The 30-year-old winger has said that les Blues owe their victory over Belarus to the motivational skills of the left-back, whose half-time speech sparked the comeback
Franck Ribery has revealed how a half-time pep-talk 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 Blues to victory.
The win saw France score their first goal in more than 500 minutes of competitive play, but Ribery revealed it was defender Patrice 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 spend 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.