“France came into the World Cup with a lack of expectations in terms of success, but lots of expectations in correcting the tainted image of French football after the horror show an and off the pitch four years earlier. Qualification was a struggle, led by a hard-fought performance against Ukraine, but they’ll count their blessings at getting a somewhat easy group. Easy primarily because of their first opponents, Honduras. The North American side consisted of players not playing at the top of World football, while their type of football was also one befitting of minnows with the emphasis on the defence. Nevertheless, they were a good physical side and over-looking any team at a World Cup can have monumental repercussions.” Outside of the Boot
Mature France performance sees Honduras off
“Didier Deschamps’ France side got their FIFA World Cup Group E campaign underway on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 win over minnows Honduras in Porto Alegre. After three scoreless opening matches since 1998’s 3-0 win over South Africa in Marseille, Les Bleus finally put that unwanted record to bed with a mature performance at Estadio Beira-Rio. Karim Benzema was the key man for the French. He scored twice, played a big role in the other goal — the World Cup’s first to be decided by goal-line technology — and finally looks ready to deliver on the biggest stage for his country.” ESPN
France vs. Honduras in GIFs
“Les Blues takes care of business in its opener. France were heavy favorites against Central American opponent Honduras. Not only did they have the edge in terms of talent, they were still angry about 2010. Well, not really, but they did win easily, 3–0 in Porto Alegre. Check out our favorite GIFs.” Fusion (Video)