Date: June 15, 2014
Result: France 3-0 Honduras
Scorers:
France:
- Benzema pen. 45
- Valladares og. 48
- Benzema 73
Venue: Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre
Attendance: 68,351
Match overview: Since they won the tournament on home soil in 1998, the French have not scored in their opening game of a World Cup. Honduras have not scored in their last four World Cup matches.
Key moment: Wilson Palacio’s barging into Paul Pogba. The pair had history from an earlier clash which saw both being shown a yellow card. Palacio’s subsequent foul on Pogba resulted in a penalty and reduced Honduras to ten-men. There was no way back for Luis Surez’s side after that.
Man of the match: Mathieu Valbuena. There were several contenders in France’s midfield, but Valbuena, combining industry and creativity, was the standout performer.
Matter of fact: France enjoyed 71% possession against Honduras. That’s the highest seen at the World Cup since possession figures were first recorded in 1966.
Talking point: History was made with France’s second goal. It was the first time goalline technology had ever been used to determine a goal at the World Cup.
Stats:
Goal attempts
- France 20
- Honduras 4
On target
- France 10
- Honduras 2
Corners
- France 8
- Honduras 0
Line-ups:
France:
- 01 Lloris
- 02 Debuchy
- 03 Evra
- 06 Cabaye Booked (Mavuba – 65′ )
- 04 Varane
- 05 Sakho
- 19 Pogba (Sissoko – 57′ )
- 14 Matuidi
- 10 Benzema
- 08 Valbuena (Giroud – 78′ )
- 11 Griezmann
Honduras:
- 18 Valladares
- 21 Beckeles
- 07 Izaguirre
- 08 Palacios
- 05 Bernárdez (Chávez – 45′ )
- 03 Figueroa
- 17 Najar (Claros – 58′ )
- 19 Garrido
- 13 Costly
- 11 Bengtson (García – 45′)
- 15 Espinoza
Scorers:
France:
- Benzema pen. 45
- Valladares og. 48
- Benzema 73
Red card:
- Honduras: Palacios 43
Yellow cards:
- France: Evra 7, Pogba 28, Cabaye 45
- Honduras: Palacios 28, Garcia 53 Garrido 83
Referee: Sandro Meira Ricci (Brazil)
