A late header from Paul Pogba and an own goal from Joseph Yobo were enough to give France a 2-0 win over Nigeria.
Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane started for Didier Deschamps’ men, whilst Real Sociedad winger Griezmann was dropped to the bench with Olivier Giroud keeping his place out wide.
Stephen Keshi meanwhile, welcomed back Victor Moses to the starting XI as they hoped to book their place in the last eight for the first time.
The heat and humidity in Brasilia wasn’t quite as debilitating as it had been in other Brazilian cities during this tournament, and that meant a fast and frenetic start to the match. Ahmed Musa and Mathieu Valbuena were at the heart of the action, attacking down both flanks. But in the early exchanges, neither goalkeeper was really tested as the backlines stood firm.
It was the Super Eagles though, who were having the lion’s share of the ball – happily playing it amongst themselves around the centre circle, without ever really penetrating the French defence.
That changed on 19 minutes however as Emanuel Emenike tapped into the net following Musa’s cross. The linesman was stood on the sideline with his flag up though, to temper Nigerian celebrations.
Les Bleus’ weren’t to be outdone though, as just moments later they had their own chance to open the scoring. A breakaway from Pogba saw the Juventus man play a one-two with Valbuena, before the youngster fired a volley at goal. Vincent Enyeama was equal to it however, and palmed the ball away to safety.
The Europeans were pushing and pushing to break the deadlock, but unfortunately for them, the half-time whistle came just as momentum was reaching a tipping point.
After the break, Deschamps’ team were still in the ascendancy but continued to struggle against Joseph Yobo and Juwon Oshinawa, and Benzema a peripheral figure on the left wing, Les Bleus were lacking that cutting edge.
That didn’t seem to be a problem for Nigeria though, with Peter Odemwingie and Emenike forcing Lloris into smart saves around the hour mark.
It was Benzema however, who went closest to breaking the deadlock on 70 minutes. Being moved back into the middle, the Madrid man played a one-two with Griezmann before bearing down on goal. Enyeama however, rushed out, and saved superbly down to his left.
They were getting closer. And it couldn’t have nearer for Yohan Cabaye with just 12 minutes remaining. A corner came to the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder on the edge of the area, and his shot cannoned back off the underside of the crossbar.
Momentum was going in France’s way, and that eventually told on 80 minutes. A corner from the right wasn’t dealt with by the Africans, and Pogba was there to head in at the far post.
And with just a few minutes to go until the end of the game, France completed Nigeria’s misery as Valbuena crossed for Griezmann to poke home to double Les Bleus’ lead, with the ball coming off Yobo last.
France 2-0 Nigeria
Scorers: Pogba 80 (F), Yobo OG 92 (F)
France: Lloris (c), Debuchy, Evra, Varane, Cabaye, Valbuena (Sissoko 93), Giroud (Griezmann 62), Benzema, Matuidi, Pogba, Koscielny
Nigeria: Enyeama, Yobo (c), Ambrose, Musa, Odemwingie, Emenike, Mikel, Moses, Oshaniwa, Onazi (Gabriel 59), Omeruo
