It only took Luis Suarez five minutes to make an impact as the Uruguay striker came off the bench at halftime and scored the match-winner not long after to lead his country to a 1-0 win over France in a friendly.
Uruguay vs. France: Final score 1-0, Luis Suarez scores lone goal in Uruguay win
Luis Suarez was responsible for the only highlight in an otherwise boring friendly.
Michael Regan
Suarez entered for Diego Forlan and caused problems for France on a couple occasions before scoring in the 50th minute. Max Pereira slipped a ball in for Suarez from the right and after holding off Eliaquim Mangala, Suarez let the ball run in front of him before using the outside of his foot to hit a great shot across goal and just inside the far post. Steve Mandanda may have felt that he could have done better on the sharp angle shot, but it was a wonderful finish and a deserved winner.
Uruguay fielded a strong lineup, although one that was clearly weakened by not having Suarez and Forlan on the pitch together, while France used a talented, but young side. Mass second half substitutions took some of the shine off the match as Uruguay used all six subs and France used five.
Neither side did much to thrill the crowd in Montevideo as the match was played at a snail’s pace. Both teams were cautious at the back and sloppy in the attack, making chances few and far between.
Dimitri Payet had the first real chance of the match at the half-hour mark, but Fernando Muslera did well to save. Payet's shot seemed to wake the French up as they grabbed a hold of the match, but they only created a couple more chances in the half, both of which Muslera took care of rather easily.
The second half wasn't much better, although Uruguay did get a bit more verve with the introductions of Suarez and Gaston Ramirez. In addition to his goal, Suarez's movements created space for Ramirez, who forced a good save from Mandanda late on, while Edinson Cavani also had a chance that was turned away.
The friendly proved to be very much friendly as neither team showed much urgency, which is to be expected from France, who do not have a competitive match this summer, but Uruguay have a crucial World Cup qualifier at Venezuela on June 11. They currently sit in sixth place in CONMEBOL qualifying, two points back of Venezuela, who sit in the all-important playoff spot.
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