Serbia hold France to 1-1 draw in friendly

A scorching free kick from defender Aleksandar Kolarov earned Serbia a 1-1 draw in a friendly against France after an early Paul Pogba goal fired the Euro 2016 hosts ahead on Sunday.

>>Reuters
Published : 8 Sept 2014, 01:13 PM
Updated : 8 Sept 2014, 01:13 PM

Having beaten Spain 1-0 in Paris on Thursday, France dominated long spells of the match on a warm evening after their coach Didier Deschamps fielded seven fresh starters.

Pogba scored an easy 13th-minute opener after Yohan Cabaye’s low corner kick bobbled past a static Serbian defence and left the versatile midfielder with a simple tap-in at the far post.

The home team’s keeper Vladimir Stojkovic kept out a stinging Remy Cabella effort and Pogba’s rasping shot after the break with France looking sharper up front.

French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris parried a fierce Kolarov free kick midway through the second half but was powerless several minutes later when the Manchester City left back drilled in a low shot shot from 30 metres.

Dutchman Dick Advocaat will have drawn 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.

The Serbs open their 2016 European championship qualifiers away to Armenia and at home to Albania in October.