Victor Caceres flicked home an 89th-minute equalizer as Paraguay held FIFA World Cup-bound France to a 1-1 draw on a wet evening in the French city of Nice on Sunday.
France substitute Antoine Griezmann seemed to have given his side the win when he curled home an 82nd-minute right-foot shot before Caceres stunned the crowd on the Cote d’Azur with his late heroics.
Unfit Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery was on the team list, as was recently crowned Champions League winner Karim Benzema of Real Madrid, although neither player came off the bench.
When asked about Ribery’s ongoing back problems, coach Didier Deschamps said he hoped the former Olympique de Marseille player would be ready for the squad’s final preparation match against Jamaica in Lille, France, in a week’s time.
“I’ve already spoken about it and I have nothing new to add. We’ll do everything so he’s ready for next Sunday,” Deschamps said.
The match looked to be heading for a scoreless draw before the ever-present Olivier Giroud had his goal-bound attempt parried onto the path of Real Sociedad striker Griezman, who curled it into the far corner.
Yet with time running out, a free-kick from Jorge Rojas glanced past Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was likely disappointed not to have made the save.
In a repeat of the second-round match in the 1998 World Cup when France’s Laurent Blanc, now Paris Saint-Germain coach, scored a golden-goal winner that helped France on their way to their only tournament title to date, goals were scarce until the dying moments.
Arsenal striker Giroud was the best threat for the home side with a series of close-range headers, but Paraguay, who failed to qualify for the World Cup, proved a hard nut to crack.
Sunday’s match was the second Brazil buildup for Deschamps’ side after they brushed aside Norway 4-0 on Tuesday last week, helped by a brace from Giroud.
France are to open their World Cup campaign on June 15 against Honduras in Group E before facing Switzerland on June 20 and Ecuador on June 25.
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