Evra speech inspired France to victory - Ribery

10 Sep 2013 23:58:00

The 30-year-old winger has said that les Bleus owe their victory over Belarus to the motivational skills of the left-back, whose half-time talk sparked the comeback

Franck Ribery has revealed how a half-time speech from Patrice Evra inspired France to a 4-2 victory over Belarus on Tuesday.

Didier Deschamps' men were trailing 1-0 to the Eastern Europeans at the interval, before a double from the Bayern Munich ace and further goals from Samir Nasri and Paul Pogba helped les Bleus to victory.

The win saw France score their first goal in more than 500 minutes of competitive play - a new record - but Ribery revealed it was defender Evra - an unused substitute in Tuesday's clash - who inspired the side with a half-time speech.

"It was a victory for everyone," the 30-year-old told reporters. "It was for us and it was for the fans.

"The match was a little weird, especailly after the first half. But then Pat [Evra] gave a real speech at half-time and that was good for everyone."

The praise signifies Evra's restored faith in the eyes of his compatriots, with the former captain having spent nine months frozen out of the side following his part in the in-fighting which marred France's previous World Cup campaign in South Africa under Raymond Domenech.

France moved level on points with Spain at the top of Group I following Tuesday's result, but have played one game more than Vicente del Bosque's side.