France vs. Sweden: Score and Twitter Reaction from International Friendly

Even with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the lineup, Sweden would have been underdogs against France. Without him, well, they never really appeared to have a chance.       

While Sweden fought valiantly, the superior French side wore them down and a Raphael Varane goal in the 84th minute gave them a 1-0 victory. The game easily could have been more lopsided than that, as France dominated throughout and Karim Benzema missed an 86th-minute penalty, but the better side was victorious on the day.

101 Great Goals passed along the winning goal from Varane, who captained his country on the night:

The only thing France didn't do in the first half was score. 

They dominated the ball in the first 45, with 68 percent of the possession. They took 14 shots to just four for Sweden. They were far brighter and more threatening in their build-up play. 

But they just couldn't score. 

They came close in the 11th minute. Paul Pogba's gorgeous chip pass found Layvin Kurzawa, who volleyed toward goal but just missed the top corner. 

Those near misses were the theme for France despite their dominance on the ball. Twice, Varane failed to put the ball on goal with headed efforts. Mathieu Valbuena missed the target on his overhead kick in the 31st minute (though that would have been quite a spectacular goal). Antoine Griezmann was free on goal in the 36th minute but couldn't beat keeper Andreas Isaksson. 

Claude Paris/Associated Press

The second half continued the theme. An Andre-Pierre Gignac volley was saved by Isaksson in the 49th minute, while Griezmann saw his shot saved from a tight angle in the 60th minute. Moussa Sissoko tested Isaksson in the 79th minute, only to see the keeper stand tall once again. 

Sweden had their chances, too. Sebastian Larsson found Isaac Thelin with a lovely pass into the box, but Thelin pushed the ball above the bar in the 57th minute. It was a huge miss in hindsight and really should have given the Swedes the lead. 

Still, in a game that France mostly dominated, it appeared the French would never get the breakthrough goal. Varane, mercifully, finally gave them the lead in the 84th minute. Meanwhile, the fact that Griezmann provided the assist on the set piece shouldn't come as a surprise, per WhoScored.com:

The fact that Benzema missed a penalty was a pretty big shot, however. Here's the moment, via Andrew Gibney of Bleacher Report UK:

Benzema spoke after the match, via Get French Football News on Twitter:

Outside of their inability to capitalize on more than a few good chances, France looked quite good on Tuesday. Now it's back to club football for the French internationals, as the country is next in action against Denmark on March 29 in an international friendly.

Sweden, meanwhile, next play in a European qualifier on March 27 against Moldova. The team will certainly be hoping Ibra can feature in that contest.