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France vs. Scotland: Score, Reaction from 2016 International Friendly
- Updated: June 4, 2016
France cruised to a 3-0 win over Scotland on Saturday in their final international friendly before the start of UEFA Euro 2016, with Olivier Giroud bagging a brace.
Les Bleus took an early lead thanks to a delightful back-heeled goal from Giroud. The Arsenal man then doubled their advantage with a simple goal from close range toward the end of the half. Just before half-time, Laurent Koscielny added a third goal, all but ending Scotland’s comeback bid.
Manager Didier Deschamps’ troops had plenty of chances to add to their lead after the break, but the score remained unchanged. France’s next match will be the Euro 2016 opener against Romania on Friday.
As bet365 shared, France started without Antoine Griezmann, but with the exception of the Atletico Madrid man, Les Bleus fielded a starting XI likely to play the majority of minutes during Euro 2016:
France XI: Lloris, Sagna, Rami, Koscielny, Evra, Pogba, Kanté, Matuidi, Coman, Payet, Giroud. pic.twitter.com/nf9XVu6M9z
— bet365 (@bet365) June 4, 2016
From the opening whistle, the hosts took charge of the contest. Blaise Matuidi ran through the Scottish defence after just two minutes, but his effort failed to hit the target.
Paul Pogba created some space before launching a cross for Kingsley Coman, which Grant Hanley just about managed to clear.
The French pressure was relentless, and it took just eight minutes to yield results. Coman and Bacary Sagna combined to isolate the latter down the wing, and the Manchester City man fired a good cross toward Giroud, who flicked the ball with a backheel and past stopper David Marshall.
Sport Witness’ Tom Coast doesn’t think you can argue with the Arsenal man’s form for the national team:
You can doubt Giroud all you want for #AFC, but for France, he’s on fire. Puts them 1-0 against Scotland with a backheel flick finish.
— Tom Coast (@thcoast) June 4, 2016
The early advantage was a nice bonus for France, who didn’t take their foot off the pedal. Patrice Evra couldn’t find a team-mate with his cross, but …
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