Les Bleus stunned the Swiss with two goals in two minutes to open up the match, which featured five different French scorers. Olivier Giroud started the onslaught in the 17th minute, and France pounced on a very poor Swiss restart to score again a minute later, with Blaise Matuidi finishing the move.
Mathieu Valbuena added to Swiss misery in the 40th on a quick counter. Karim Benzema was stopped on a penalty by Swiss keeper Diego Benaglio, but ended up scoring in the second half, along with Moussa Sissoko.
Blerim Dzemaili and Granit Xhaka gave the Swiss consolation goals in the final 10 minutes of the match.
Key play
It was over after Valbuena scored on the break, after a poor Swiss corner allowed the French to counter for its third goal of the game.
What this means
France. All but assured a spot in the Round of 16, France only needs a point against Ecuador on Wednesday (CBC TV, cbc.ca/fifaworldcup, 4 p.m. ET) to advance outright — and that's only if Ecuador beats Honduras in its match later Friday. A draw or Honduras win will automatically qualify France.
Switzerland. Not out of it by any means, the Swiss showed some character with two late goals, finishing the match strong. And the good news is that Switzerland has Honduras for its final opponent (CBC TV, cbc.ca/fifaworldcup, 4 p.m. ET), where a win will likely be enough to see the Swiss through to the knockout stages.
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