Player Ratings: France 0-2 Argentina

FRANCE

Mandanda – 6: Barely had much to do except to pick the ball out of the net twice. Slightly unfortunate to concede the first goal when an awful bounce just skipped past him, although he did leave his near post exposed. Could do little about Argentina’s majestic second goal. 

Sagna – 6: Had the easier evening of the two fullbacks as he only had to shackle Gutierrez but he still allowed his side of the wing to be exploited and for the Newcastle United man to score the opener.

Gallas – 6.5: Marshalled his defence well and kept out almost all of Argentina’s ground assault. But like four, five even six of his team-mates, he was completely bamboozled by Tevez and Messi’s combination which produced the second goal.

Mexes – 7: Shadowed Aguero closely all night long and forced him out of position. Looked menacing in the air in the opposing half from set-pieces.

Abidal – 6: True to his word, he didn’t dare hack down Messi, but he kept the door shut down that flank by staying put at the back and didn’t bother leaving his half to attack.

Lassana Diarra – 8: Had a nightmare first 10 minutes trying to shackle Messi but once the game wore on, he imposed himself in the middle of the park with some brilliant tackles and interceptions.

Toulalan – 6.5: Cleaned up whatever got past Diarra. Tried to get forward a few times without much success. Did his bit to make up the numbers in midfield and stifle Argentina’s advances at times.

Ribery – 7.5: Saw a lot of the ball and showed some great touches.Constantly cut in to the middle from the flanks in that familiar style of his. Had a few cracks at goal but he didn’t really have the strikers in front of him to get to the end of his passes. 

Gourcuff – 7.5: An impressive performance. Made a blistering start terrorising the Argentine back line and almost overshadowed Messi for a brief period. But as his team-mates tire in the second half, he too faded out of the game.

Henry – 6.5: Stuck out wide on the left-hand side. Made a number of dangerous runs into the middle and had a few decent look-ins at goal but never did had a significant impact.

Anelka – 5: Made a bright start but disappeared from the game very quickly. Left very isolated on his own inside the Albicelestes box and was rightly taken off early in the second half.

Substitutes:

Benzema – 6.5: Tried hard to stamp his mark on the game but like everyone else in blue, he could not do much. Showed some great touches on the ball, though.

ARGENTINA

Carrizo – 7: Certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers. Had to make a number of pivotal saves in the first half to keep his side afloat. Looked solid in the air from set-pieces and high balls.

Zanetti – 8: Showed all his years of wisdom and experience, easily blocking out France’s left flank with his strength and guile. Barely let anyone past him. Only attacked when really needed.

Demichelis – 7: Looked strong in the air. Didn’t always win every ball put he was there to put in a good challenge every time a cross was floated in.

Heinze – 6: Had a few nervy moments, slipping and sliding all over the pitch. Did show his steel at times with some no-nonsense tackling.

Papa – 7: Very adventurous going upfront. Looked as though he was just too excited to join in the fun in attack. Looked more subdued in the second period perhaps under the instructions from his coach.

Maxi Rodriguez – 6.5: Made an encouraging start. Nothing special from the Atletico Madrid man. Helped out defensively more than he did in offence.

Mascherano – 8: Formed a one-man brick wall just in front of the defence. Didn’t do a whole lot of running but he was always there to close down the space and fight for every ball within sight.

Gago – 7.5: Covered an enormous amount of ground running, tackling, attacking. Played just in front of Mascherano and brought the ball forward out of defence with style and poise. 

Jonas Gutierrez – 7: Like his fellow winger in the opposite flank, it was a solid but unspectacular performance. Had two clean shots on target and one of them found the back of the net.

Messi – 9: Showed glimpses of his majestic brilliance every chance he had. Gave the French defence endless headaches with his typical jinking mazy runs, but he also knew when to stop running forward and hold the ball. Capped off his evening with a sublime, Maradona-esque goal.

Aguero – 6: Very quiet. Other than a few threatening runs from deep on the counter, he had little to show in front of goal. Did set-up Gutierrez’s goal.

Substitutes:

Angeleri – 5: Brought on to replace Maxi and shore up the midfield line. Did his job by closing down any open spaces.

Tevez – 7.5: Ran half the length of the pitch, drew out three defenders, stopped, turned and cleverly played in Messi for the second goal.

KS Leong, Goal.com