Armenia vs. France: Winners and Losers from International Friendly
France defeated Armenia 3-0 in Yerevan on Tuesday as they kept themselves fresh and sharp ahead of Euro 2016.
Loic Remy opened the scoring after a sly pass from Andre-Pierre Gignac, and the latter then doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the second half. Antoine Griezmann sealed the finish with a calm finish once he'd rounded the onrushing goalkeeper.
Here, we pick our winners and losers from the tie.
Winner: Loic Remy, Who Seized His Chance
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Loic Remy no longer has regular domestic football to use as a platform for a place in the national setup for France. Swapping Queens Park Rangers for Chelsea increases glamour but decreases minutes on the pitch.
That means any chance the former Marseille man gets to impress in a France shirt should be taken seriously, and Remy emerges as a winner here after a strong, predatory performance.
His opening goal was well taken, and his next attempt hit the inside of the post and somehow rolled out for a goal kick.
A strong night's work.
Loser: Moussa Sissoko, Who Could Be on Thin Ice in the National Setup
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Moussa Sissoko isn't playing well for Newcastle United (no one is), and the competition for a place in France's ranks is fierce.
Like Loic Remy, then, Sissoko needs to make the most of his international outings, but unlike Remy, Sissoko put in a very questionable showing on Tuesday.
Exiting after 60 minutes, his most meaningful contribution was arguable standing on his opponents' feet four minutes in and grabbing a yellow card for his trouble.
With Remy Cabella and Antoine Griezmann entering the fray in place of Sissoko—and Griezmann scoring to make it 3-0—he needs to step it up big-time or risk losing his place.
Winner: Andre-Pierre Gignac, Who Excelled on His Return for France
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Andre-Pierre Gignac is a man reborn, and he was able to take his new-found style and form into France's 3-0 win over Armenia in Yerevan on Tuesday.
He's slim-lined, less lazy and possesses a more encouraging appetite for football now Marcelo Bielsa has taken a hold of him at club level, and that showed in his one-goal, two-assist performance against Armenia.
When he's on his game, he can be an unplayable physical presence, and his pass to put Antoine Griezmann through for the third goal was nothing short of sublime.
Loser: Bernard Challandes, Who Simply Cannot Get This Team Ticking
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After Armenia embarked upon a surprise run during FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification, testing Bulgaria, Denmark and the Czech Republic throughout, expectations have been heightened a little.
But since the moment said campaign ended in missing the finals, Bernard Challandes has taken the reins from Vardan Minasyan and had difficulty extracting any sort of strong form from his troops. Without talisman Henrikh Mkhitaryan, plying his trade for Borussia Dortmund, it's even harder.
Tuesday's game was essentially attack vs. defence, with the hosts putting up barricades to stop Loic Remy and Co. It's not a good look for Challandes so far.
Winner: Raphael Varane, Who Captained His Country for 30 Minutes at Age 21
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Once Blaise Matuidi was substituted by Didier Deschamps on Tuesday, he handed the captain's armband over to Raphael Varane to finish the game.
Because the central defender has been around for so long, it's easy to forget he's 21 years of age, and the incredible achievement it is to lead your nation at that age is perhaps downplayed.
Varane didn't have the perfect match he did against Portugal, but he was solid and dependable as usual.
Being handed the armband suggests he's the most secure centre-back in the setup, and that speaks volumes when he's being challenged by Mamadou Sakho, Eliaquim Mangala, Jeremy Mathieu and more.
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