A disappointing France laboured to a hard-fought 2-0 win over a fearless Albania at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
Stoppage time goals from Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet proved the difference on the night, sparing Les Bleus’ blushes for a second consecutive game.
The result sees France move outright top of the group and become the first country to qualify for the knockout phase of the Euros.
Here’s a comprehensive overview of every player on the pitch:
France
Hugo Lloris – 5: Had very little to do with Albanian unable to create a shot on target.
Patrice Evra – 5.5: An assured display with a couple of crucial interceptions to thwart Albania creating goalscoring opportunities.
Adil Rami – 6.5: An unlikely source for the opening goal, after he provided an inch-perfect assist for Griezmann.
Laurent Koscielny – 5.5: Wasted a golden opportunity to break the deadlock but overall was comfortable in possession and defending Albania’s attackers.
Bacary Sagna – 4.5: Experienced a difficult time against the Albanian forwards and almost diverted a cross into his own net.
N’Golo Kante – 6: Was a constant outlet in midfield and broke up the play well.
Blaise Matuidi – 6: Provided plenty of energy and did well to creating chances for his side when he moved into a higher position.
Anthony Martial – 4: The young Manchester United striker was substituted at half time after a dull display.
Dimitri Payet – 7.5: Yet again, Payet was France’s best player with his all-action passing game and thunderous curling effort to seal the points.
Kingsley Coman – 5: Similarly to Martial, he was caught out in central areas and had more joy when playing on the wing.
Olivier Giroud – 6: Worked himself into good goalscoring positions and was unlucky not to open the scoring when he struck the woodwork.
Substitutes
Paul Pogba – 6: Had an instant impact and played a superb long-range ball to help set up the second goal.
Antoine Griezmann – 7: Came off the bench to break the deadlock with an expertly taken header in the 90th minute.
Andre-Pierre Gignac – 5: Provided plenty of energy and linked up well with the midfielders after his introduction for Giroud.
Albania
Etrit Berisha – 6:
Confident display and could not be blamed for the two goals.
Elseid Hysaj – 6: Fairly comfortable defensively and was unlucky not to rewarded when his dangerous cross was almost turned into his own net by Sagna.
Arlind Ajeti – 7: Provided a great backbone to the Albania defence and restricted Martial and Giroud for the majority of the match.
Mergim Mavraj – 6.5: Kept Giroud under control and cleared the ball time and time again.
Ansi Agolli – 5: Made a mistake in the lead up to the first goal when he failed to charge down Rami’s cross.
Andi Lila – 4.5: Had little influence on the contest and was guilty of poor service to the forwards.
Amir Abrashi – 6: An assured display and was agonisingly close to connecting on the end of Ermir Lenjani’s cross.
Burim Kukeli – 4: Sloppy in possession and presented France with opportunities to test their defence.
Ledian Memushaj – 5: Relatively quiet for the most part but created chances from set-pieces.
Ermir Lenjani – 7: Was probably the best Albanian attacker, causing issues for the French defence and it was only his execution that let him down.
Aramando Sadiku – 5: Suffered from a lack of service and given France had the bulk of possession this is not surprising.
Substitutes
Taulant Xhaka – 4: Did not appear comfortable and composed on the big stage.
Frederic Veseli – 3: Let Griezmann get away from him for the crucial opening goal.
Odise Roshi – N/A: Had no real impact on the game.
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