France Vs. Switzerland Recap And Highlights Video: French Beat Swiss 5-2

It was a goal-fest in Salvador as France convincingly beat the Swiss 5-2. From early on it looked like it was going to be France's night as they took a commanding 3-0 at the interval, only to add two more in the second half. The Swiss did add two in the last ten minutes, but it was all for nothing as they were by far the inferior side on the day.

France and Switzerland each came into their second Group E match looking to add three more points to help secure them a spot in the Round of 16. Didier Deschamps kept Paul Pogba out of the lineup as the Juventus midfielder had received a yellow in their opening match against Honduras while Ottmar Hitzfeld rewarded Haris Seferovic with the start after he scored the game-winning goal with the last kick of the match against Ecuador.

It was a rather open start to the game as there was space for both sides in the middle of the pitch to push forward. Karim Benzema nearly put the French up early as his curling shot from about 20-yards went just wide of Diego Benaglio’s far post. The Swiss were dealt an early blow on 9’ when defender Steve Von Bergen had to come off after catching a nasty elbow to face from Olivier Giroud.

It was Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi who gave the French a 2-0 lead after twenty minutes. Giroud beautifully scored the first off a corner with his head from about 10-yards out, only to see his fellow countryman add to the tally as Benaglio was questionably beaten on his near post thirty seconds later. The Swiss looked absolutely shell shocked as Didier Deschamps’ men looked at the top of their game.

Granit Xhaka thought that he brought one back for “La Suisse”, only to look over his shoulder and see the linesman’s flag in the air. It was the kind of response that the Swiss would be looking for though, as there was plenty of time for the Swiss to get back in this one. They came close again on 30’ only to be denied by the fingertips of Hugo Lloris.

Benaglio completely redeemed himself on 32’ when he stopped Karim Benzema’s penalty after he was brought down by a clumsy challenge from Johan Djourou. Yohan Cabaye had a huge chance on the rebound to slot it into an open net from about 5-yards out only to laughably smack the ball against the crossbar. A goal there and it could be said that the French would all but have been out of sight for the Swiss.

And on 40’ that goal came for the French as a beautiful counter attack ended when a low cross from Oliver Giroud was finished off by Yohan Cabaye. The Swiss pushed up heavily on a corner kick, and they paid for it as there were only 3 Swiss players on their own half of the pitch when the counter began.

After forty-five minutes the French had a commanding 3-0 lead. It could have been even more as the Swiss were lucky to escape wave after wave of the “Les Bleus” attack. It was by far one of the best halves of soccer that we have seen in Brazil thus far, one that the Swiss will soon want to forget.

It was a tall order for the Swiss coming out of the interval. The French continued to look dangerous after the break as Benzema seemed to really be in mood, firing almost any time he was given more than a couple feet of room. Neither team in the opening ten minutes had any clear chances though, as the French were more than happy to sit back and let the Swiss play with the ball.

It was clear that frustration was beginning to set in for the Swiss as Xherdan Shaqiri and Admir Mehmedi seemed to be exchanging words with one another. Things were not going as planned for “La Suisse” as the hopes of getting back into this game were slowly beginning to dwindle.

The French looked to be setting up shop around the 60’ mark as Didier Deschamps brought on midfielder Paul Pogba in favor of forward and goal scorer Olivier Giroud. It all proved to be too much for the Swiss as Karim Benzema put the game beyond all doubt when he finished between Benaglio’s legs after a beautiful delivery from the substitute, Paul Pogba. The goal brought Benzema level with Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie and Thomas Mueller for the Golden Boot as they all now have three goals apiece.

It became embarrassing for the Swiss on 72’ as Moussa Sissoko put in the fifth goal for France. Sissoko beautifully passed the ball to the corner of the net that gave Benaglio no chance. It was 5-0 after seventy-five minutes and at this point, the Swiss were just hoping to hear the final whistle sound as soon as possible.

Complacency did begin to set in for the French though as the Swiss did get two goals back in the final ten minutes. The first came on 80’ as Blerim Dzemaili put in a free kick from 35-yards out while the second came on 87’ as Granit Xhaka was put clear through on goal, easily beating Lloris to make it 5-2. It was too little too late for the Swiss though, as the hole they had dug themselves into was too big to climb out of, France won convincingly 5-2.