 41st minute with a powerful header after the defender received a beautiful cross from Elseid Hysaj.

Griezmann, who came off the bench in the 59th minute to replace regular midfielder Yohan Cabaye, scored the equaliser in the 73rd minute when he skipped past a challenge on the edge of the box and cut inside to fire a left footed shot into the bottom right corner.

It prevented France, who were knocked out of the World Cup by eventual winners Germany in the quarter-finals, from heading for just their second defeat in 2014.

"It should not be forgotten, even if it is Albania, they did win in Portugal. It is no longer a small team," added Deschamps.

Albania, who beat Portugal in September in their opening Group I qualifying match, are now third in the standings.

Top two finishers from each group qualify for Euro 2016 and third-placed teams will vie for positions through playoffs, while all matches involving France are not counted in Group I.