ECUADOR 0-0 FRANCE
A fine performance from Alexander Dominguez in Ecuador's goal stifled the potent French offence but the draw was not enough to send Ecuador through to the knockout round.
France meanwhile, secured first place in Group E despite failing to score in the contest and will meet Nigeria in the Round of 16.
France struggled a bit to get going in this game, with a roster that featured several new starters as Didier Deschamps looked to rest players ahead of the knockout round. Antoine Griezmann and Moussa Sissoko opened things up after a dozen minutes with shots at goal but they either flew wide or were well collected by Dominguez.
While they struggled to maintain possession or get any runs going in the half, it was Ecuador with the best chance in the first 45 minutes. Enner Valencia rose above Lucas Digne on a cross but his header went straight down instead of forward and allowed time for Hugo Lloris to get over and make the save.
Griezmann again nearly found the back of the net to open the second half, but his shot from close range deflected off Dominguez's arm and the post and stayed out. Ecuador's chances of picking up the win they needed took a nosedive just after when captain Antonio Valencia was sent off with a straight red card. A harsh call to say the least, Valencia appeared to accidentally get a leg up over the ball which ended in a studs up challenge on Digne.
The balance of the half became a shooting gallery for France. Time and again Benzema and others would load up and fire but some poor shooting from the French resulted in save after save for Dominguez. Ecuador did their best to get offensive pressure with 10 men but could not break down the French lines to pick up the goals they needed.
Goals
Ecuador: N/A
France: N/A
Discipline
France: N/A
Man of the Match
Alexander Dominguez. Far and away the best (or at least busiest) player on the field for Ecuador and time and again turned away France from scoring. Majority of saves were on shots directly at him but was constantly positioned correctly and kept Ecuador in the game despite them being down to 10 men.
Key Moment
Early in the second half, Ecuador captain Antonio Valencia appeared to slip off the ball and ended up getting his studs high in to the leg of Lucas Digne. Didn't appear deliberate but it earned Valencia a straight red card and forced Ecuador to try and win the game down a man. It was too much to ask of Ecuador who could only prevent France from scoring in the end.
What we learned from Ecuador
If they got this defensive performance in the Switzerland game then they'd likely have at least 1 more game to go in this tournament. They did surrender too many chances on goal but closed out the French players from the very dangerous chances and got great goalkeeping from Dominguez to pick them up. The only South American not to make the Round of 16, they have strong core of players to build on for next tournament run.
What we learned from France
You can't be on offensively all the time. Scored 8 goals in their first 2 games but held off the score sheet in this one by a strong performance from Dominguez in Ecuador's goal. Part of the scoring woes may have been experimenting with personnel but everything looked a little off for France today. Defensive line held strong for third game in a row and had good performances from young replacements like Digne and Schneiderlin.
Ecuador knew they would likely need a win and some help in this game and they were unable to pull out 3 points. The worst of the South American teams in the tournament, Ecuador actually outperformed a lot of expectations in this tournament.
France face Nigeria in the Round of 16. Should be favoured in that game but cannot afford to look past Nigeria to a potential Germany match in the quarterfinals.
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