Karim Benzema overshadowed by Andreas Cornelius as Denmark claim shock Nations League win at Stade de France

Karim Benzema’s brilliant finish wasn’t enough to lead France to victory as Andreas Cornelius netted twice to hand Denmark a 2-1 win in their opening Nations League match at the Stade de France.

Denmark started the first half strong, getting a chance in the opening minutes with Kasper Dolberg squaring the ball across the face of goal to an onrushing Joakim Maehle at the back post. He did well to get there, but his shot hit the side netting.

France slowly grew into the game, with Benzema getting a chance in the box to shoot, but his effort was blocked by Jannik Vestergaard.

Three minutes later, the Real Madrid striker had the ball into the back of the net after a pass from Kylian Mbappe, but the flag was swiftly put up.

The second half saw a much more attack-minded France, and it was not long before Benzema scored. He played a difficult one-two with Christopher Nkunku before dribbling past several Danish players in the box and slotting it into the bottom corner past Kasper Schmeichel.

France looked well on top after the goal, but it only took a moment of magic for Denmark to get back into it. A perfect cross into the box from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg found Cornelius whose first-time volley was enough to put his side level.

Twenty minutes later, in the dying embers of the match, Cornelius broke clear and grabbed a late second goal to give his side the lead, much to the dismay and shock of the Parisian crowd.

France continued to push, but Didier Deschamps’ men were unable to find another goal.

The loss means that France are third in their group, and they’ll hope to rectify that when they face off against Croatia, who sit bottom. Meanwhile Denmark, who are second, will head to Austria to take on the group leaders.

TALKING POINT: FRANCE CAN’T HOLD THEIR LEAD

While certainly not a big of a deal, this game felt similar to France’s Euros loss against Switzerland last summer. Sometimes this side, for as talented as they are, quickly lose focus when they are ahead and two defensive lapses ensured that they lost to a side that they should be beating.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: ANDREAS CORNELIUS

Coming on at 60 minutes against this France side and being asked to make a difference must be hard, but Cornelius made it look easy. He scored two goals from his two shots on target, and while he wasn’t on the ball much, his decisiveness is all that matters.

A special mention to Hojbjerg, who made two key passes, created one big chance and assisted Denmark’s first.

PLAYER RATINGS

FRANCE: Lloris 6, Coman 7, Kounde 7, Varane 7, L. Hernandez 6, T. Hernandez 7, Kante 7, Tchouameni 7, Griezmann 6, Benzema 7, Mbappe 6… Subs: Saliba 6, Diaby N/A, Clauss N/A, Rabiot 6.

DENMARK: Schmeichel 7, Andersen 7, Nelsson 6, Vestergaard 6, Maehle 7, Hojbjerg 8, Delaney 6, Wass 6, Eriksen 6, Olsen 6, Dolberg 6… Subs: Kristensen 6, Jensen 6, Damsgaard 7, Braithwaite 6, Cornelius 8*.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

3’ – CLOSE FOR DENMARK: Dolberg squares the ball to Maehle at the back post., but the latter is just too late, and his shot hits the side netting.

13’ – BIG BLOCK: Benzema takes a shot that’s on target after a one-two, but it’s blocked by Vestergaard.

16’ – FRANCE HAVE WOKEN UP: Benzema scores from a low shot, but it’s offside. The flag goes up pretty quickly, and replays show that he is past the last defender. France have settled down, and have gotten a couple more half-chances.

51’ – GOAL! FRANCE 1-0 DENMARK: Who else but Benzema? And what a fantastic goal that is. It is a one-two with Nkunku in the box, before some fantastic individual skill that has him dribbling between players before slotting it into the corner.

68’ – GOAL! FRANCE 1-1 DENMARK: We’re all tied here at the Stade de France! Cornelius gets the ball in the box, and he makes a side-foot shot look easy as it goes past Lloris.

88’ – GOAL! FRANCE 1-2 DENMARK: The comeback is complete!!!! Cornelius gets his brace and Denmark are ahead. It’s such a tight angle, but he manages to slot it home when he’s one on one with the keeper. Decisive when it matters.

KEY STATS

• Karim Benzema has now scored in five consecutive games for France.
• This is the first time since March 2018 that France lose a match after scoring the opening goal [Opta].