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France beat Portugal 1-0 in an international friendly at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon thanks to a late free kick from Mathieu Valbuena. Although it was a home game for the Iberian side, it was Didier Deschamp’s squad that came away with a win.
It was France who made early inroads into the game with plenty of chances in the first 45 minutes. PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi had two chances to score in the 31st minute and the 35th minute – the first one saved and the second shot going too high. Moussa Sissoko also had a great chance to get on the scoresheet but instead of going for the shot, he tried to assist Benzema and missed out on a great opportunity to score.
However, France suffered a devastating blow when the promising young attacking midfielder Nabil Fekir suffered an injury and had to be helped off the pitch. Reports later said that the 22-year-old ruptured his knee ligaments and could be out of action for at least six months with the risk of him missing out on the entire 2015/16 season.
Cristiano Ronaldo started the game for Portugal but wasn’t able to do much of note. A couple of shots on goal were either wide or saved. He was withdrawn in the 67th minute for Ricardo Quaresma.
With the game looking like it was heading for a draw, France won a free-kick in a dangerous position when Fekir’s replacement Antoine Griezmann was fouled by Jose Fonte – a call Portugal argued wasn’t a foul. Mathieu Valbuena stepped up and curled the ball over the assembled wall who couldn’t get a head to it. Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio saw it too late and failed to save the shot as it curled into the top left corner.
