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France continued their preparations as next summer's European Championship hosts with a 2-1 win over Denmark in Copenhagen. Olivier Giroud proved he is an able replacement for the injured Karim Benzema, who suffered a thigh strain during France's 4-0 win over Armenia on Thursday, as the Arsenal striker scored two early goals at the Parken Stadium. Denmark pulled a goal back in injury time through Erik Sviatchenko's superb long-range strike but it was too little, too late. The host's sluggish start might have been due to the disappointment of Albania's 3-0 win in Armenia shortly before kickoff in the Danish capital, which meant Morten Olsen's side have to settle for a playoff spot after finishing third in European Championship qualifying Group I. With only six minutes on the clock, France led 2-0. Giroud collected Anthony Martial's accurate through ball before sliding his shot beneath Kasper Schmeichel, who will feel he should have done better. The goalkeeper was also at fault for the second goal, palming Giroud's initial shot from Lucas Digne's cross straight back to the Frenchman who tapped the ball into an empty net. It could have been worse for Denmark after half an hour when Raphael Varane headed Antoine Griezmann's cross narrowly wide. With Nicklas Bendtner an isolated figure, the Danes were struggling to create any openings but they did eventually trouble France just before half-time as Varane had to make an important block at the near post to deny Christian Eriksen. Olsen opted to replace Jakob Poulsen with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at the break, although there was little change in Denmark's fortunes as the French continued to look the most likely to score again. Martial twice went close early in the second half, first sending a shot over the crossbar before racing down the left and forcing Schmeichel to get down at his near post to make a save. Giroud wasted a golden chance to complete his hat-trick in the 66th minute when, through one-on-one, he elected to try to chip Schmeichel only to put his shot straight at the Leicester goalkeeper. Denmark reduced the arrears in injury time as Sviatchenko smashed a powerful effort into the top-left corner of the net from 30 yards. It was comfortable in the end for France who now look ahead to back-to-back prestige friendlies against Germany and England next month which should provide a sterner test of their credentials. For Denmark, they now face a two-legged play-off to determine whether they will be in France next summer.
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FRA
