Franck who?
Ribery’s replacement on the wing Antoine Griezmann bagged a brace as did Karim Benzema and Blaise Matuidi as the French thrashed Jamaica by a ridiculous scoreline in the final tuneup before Brazil.
The eight-goal difference is France’s largest win since their 10-0 demolition of Azerbaijan in 1995.
Olivier Giroud and Yohan Cabaye also picked up goals as the Lille crowd showered its French faithful with a standing ovation as they left the pitch.
Griezmann has impressed since replacing Ribery on the wing, scoring his country’s only goal in a 1-1 draw with Paraguay a week ago. The French have now scored 13 goals in their three World Cup warmups, including a 4-0 defeat of Norway in late May.
The French, however, couldn’t get through the match without more injury news, as Mathieu Debuchy was removed at halftime with a thigh injury, replaced by Bacary Sagna. It’s not believed to be serious.
France begins group stage play on June 15 against Honduras.
Meanwhile, the Italians blew two leads but managed to come away with a 5-3 win over Brazilian club Fluminense as in-form Ciro Immobile grabbed a trio of goals as well as two assists. Other scorers include Lorenzo Insigne and Carlinhos.
The win is a major improvement from their 1-1 draw with Luxembourg last week, and gives the Italians good attacking confidence to take with them to Group D play, where they’ll have to take on Uruguay, England, and Costa Rica.
Italy opens against England in Manaus on the 14th of June.
