Shaqiri jokes about ripped Switzerland shirts

Aligned alongside Yohan Cabaye and Paul Pogba in a three-man midfield, Sissoko impressed as France recorded a 0-0 draw against the Swiss in Lille on Sunday that took them into the last 16 as Group A winners.

Pogba aside, Switzerland’s biggest concern in the first period was the flimsiness of their shirts as Admir Mehmedi, Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo all had big holes torn in theirs. Switzerland winger Xherdan Shaqiri said he hoped sportswear maker Puma “doesn’t make condoms” after several Swiss players ended the goalless draw with France with shredded jerseys. We need those two players.

Second-half substitute Dimitri Payet, who has two goals to his name already in the tournament, almost grabbed a victor with 15 minutes remaining, seeing his superb volley from an angle smash off the crossbar. Pogba hit the goalpost thrice in the first half, followed by Griezmann. He played an important part in recycling the momentum for his team and also produced a warrior-like display after making nine tackles in the match, which is the most in the tournament so far. “We played Poland in a friendly a couple of years ago (and) they are very good”, Petkovic said. Rival manufacturer Adidas, who provides kit to nine of the 24 teams competing in France, told Reuters that suppliers usually provide three shirts per player, per game. “I don’t know who is responsible, but we are only in the group stage of the competition and having such a pitch is not a good thing”.

The state of the pitches at the Stade de France, Marseille’s Stade Velodrome and Lille’s Pierre Mauroy stadium did not exactly help France develop free-flowing football.

Armando Sadiku scores historic goal to help Albania beat Romania 1-0 to give them a shot at qualifying for the knockout rounds. “That said, but for a great goalkeeper and a few centimetres, or being more clinical, we could have scored goals”.

Moussa Sissoko was making his first start for France in over a year and was one of many changes as Deschamps put out an nearly totally different midfield and attack. The ex-Manchester United midfielder came the closest to scoring in the match when his attempt struck the crossbar in the first half.

Albania looked on the brink of an early exit in their first European Championship appearance after defeats in their opening two outings. “If I was going to be picky, then I would say to myself that my shot that hit the bar against the Swiss shouldn’t have hit the woodwork – it should have gone in”.

In the group’s other game, which was played simultaneously, tournament debutants Albania finished third on three points after a surprise 1-0 win over Romania, who were eliminated with one point.