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WC MOTD Review: Ecuador V France

By on June 26, 2014

The penultimate day of the group stages give us goals, that’s if you take away this match. The two teams played out a 0-0 draw inside the Maracana in a match that will not be remembered by even the hardest of football fans.

The match started off at a slow pace and that’s pretty much how it stayed for the rest of the match; the only real talking point of the first half came in the eighth minute of the match when Les Bleus defender Mamadou Sakho looked like he intentionally elbowed Oswaldo Minda in the face during a French corner. The incident should have probably warranted a red card but the Liverpool star’s actions went unnoticed, and Sakho responded to the incident after the game saying that “It’s true that I’m a tough player but I respect my opponents.”

After the incident early in the half, there was not too much else to talk about – the French attack was vibrant as they have been in this World Cup but could not put their chances away as they had been doing in games prior to this one, having scored eight in their two previous group games. Manager Didier Deschamps made six changes coming into this game, as they had already all but sealed qualification, and these changes seemed to subsequently have an effect on the French team. For one, their defense looked jittery, something that had not been seen in the previous games. Although their attack looked on form, they could not convert their chances and this seemed to be a running theme for both sides throughout the match.

The second half began like the first ended, with not many chances and not many talking points. Ecuador were trying to break down the French defense as their World Cup dreams began to fade but it was to no avail, and then five minutes into the second half disaster struck, as Antonio Valencia was shown a straight red, ending his World Cup and any small chance his country had when he lunged in with studs showing, hacking down French left back Lucas Digne. This incident almost signaled the end of Ecuador’s World Cup, although the South American side kept on going for the remainder of the match and tested the French defense several times more. The advantage France held meant they could see the match through and hang on to a draw with their place in the next round being all confirmed; Les Bleus qualified from Group E with seven points and top of their group for the first time since 1998 and we all know what happened that year… France will play an improving Nigeria in the next round but will be roundly expected to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Could France surprise everyone in Brazil?

For opponents Ecuador its the end of the road, they ended up in third place in group E and that Haris Seferovic goal in the last thirty seconds of their first game has cost them hugely, but they can still take some positives from their time in Brazil and top goalscorer in the team, Pachuca’s Enner Valencia, looks to be interesting a host of European clubs and it wouldn’t surprise me if we were to see him playing in one of Europe’s top leagues in the near future.

About Callum Kenwright

Evertonian. Angler. Oasis. Spanish Football. Aspiring Football Journalist.