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Portugal national football team
International Friendlies
Sep 4, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
France national football team

0-1

FT(HT: 0-0)
Valbuena (85')

Player Ratings: Portugal 0-1 France

Sports Mole rates all of the players involved in France's narrow 1-0 friendly victory over Portugal in Lisbon.

France made it 10 wins on the bounce against Portugal this evening courtesy of a 1-0 triumph over the Iberians in Lisbon.

It was the visitors who enjoyed the better chances over the course of the 90 minutes, but they required a Mathieu Valbuena free kick five minutes from time to secure the victory.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out during the friendly match between two of Europe's biggest teams.


Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo (R) vies with France's midfielder Moussa Sissoko (C) and defender Bacary Sagna during the Euro 2016 friendly football match Portugal vs France at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on September 4, 2015.© Getty Images

PORTUGAL

Goal

Rui Patricio: Was not made to work as hard as he should have been by some of France's chances. Made one fine stop to deny Griezmann, though, and there wasn't too much he could do about the winner despite it not being right in the corner. (6/10)

Defence

Vieirinha: Held his own defensively for most of the match, but lost Matuidi a couple of times in the first half. Offered very little going forward. (5/10)

Pepe: Showed some good positioning on more than one occasion, being in the right place to intercept a cross and clear the danger. (6/10)

Ricardo Carvalho: Forced off in the first half having been caught by a trailing boot, which opened up a nasty cut on his head. (6/10)

Eliseu: Almost gifted Griezmann a goal with some risky play inside his own penalty area. Was caught out of position too often and failed to get the better of Sissoko. (5/10)

Midfield

Joao Mario: Part of a trio in the middle of the park that was comfortably second best in the midfield battle. Unable to stamp his mark on the game at all. (5/10)

Danilo Pereira: Picked up one of the game's two yellow cards for an obvious tug on Benzema. Did a decent job of protecting his back four for the most part, but was caught out now and again. (6/10)

Adrien Silva: The match passed him by this evening. He was unable to help Portugal keep the ball and build attacks, while defensively the likes of Pogba and Sissoko often got the better of him. (5/10)

Attack

Nani: Woefully ineffective down whichever flank he popped up on. One shot when well placed that ended up closer to the corner flag summed up his evening. (4/10)

Eder: Had one moment when he shot on the turn from a tight angle inside the box, but aside from that was anonymous. If he is Portugal's only genuine centre-forward option then they have problems. (4/10)

Cristiano Ronaldo: Kept very quiet by France's defence. Predictably looked most like scoring for the hosts with a long-range free kick, but his frustration grew as the game wore on and he was unable to produce his best. (6/10)

Substitutes

Jose Fonte: Replaced Carvalho in the first half and was a little unfortunate to be penalised for the free kick that provided Valbuena's goal. (6/10)

Cedric Soares: Introduced shortly past the hour mark and got forward better than Vieirinha, but his end product was often disappointing. (5/10)

Miguel Veloso: Came on at the same time as Cedric but didn't have much of an influence during his 30-minute cameo. (6/10)

Ricardo Quaresma: On for Ronaldo but offered nothing extra to the Portugal attack. Seemed more interested in tricks and step-overs than putting the ball in the box. (6/10)

Danny: Replaced Mario with 10 minutes left of the match and didn't have enough time to have an impact. (6/10)

Bernardo Silva: The highly-rated youngster was given the last five minutes but, like the rest of his teammates, couldn't make any headway into the France defence. (6/10)


France's forward Mathieu Valbuena celebrates his goal during the Euro 2016 friendly football match Portugal vs France at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on September 4, 2015. © Getty Images

FRANCE

Goal

Hugo Lloris: Only had one effort on target to face all night and, while that was a tricky Ronaldo free kick, he would have been disappointed had he not made the save. Did showcase his sweeper skills to deny Eder a chance, though. (7/10)

Defence

Bacary Sagna: Very solid defensively whether he was up against Ronaldo, Eder or Nani. His crossing was a little hit-and-miss, but he did provide a few good deliveries into the middle. (7/10)

Raphael Varane: Very rarely troubled by Eder or Ronaldo. Dominant in the air and looked composed and in control at all times. (7/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Joined Varane in putting in an impressive defensive display. Portugal never looked like scoring with those two at the back. (7/10)

Patrice Evra: Another who coped comfortably defensively. Did not have as big a say going forward as Sagna on the opposite flank, though, while he picked up a booking for a nasty challenge on Nani. (6/10)

Midfield

Yohan Cabaye: Tidy in possession at the base of the diamond and also got through plenty of work off the ball. Closed down Portugal's players quickly, which prevented them from building any serious attacks. Taken off at half time. (7/10)

Moussa Sissoko: A dynamic display from the Newcastle man. Produced some powerful running down the right and occasionally drifted inside to cause problems too, setting up Griezmann for a good chance in the second half. (7/10)

Blaise Matuidi: Squandered the best chance of the first half with a tame finish from the edge of the box. Not too dissimilar to Sissoko's performance on the opposite flank, although Matuidi perhaps carried a little less of a threat. (6/10)

Paul Pogba: Always seemed to be in involved whether it was in attack or defence. Was strong on the ball, holding off Portuguese players with ease before picking a pass. A dominant presence in the middle of the park. (7/10)

Attack

Nabil Fekir: Handed his full international debut but lasted less than 15 minutes before being forced off through injury. (6/10)

Karim Benzema: Struggled to really get involved, failing to provide France with the focal point they needed. Squandered a couple of sights of goal on an underwhelming night for the Real Madrid man. (5/10)

Substitutes

Antoine Griezmann: Looked bright after replacing Fekir early on, adding some pace and flair to France's attacks. His set pieces were uncharacteristically poor, though, while he missed a golden chance early in the second half. Subbed off again late in the match. (6/10)

Morgan Schneiderlin: Came on for Cabaye at half time and did much the same job as the Crystal Palace man. Prevented Portugal from building any sort of attack through midfield and was impressive with his passing too. (7/10)

Anthony Martial: Manchester United's £36m man was handed his international debut, but it was a low-key 15-minute cameo as he struggled to get involved. (6/10)

Mathieu Valbuena: Came on for Sissoko and within five minutes had provided the winner with a moment of magic. His free kick wasn't quite in the corner, but it was struck with enough power to beat the keeper and that proved to be the difference. (7/10)

Olivier Giroud: Introduced in the dying stages to help France with any aerial threats defensively and to hold the ball up at the other end of the field. (6/10)


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France's forward Mathieu Valbuena celebrates his goal during the Euro 2016 friendly football match Portugal vs France at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on September 4, 2015.
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