Benzema's reality-check for France

France's chastening 3-1 friendly loss to Brazil underlined how much progress the UEFA EURO 2016 hosts need to make if they are to emulate the 1984 generation and win the tournament on home soil.

Les Bleus were united in their appraisal that they had been beaten by a better team, despite things commencing brilliantly as Raphaël Varane gave a literal nod to history as he headed Didier Deschamps' side into the lead from a Mathieu Valbuena corner.

That scenario would have felt familiar to the watching Zinedine Zidane, scorer of two headed goals in the 3-0 win over Brazil in the 1998 FIFA World Cup final, and the fact that Varane was the scorer carried added resonance given Zidane's influence in persuading Real Madrid CF to sign the talented centre-half from RC Lens in 2011.

Varane, just 18 when he made the move, revealed in a magazine interview last autumn that he'd cut short a Zidane call about the transfer because he was tired and busy revising for his exams. Passing tests with flying colours has become the norm for the Lille-born defender, now 21, though he suffered along with his French team-mates as Brazil effected a remarkable turnaround thanks to goals by Oscar, Neymar and Luiz Gustavo.

Raphaël Varane after putting France in front©AFP

One day Varane might well join the exclusive 100-cap club and be honoured in the way that Zidane, Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira, current coach Didier Deschamps and the absent Lilian Thuram were pre-match. At the Stade de France on Thursday night, however, France were left reeling after a first defeat since exiting last summer's World Cup in Brazil to eventual winners Germany at the quarter-final stage.

Varane, captain the last time France played in the 1-0 friendly win over Sweden last November, handed over the armband to club-mate Karim Benzema for the Brazil test. Benzema went close to marking his first match as skipper with an early goal, denied by an astonishing Jefferson save, but faded thereafter, admitting: "There was a gap out there between a top-level team and a top, top-level team. Brazil played well and it was difficult for us. I think they were better than us, even if we managed to trouble them now and again."

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi conceded: "Brazil were stronger than is. We'll learn from this sort of game and it is good that things will be called into question. There's still a long way to go until the EURO and we need to keep working. We saw what the really top level means in this game and it's true that when we drop off in terms of intensity we can be there for the taking."

There is still time for France to put things right, starting with Sunday's game against Denmark in Saint-Etienne, especially if they heed Benzema's words. "Maybe some people believe this defeat will bring us back down to earth, I can assure people we already had our feet on the ground. I hope we'll take more risks against Denmark and erase this loss."