Staff Reporter.
Neco Williams’ early red card meant Wales had to toil for more than an hour with 10 men as they were beaten 3-0 by France in their first friendly in preparation for Euro 2020.
The visitors’ already daunting task of facing the world champions on their own turf in Nice was made even more onerous when Liverpool youngster Williams was sent off just 25 minutes into the match, after a VAR check deemed his handball had illegally impeded a goal-bound effort from Karim Benzema.
Benzema, making his first international appearance for almost six years, had his penalty saved by Danny Ward, who then did well minutes later to keep out Adrien Rabiot’s deflected shot before Kylian Mbappe scored on the rebound.
Antoine Griezmann curled in a beautiful second goal early into the second half and substitute Ousmane Dembele struck France’s third after Benzema had hit the post.
Wales had been looking for a thorough workout in their first friendly in preparation for Euro 2020, and they certainly got one as they were forced to play 65 minutes a man down against a near full-strength French side.
Interim Wales boss Robert Page was aiming to manage his players’ workloads before their opening fixture against Switzerland on 12 June, meaning important first-team figures such as Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies only appeared as second-half substitutes in Nice.
Despite the gulf in resources between the sides, Wales had acquitted themselves well before Williams’ dismissal, with Daniel James forcing France keeper Hugo Lloris into an early save.
However, as soon as referee Luis Godinho showed Williams a red card after checking video replays on the side of the pitch, Wales faced an almost impossible task.
Ward led the response to that setback by ruining Benzema’s return with a superb save low to his right from the Real Madrid striker’s resulting penalty.
Didier Deschamps was satisfied with Benzema’s display.
“He was unlucky but you can see how gifted he is technically. A goal would have capped it off but he’s saving the goals for later.”
France were already on top and their numerical advantage strengthened their grip on the game to the extent that it felt like a glorified training session at times.
Meanwhile England’s countdown to the Euros continued with a narrow win over Austria at Riverside Stadium – but they suffered an injury setback as Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off late on.
Manager Gareth Southgate saw his experimental side secure victory when Arsenal teenager Bukayo Saka crowned a fine move with an angled finish for his first international goal after 56 minutes.
Southgate, who named his 26-man squad for the Euros on Tuesday, picked a side with an unfamiliar look as players involved with Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City in the Europa League and Champions League finals were not selected, so he will be happy to come out with a win – but it was not a convincing display.
Elsewhere depleted Scotland continued their Euro 2020 preparations in positive fashion, despite Memphis Depay’s late free-kick denying them victory over the Netherlands in Portugal.
Depay swept home a composed first-time shot to level, then arced in a stunning set piece in the final moments after substitute Kevin Nisbet scored with his first touch to restore Scotland’s lead.
Clarke’s side had looked set for a confidence-boosting victory in the absence of John Fleck, who returned a positive Covid test, and David Marshall, Stephen O’Donnell, Nathan Patterson, Grant Hanley, John McGinn and Che Adams, who were left at the training camp in Spain as a precaution.