Albania vs. France: Score, Grades and Reaction from International Friendly

Albania shocked France during Saturday's international friendly, beating the giants of European football 1-0 following a fantastic performance from the hosts. 

Ergys Kace scored the only goal of the match, a beautiful first-half free-kick, but Albania could have had more goals and were unfortunate to run into Hugo Lloris, one of the few France internationals who actually played up to standard.

France have now lost back-to-back friendlies in embarrassing fashion, dropping their last match against Belgium 4-3. Les Bleus had never lost to Albania before.

Olivier Giroud picked up a minor knock earlier this week and was expected to sit out this friendly, but as shared by Le Parisien's Julien Laurens, the Arsenal striker managed to make the starting XI:

Early in the match, Les Bleus had full control of proceedings. The midfield easily dominated possession, and Giroud had a couple of looks on goal from a promising position.

One volley barely missed the target, although Etrit Berisha had it covered. Giroud also set up Alexandre Lacazette, but as shared by French Football Weekly, the Olympique Lyon man couldn't convert:

France were wasteful with their chances, and soon enough, the hosts started to knock on the door. Patrice Evra had a rough afternoon on the left wing, as he was routinely beaten and forced to bring his man down with cynical fouls.

Albania started taking control, shocking the French midfielders with their strong play, and even though Andi Lila was lost to injury early, the pressure started to mount. Lloris saw plenty of action, as he was forced to deny Sokol Cikalleshi on multiple occasions.

First, he rushed off his line just in time to deny the midfielder a goal, before positioning himself well to intercept a dangerous cross. He gave up a rebound to Ermir Lenjani, however, and was fortunate that the Albanian inexplicably blasted the ball over the bar. French Football Weekly conceded Albania should have been ahead at that point:

However, via Bleacher Report's Jonathan Johnson, he soon redeemed himself when Lenjani once again popped up in front of his goal, stretching out to make a super save:

France were in serious trouble, with even Giroud forced to move all the way back to defend near his own box. During yet another mad scramble, he tried to block a shot from Lenjani and brought him down in the process, handing Albania a free-kick in a dangerous area.

Kace stepped up to take the free-kick and did this:

It was a beautiful and well-deserved goal, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead heading into half-time. Cikalleshi managed to get himself booked just before the whistle with a cynical foul, but that couldn't dampen the spirits of the home fans.

Johnson was anything but satisfied:

Nabil Fekir and Paul Pogba were introduced to start the second half, but Les Bleus' performance hardly improved. Albania remained in full control of the match and looked more threatening, although they mustered fewer chances than in the first half.

Lenjani went on a beautiful solo run that ended with a disappointing shot, and Armando Sadiku deflected a cross just wide of Lloris' goal.

With little to cheer about, French Football Weekly resorted to making other observations:

Mathieu Valbuena added a bit of a spark with a couple of shots midway through the second half, and he even forced Berisha into making a fantastic save with a free-kick. The French pressure increased slightly in the final 15 minutes, as Didier Deschamps' men went looking for an equaliser.

Pogba and Fekir both had attempts on goal, but Berisha dealt with them comfortably, preserving a historic win for the Albanian team.

France's 4-3 friendly loss against Belgium was embarrassing, but the Red Devils are supposed to be contenders for Euro 2016. Albania are the kind of team Les Bleus should feast on, but Deschamps' team looks like a mess right now, and there's plenty of work to be done before the start of Europe's biggest international tournament.

This was the final match before the summer break, and plenty of internationals likely couldn't be bothered to play unfancied Albania. But that's no excuse. The hosts dominated France and can be proud of a fantastic performance that should fire the nation to future glory.

Relevant Match Grades

Michel Spingler/Associated Press

Ermir Lenjani: B+

Lenjani was likely eager to prove himself against Les Bleus, as he plays his football in Ligue 1 for Rennes, and the tricky midfielder put together a sensational performance. He gave the French defence fits every time he touched the ball, provided tons of danger and won the free-kick that led to Kace's first-half goal. Not a bad night.

Mathieu Valbuena: B

Sure, Antoine Griezmann enjoyed a fine season in La Liga, but given his recent showings for Les Bleus, how on earth did he start over Valbuena? The tiny winger was one of few French players to show some kind of intensity and nearly equalised with a stunning free-kick.

Post-Match Reaction

Evra acknowledged France did not look good at all but promised the fans the team would do a lot better at the Euros, per Get French Football:

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