A first-half free kick from Ergys Kace was enough to hand Albania a 1-0 win over France in an international friendly this evening.

The visitors looked the stronger of the two sides early on as Olivier Giroud unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box, while Alexandre Lacazette had a couple of shots, but neither player tested Etrit Berisha.

Hugo Lloris had to be alert down the other end as Albania started to see more of the ball midway through the first half, with Sokol Cikalleshi attempting to fire in from a cross, but the French keeper made the save.

Home keeper Berisha was forced to make a diving stop shortly after as Dimitri Payet picked out Giroud with a curling free kick into the box.

Giroud was involved at the opposite end of the pitch just before half time as he brought down Ermir Lenjani moments before the interval, allowing Kace to rifle the ball into the top left corner from a 25-yard free kick.

Lenjani could have doubled Albania's lead shortly after the restart as he burst into the box, rounding a couple of defenders before unleashing a shot on the turn, but his finish was just wide.

The home side won a corner a few moments later, but Cikalleshi's attempted curler failed to force Lloris into action.

France started to create more chances as the final 20 minutes of the match approached, with Mathieu Valbuena striking the ball low from the edge of the box, only to see Berisha palm it clear, while a free kick from the midfielder a few minutes later was also kept out by the keeper.

Paul-Georges N'Tep and Paul Pogba both came on late on as France continued to search for a late goal, but the Juventus man could not convert from a free kick, while Berisha denied the Rennes striker.