France get the job done against Luxembourg
Laurent Blanc's French team earned three vital points at home to Luxembourg in the Euro 2012 qualifiers on Tuesday, winning 2–0 in Metz.
A first-half strike Karim Benzema and a long-range goal by Yoann Gourcuff after Luxembourg had gone down to 10 men sealed the win for France.
"It was a tricky game," France midfielder Vassiriki Diaby said after the game, in which France produced 17 shots but only scored two. "They didn't come out and they got ten men behind the ball. It was
hard in the first half to find space behind their defence. But luckily we got the goal from a corner, and then scored the second after the break."
Benzema puts France in front
AS Roma's Philippe Mexes chested down a loose ball from a corner kick in the 21st minute, controlling the ball and sending a low shot towards the bottom left corner, but Luxembourg's Jonathan Joubert was
able to parry for another corner.
When that kick came in from the left, Benzema had been left entirely unmarked at the back post. The Real Madrid forward had plenty of time to control the ball and hit a left-footed shot that went in off
the far post.
With just over half an hour played, Diaby collected the ball outside the Luxembourgian box and sent a long-range effort goalwards that Joubert, in outstanding form on the night, was equal to.
As France continued to create chances without seriously threatening, the Arsenal midfielder had another shot from distance. This one swerved unpredictably, but still ended up in the arms of Luxembourg's
keeper.
Blanc's team picked up the pace after half-time, and Gilles Bettmer of the opposition could not match Yoann Gourcuff's burst of speed in midfield. The AS Differdange player received his second yellow card
for the offence, and Luxembourg were down to ten men.
The second half then continued in a similar vein to the first; France created chances through headers by Florent Malouda and Diaby, but neither player threatened enough to double the lead.
Luxembourg worked a short corner for Jeff Strasser to get a header on goal in the 75th minute, but the tame effort did little to challenge Hugo Lloris.
Gourcuff beats Joubert
Just a minute later, Gourcuff picked up the ball 30 yards from the goal and hit a a long-range shot that doubled France's lead. His dipping strike was well-struck, but in light of his numerous saves earlier
in the game, Joubert should have stopped it.
Loic Remy, who had come on from the bench, should have converted his open header in the box to make it three, while Nasri came close to getting on the scoresheet twice after Gourcuff's goal. It wasn't
the most effectual performance from Blanc's team, but collecting three points had been the objective all along.
The victory leaves France top of Group D with nine points from four games. Belarus trail them by one point, while Luxembourg are bottom with only one point so far.
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