In one of the most
mismatched games of the 2014 World Cup 1998 world champions France faced lowly
Honduras. France are able to boast names such as Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema
and Raphael Varane, Manchester United’’s Patrice Evra and glouriously haired
Oliver Giroud. They can even afford to leave stars such as Mancehester City’s
Samir Nasri at home. Meanwhile Honduras’ best players play for Wigan, Stoke and
Hull City. They are Roger Espinoza, Wilson Palacios and Maynor Figueroa
respectively.
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| Just Oliver Giroud being Oliver Giroud. That hair though... |
Despite the gulf in
class, France struggled to make the breakthrough. The Honduran’s fought for
their lives for every ball. Their aggressive approach upsetting and frustrating
the French stars. None more so than Juve’s Paul Pogba who got into a tangle
with Wilson Palacios. Both players received a booking when it would not have
been too harsh if both were dismissed from the game.
Despite chance after
chance falling for France they were unable to open the scoring until a stroke
before half time. Tenacious midfielder Palacios was judged to have fouled
Pogba, this time in the penalty area. The referee awarded the French a penalty
and Palacios received his second booking. Benzema was charged with the
responsibility of slotting home the spot kick beyond the Honduran keeper’s
grasp to put his side ahead at the break.
France added a
second 3 minutes into the second half when Benzema’s left-footed volley cannoned
off the post before the Honduran keeper fumbled it over the line. Although he
clawed it back and claimed he’d kept it out. The officials went to the video
technology for the first time in the tournament. After some confusion, caused mainly
by BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce who made a mountain out of a molehill, it
was declared a goal, an own goal to be precise, albeit a truly excellent finish
from Benzema beforehand. It was now a case of how many would France rack up.
This goal was a signal to the Hondurans to step up their physical approach to a
more dominant thugish approach. Each tackle crunched the bones of the French stars
and Didier Deschamps began to withdraw his key players to protect them from the
onslaught. After the game Honduras
Manager Luis Fernando Suárez insisted that his players were not guilty of being
‘too aggressive’ despite accumulating 14 fouls.
France had a number
of chances to add to their score line but failed to capitalise. They finally notched
another to make it 3 – 0. Benzema the scorer again. A free kick from Valbuena
cut back to outside the penalty area found Patrice Evra. His first time long
range effort pinballed off a number of players before resting at the feet of the
on-form French forward who duly smashed it into the goal.
Oliver Giroud was
introduced and added glamour to the occasion with his fantastic hair, but neither
he, nor any of the rest of the French team could increase their lead. They will
be relieved to have been able to evade any injuries however. A red card for
Honduras in any of their two remaining games looks a certainty. This was France’s
biggest World Cup win since the France 1998 World Cup Final against Brazil.
France 3 – 0 Honduras 
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