A makeshift France side were held to a 1-1 draw by Serbia in a friendly after Aleksandar Kolarov drilled in a ferocious free-kick for the hosts to cancel out a Paul Pogba opener on Sunday.
Having beaten Spain 1-0 in Paris on Thursday last week, France dominated long spells of the match after their coach Didier Deschamps fielded seven fresh starters.
A dour opening came to life when versatile midfielder Pogba fired France ahead in the 13th minute, tapping in at the far post Yohan Cabaye’s low corner which bobbled past a static Serbia defense.
Photo: AFP
The home team’s keeper Vladimir Stojkovic then kept out a stinging effort by Remy Cabella, one of Deschamps’ most impressive replacements, having also parried a Pogba shot with France looking sharper early in the second half, but the visitors fizzed out in the final 30 minutes and their goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was powerless when Manchester City leftback Kolarov unleashed a scorcher from long range into the bottom-left corner with 10 minutes left.
Serbia missed a stoppage-time sitter to turn the match on its head when Lloris palmed away a ricochet from a goalmouth scramble.
“We should have been 2-0 up, and having missed two good chances we struggled in the closing stages,” Deschamps told a press conference. “Kolarov scored a beautiful goal, but we could have done better. We played well defensively and some of the players who stood in for starters this evening may have a bright future, but they will have to work hard.”
Photo: EPA
Dutchman Dick Advocaat drew some positives from his debut as Serbia’s coach, although his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation at times looked unconvincing at the back and lacked spark in midfield.
“Everything can be better, but bearing in mind it was our first game since I took over, I think it was a solid performance and a good result,” Advocaat said. “We are still lacking a bit of cohesion and bite, so we will have to ponder in the next few weeks whether to start with a more creative midfield or stick with the present battling outfit in the center of the pitch.”
Serbia open their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign away to Armenia and home to Albania next month, with Advocaat praising the latter after their shock 1-0 win against Portugal.
“The result says enough how strong Albania can be and it just confirms that there will be no easy games in our group,” he said.
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