FRANCE 2-0 NIGERIA
It took a long time for them to get going but France did manage to pull out the victory in the end, defeating Nigeria 2-0 with a pair of late goals.
Not the sharpest performance from France and there's plenty for manager Didier Deschamps to ponder as they await their quarterfinal opponent.
France struggled to get the ball in to scoring position to open the game and surrendered a pair of great achances in the early going. Peter Odemwingie was able to get a free header at the back post but made a mess of the finish and popped the ball straight up for Hugo Lloris to collect. Emmanuel Emenike appeared to score minutes later when he tipped in a long cross but the goal was called back to an offside flag.
France did get the best chance of the period though in the 22nd minute. A great 2-man rush from Paul Pogba and Mathieu Valbuena led to a Valbuena cross to the top of the area. Pogba got everything on the volleyed shot but it was too close to Vincent Enyeama whose reactions allowed him to punch the ball off of his line.
France's problems getting through the Nigerian defence continued well in to the second half of play. Thankfully for them, Nigeria had their own offensive woes to deal with. Peter Odemwingie managed a quality shot from range in the 64th minute but that was as close as Nigeria would come to scoring in the match.
As the second half wore on, France settled in to the flow of the game. Karim Benzema nearly picked up his 4th goal of the tournament from in close but his rebounded shot was cleared off the line by Victor Moses. Blaise Matuidi just failed to get on the end of a cross and Yohan Cabaye rocketed a distant shot off the crossbar.
Benzema again had a glorious chance in the 79th but his close range header was turned away by Enyeama. France were not to be denied in this match though. On the ensuing corner kick, Enyeama challenged poorly and tipped the ball straight on to the head of Pogba who calmly headed home for the winning goal. Joseph Yobo deflected in an own goal under pressure from Antoine Griezmann to seal things in injury time.
Goals
France: Paul Pogba (79'), Joseph Yobo (OG 90+1')
Nigeria: N/A
Discipline
France: Blaise Matuidi (Yellow 54')
Nigeria: N/A
Man of the Match
Easy decision in this game even before he scored the winning goal. Paul Pogba was everywhere in the midfield this game, making play after play in both ends. Nearly scored in the first half if not for a great reflex save by Vincent Enyeama. Deservedly got his first World Cup goal late in the second half with a gifted header from Enyeama.
Key Moment
With about half an hour left to play, Didier Deschamps pulled Olivier Giroud in favour of Antoine Griezmann. The difference in play for France was instantaneous. Griezmann provided additional pace and width to the attack and also allowed Karim Benzema to slide up top as the central striker where he belongs. Was all France in the last 25-30 minutes and Griezmann's entrance was a contributing factor to that.
What we learned from France
That was greatly concerning until the 75th minute or so. Too many turnovers in the midfield, weren't taking the chances afforded to them offensively and left Nigeria far too much space to operate in their end. The last 15 minutes of this game were great. If they play the first 75 in the quarterfinals though, they'll be going home after that match.
What we learned from Nigeria
Have to be able to go full speed for 90+ minutes in the World Cup and they didn't today. For parts of the first hour they were the better team on the field. Possession was close to even and they were able to move the ball through the midfield and close down the French attackers. They faded late though and France didn't. Completely overwhelmed at the end of the game. Both goals came off of tired, sloppy mistakes and those will kill you at any level.
Nigeria's exit means Algeria are the last African hope this World Cup. They will play Germany later today. France advance to the quarterfinals and will face intriguing matches either way. Germany are a historic rival and the two are possibly the top European teams in the tournament, although Netherlands would disagree. If the upset occurs then they'll face an Algerian team with its own ties to rance. Roughly two-thirds of the Algerian team were either born or raised in France, and there is a large expat Algerian population in France.
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