Paul Pogba scored in the 79’ to send France into the quarterfinals after beating Nigeria 2-0 in Brasilia.
The Round of 16 has been nothing short of dramatic, and this clash wasn’t any different. Both teams traded chances back and forth all game, but no one could crack either goalkeeper. If a team were to win based on the first half, it would likely have been the Nigerians. They came out confident and hungry against the French. If Emmanuel Emenike was a tad skinnier they would of been up on Les Bleus. The Spartak Moscow man buried on passed France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, but it was disallowed after an offside call.
The first 20 minutes of second half was just as back and forth as the first half. Then France started to take control. Karim Benzema was denied point-blank by Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, and the pressure increased. If it wasn’t for a spectacular performance by Enyeama, the Super Eagles would have been down by more.
Then, less than 5 minutes after Benzema's first chance, he drilled a cross into the box that was saved by a defender on the line. The rebound found Yohan Cabaye who kicked the rebound off the cross bar. Only 3 minutes later, Enyeama made another point blank save on Benzema, flicking it over the bar.
Set pieces have haunted the Nigerians, and on the corner following the Enyeama save, the Super Eagle’s hero made a game-deciding mistake - leaving his line and misjudging the Mathieu Valbuena corner. The ball found Paul Pogba, who capitalized on an easy header into a wide open net.
It was the fourth goal in the last 10 minutes of a Round of 16 match, and the Nigerians couldn’t create any threatening chances following the Pogba goal. France did well keeping the pressure up and controlling the midfield despite being up. They weren’t spectacular for the entire 90 minutes, but a 10-minute wave of pressure finally cracked the Nigerians. The African champions played strong and showed they too are a competitive footballing nation.
Next up for France will be a bout with either Germany or Algeria. Of course the likely matchup would be with Germany, which would be a fantastic match consisting of two fast paced teams with loads of talent all over the pitch. Aside from the two chances for Benzema late in the second half, he was silent all day. He will need to be better in the quarterfinal match and France will need to be better at getting him involved. The young French squad is just as loaded as anyone on an offensive standpoint and we think that they have looked like one of the strongest teams thus far in the tournament. They have shown that they can win in a number of different ways. Our only concern is their back line has not played against a world class striker or offense. Germany have the dangerous Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Mesut Özil, just to name a few. France hasn’t really experienced any adversity either this tournament. It will be interesting to see how they handle all these factors as the stakes get higher. But for now, Les Bleus are looking dangereux.
You can find The18 writer Bryce Badwan at @BBadss on Twitter.
