Giroud comes in for Griezmann for France

Giroud comes in for Griezmann for France

France coach Didier Deschamps opted to start Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud against Switzerland on Friday with Antoine Griezmann dropping to the bench for the Group E clash in Salvador.

France's forward Olivier Giroud takes part in a training session at the Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador on June 19, 2014

Gunners star Giroud had to be content with a brief appearance off the bench in France's opening 3-0 win over Honduras.

Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, who scored twice in the win which put the French top of Group E, starts on the left wing with Mathieu Valbuena on the right.

Defensive midfielder Yohan Cabaye was included despite coming off in the second-half against Honduras with a leg injury.

Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic starts against the French having come off the bench to grab his side's last-gasp winner against Ecuador to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory.

Freiburg forward Admir Mehmedi was also given a start by Swiss coach Ottmar Hitzfeld as a reward for his goal off the bench early in the second half against Ecuador.

Teams

France

Hugo Lloris (c), Patrice Evra, Raphael Varane, Mamadou Sakho, Mathieu Debuchy, Yohan Cabaye, Blaise Matuidi, Moussa Sissoko, Olivier Giroud, Karim Benzema, Mathieu Valbuena

Coach: Didier Deschamps (FRA)

Switzerland

Diego Benaglio, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Steve von Bergen, Gokhan Inler (c), Haris Seferovic, Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami, Ricardo Rodriguez, Admir Mehmedi, Johan Djourou, Xherdan Shaqiri

Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld (GER)

Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (NED)

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