France demolishes the Reggae Boyz 8-0
The Reggae Boys are still licking their wounds after suffering their worst defeat in international football since 1999 when they were blown away 8-0 by a rampant World Cup bound French team in Lille.
Les Bleus, in their final match before jetting off to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, tore through the lacklustre Jamaican defense led by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema who scored twice and set up another three.
There were also two each for Blaise Matuidi and substitute Antoine Griezman with Yohan Cabaye and Oliver Giroud also hitting the back of the net in the one-sided affair.
France coach Didier Deschamps stuck to his 4-3-3 system at Lille’s Grand Stade, with Giroud at centre forward and Benzema filling the left flank position usually occupied by Franck Ribéry, while Mathieu Valbuena kept his place on the right.
Giroud played his role to perfection when he headed Valbuena’s cross into the path of Cabaye who chested the ball down and tucked it past Jacomeno Barrett.
Matuidi made it 2-0 with a low shot from just outside the box after collecting Benzema’s pass after 20 minutes.
The Real Madrid striker then curled a superb shot into the far corner of the goal in the 38th and broke down the left to deliver a perfect pass to Giroud who tapped home the fourth after the break.
Benzema curled another fine strike into the net at the near post to make it 5-0 just past the hour before Matuidi got his double when he volleyed home Patrice Evra’s cross from the left.
Griezmann, a second-half substitute, rubbed salt in Jamaica’s wounds by firing past Jacomeno from Benzema’s pass and added the eighth with a clever backheel from point-blank range.
This is the biggest defeat in international football for the Reggae Boys since receiving a 9-0 thrashing from Costa Rica in San Jose in 1999. The team’s previously most embarrassing defeats since then was a 6-0 hammering by England in 2006 and an 8-1 thrashing by Iran in 2007.
It was France’s biggest win since they demolished Azerbaijan 10-0 in a Euro 1996 qualifier in 1995.
Sunday’s encounter saw another English-based player Ramil Sheriff making his international debut and played 65 minutes before being replaced by Chris Humphrey with Jamaica down 5-0.
This was the final encounter for the Jamaica team in their four match friendly international series which started with a 2-1 loss to Serbia at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.
They were then beaten 1-nil by Switzerland in Lucerne and drew 2-2 with Egypt in London.
Sunday’s embarrassing encounter brings to 12 matches under Coach Winfried Schaefer, winning 2, drawing 4 and losing 6.
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