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Brazil come from behind to end France’s unbeaten run in Paris friendly Brazil come from behind to end France’s unbeaten run in Paris friendly
(about 1 hour later)
Brazil inflicted France’s first defeat since the World Cup when a perfectly mastered second half earned them victory in a friendly at the Stade de France on Thursday. With just over 14 months now to go before the opening match of Euro 2016, France and Brazil played out a thrillingly full-blooded friendly on the same pitch that will stage the hosts’ curtain-raiser in the summer of next year. Not that Didier Deschamps will draw much encouragement from the result in Paris, or from France’s wilting performance after taking the lead only to see Brazil’s high-pressing, relentlessly mobile front four pull a powerful French midfield all over the place at times as they came back to win 3-1.
Neymar and Luiz Gustavo scored after the interval with Oscar having cancelled out Raphaël Varane’s first-half opener as the visitors recorded a seventh consecutive win in the aftermath of their World Cup campaign failure on home soil. On a damp, chilly night in Saint-Denis the steeply-banked fibreglass macaron that is Stade De France was seething with Tricolors before kick-off for what felt like a genuine matchday dress rehearsal. Friendlies here have a reputation as fairly desultory affairs, but there were urgent noises off for both these teams and a genuine intensity to the occasion from the start.
Brazil have now scored 17 goals and conceded two since they hosted the finals, which they finished in fourth place after a humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat by the eventual champions Germany and a 3-0 loss to Holland in the third-place match. Brazil, still tender from last summer’s World Cup, are preparing for the Copa América in Chile, while for France Euro 2016 is now a tangible lurking pressure. Given the mess Uefa has made of the qualifying phase the hosts are hardly alone in seeking to generate their own sense of urgency through a room temperature build-up. Happily a visit from Brazil always tends to come with a portable sense of verve, not least with the echoes here of the last time these two met in this stadium, the final of France 98, recalled also by the presence in the stands of Ronaldo, here to commentate for television, and of course by both Deschamps and Dunga, opposing midfield generals that day and coaches here.
The World Cup quarter-finalists France enjoyed a bright start in a lively clash but, deprived of the influential Paul Pogba through injury, they were eventually overwhelmed in midfield. On this evidence Dunga has at least brought a familiar Dunga-brand feistiness to a Brazil team that showed nine changes here from the shellacking by Germany in the Maracanã. Stalking the touchline in a disappointingly sober suit after the extravagant tailored blousons of his first spell in charge Dunga also introduced a whiff of tactical flexibility, fielding Roberto Firmino in attack alongside Neymar, with Willian and Oscar just behind, a quartet of scampering ball-players where Brazil have tended to play a more muscular central striker.
There was a minute’s silence before the match in memory of the 150 people who died in the Germanwings flight 9525 that crashed in France on Tuesday. France started with Morgan Schneiderlin policing the base of midfield in a powerful central trio featuring also Blaise Matuidi, the hammer of Chelsea, and Moussa Sissoko a surging presence on the right. With seven minutes gone, having already troubled Brazil in the air, France really should have scored. Mathieu Valbuena’s corner from the left eventually found Karim Benzema six yards out. His header had the stadium on its feet, only for Jefferson to claw it away, a stunning whites-of-their-eyes reaction save.
Brazil dominated possession early on but Les Bleus were the most dangerous side, with Karim Benzema’s point-blank header being spectacularly saved by Jefferson in the 12th minute. In the 20th minute Neymar had the first real chance for Brazil. Raphaël Varane’s heavy touch gave the ball to Firmino, he fed Neymar and his caressed side-footed shot was too close to Steve Mandanda. Varane made amends two minutes later with the opening goal, this time headed straight in from Valbuena’s corner, the centre-back leaping in front of Miranda in a manner eerily reminiscent of Zinedine Zidane’s twin first-half headers 17 years ago.
The Brazil keeper, however, could do nothing nine minutes later when Varane headed home from Mathieu Valbuena’s corner as the visitors’ defence again proved clumsy on set pieces. Briefly France’s power and athleticism looked like it might be decisive, with Sissoko twice simply driving through the midfield away from Elias. But Brazil were uncowed, pressing high up the pitch – again something new from Dunga 2.0 – and Neymar and Firmino combining well. Firmino is an interesting player, a late bloomer at Hoffenheim via the deep south state of Santa Catarina, in the tapering peak of Brazil’s European nether regions.
Brazil levelled five minutes before the break when Oscar scored their first goal at the Stade de France in four visits, pushing the ball between the goalkeeper Steve Mandanda’s legs after being nicely set up in the box by Firmino. He provides an upright, mobile foil for Neymar, and here he made Brazil’s equaliser, barging past Matuidi and producing a lovely improvised stab-pass through the legs of Schneiderlin. Oscar’s finish was toe-poked hard and low in the classic Ronaldo style.
Eight minutes into the second half, Neymar fired a powerful angled shot into the roof of the net after being played in by Willian. By half-time Brazil were the more progressive team, with Oscar’s fine driving runs in from the left causing Schneiderlin all sorts of problems.
Didier Deschamps’s France team came close to an equaliser shortly afterwards but Benzema skied his volley over the bar. Mandanda palmed away Luis Gustavo’s low drive after more tenacious work by Firmino, and with 56 minutes gone Brazil took the lead with a thrilling piece of play. Once more it came from fierce pressing, this time by Willian, who threaded a pass inside Patrice Evra and into Neymar’s run. The captain’s finish was unanswerable, a left-footed shot pummeled high into the net. It was Neymar’s 43rd international goal and – never mind the quality, check out the numbers – his 26th in the last two years.
Luiz Gustavo then headed in from Oscar’s corner to make it 3-1 and wrap up a deserved win – Brazil’s first in France since 1992. France might have equalised immediately, Benzema volleying high into the Parisian night from five yards. But with 22 minutes left Luiz Gustavo made it 3-1, timing his run superbly to head past Mandanda direct from a corner, another Zidane-facsimile goal, and confirmation of Brazil’s greater precision and coherence on the night.
Two minutes later, Willian raced down the left but was denied by Mandanda, who was deputising for the injured Hugo Lloris and did not have a particularly impressive match. There was encouragement for France in the sight of Nabil Fekir of Lyon making his debut having committed himself to France ahead of Algeria. Fekir flickered nicely, all precision left=footed menace. France will now play Denmark in Saint-Etienne, while Brazil’s Chevrolet World Tour rolls on to the Emirates and Chile on Sunday. For Dunga’s new-build selecão this was a seventh win out of seven since the trauma of last summer, and surely the most convincing performance yet against a French team that will at least be grateful for the intensity of the occasion.
France, who only have friendlies to play until they host the Euro 2016 finals, host Denmark in St Etienne on Sunday.