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.
France
Hugo Lloris – 7/10
The Tottenham Hotspur shot-stopper was never really troubled by the Swiss attack as they could not create clear-cut chances. He was good with his distribution as well.
Bacary Sagna – 5/10
The right-back had to cope up with the likes of Admir Mehmedi and Ricardo Rodriguez and was up to the task. But he could have conceded a late penalty for pulling Dzemaili’s shirt inside the penalty box.
Adil Rami – 6/10
The Sevilla defender had a fine game and did not give away much to his opponents. He covered well for Sagna whenever the Swiss pushed men forward.
Laurent Koscielny – 7/10
The Arsenal man was very solid in the centre of defence and made sure Switzerland never got any chances to open up their defence. His tackling was fine but picked up a silly yellow card late into the game.
Patrice Evra – 6/10
The experienced left-back was sharp but could not go forward as much as he would have liked. But he defended his flank well whenever Lichtsteiner and Shaqiri thrived.
Moussa Sissoko – 7/10
The Newcastle United midfielder had a good game in the middle of the park as he replaced N’Golo Kante in the starting XI. His passing was good and linked up well with Pogba and Griezmann.
Yohan Cabaye – 5/10
The Crystal Palace man played in a central defensive role but failed to impress. He was sloppy as he gave away possession but later made up for it with his interceptions.
Paul Pogba – 8/10
Pogba was brought back into the team by Deschamps and played in an advanced position. He started and finished many French attacks but could not score. His best was a long-range effort which hit the crossbar. But he has given his manager selection issues for the next game with a great performance.
Antoine Griezmann – 6/10
The Atletico Madrid forward had a fine game for the French as he was sharp and linked up with his holding midfielders. But he got very less time on the ball, and whenever he did, he looked dangerous. He came close to scoring late in the game as he forced Sommer into a save.
Kingsley Coman – 5/10
The youngster started the game brilliantly with some good play down the left wing but he seemed less effective as the game progressed. He was replaced by Payet after the hour mark.
Andre-Pierre Gignac – 6/10
The French striker came into the side for Olivier Giroud and held up the ball for his teammates. He showed better speed and dribbling, and Deschamps might consider playing him ahead of Giroud in the next game.
Substitutes
Dimitri Payet – 6/10
The West Ham United midfielder came on to replace Coman. He brought back life into the French attacks and did well to strike the crossbar but could not score.
Blaise Matuidi – NA
The PSG man came on for Griezmann but did not have to do much as both the teams seemed laid back.
