Didier Deschamps' France side continued to fill themselves with doubts and underachievement as they were unable to defeat a resilient Albania side in what was a huge upset.
A lone goal from Ergys Kace was everything Albania needed to secure the win in what proved the team's biggest win over the last few years.
Albania isn't a team that has a lot of football tradition but they have a great generation of players that features the likes of Lorik Cana and Henrik Mkhitaryan so they are certainly capable of pulling an upset from time to time.
That was exactly what happened in this game as a stunning free kick from Ergys Kace and a great defensive performance was everything Albania needed to defeat France in front of a huge crowd at Elbasan Arena.
Albania spring massive shock
The first half was quite even as France dominated the possession but they weren't able to do much. While it needs to be noted that France had an alternative squad - particularly in midfield and attack - they didn't look exactly sharp going forward.
The first clear chance to score came in the 20th minute when a long-range effort from Elseid Hysaj went a few inches over the bar and Albania had another opportunity a few minutes later, when a header form Ermir Lenjani was brilliantly parried away by Tottenham Hotspur's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
France got closer to score when Olivier Giroud nodded a ball home from close range only to see Etrit Berisha saving it. When it appeared that France was going to start dominating, Albania took advantage of a free kick to score the first goal of the game - Ergys Kace placed a beautiful free kick over the ball and straight into the top right corner to put his side on top, a result that would maintain until half time.
Deschamps side struggle to improve after half-time
France tried to improve their play in the second half with the entrances of Paul Pogba and Nabil Fekir but the results weren't the expected ones. Albania decided to park the bus in front of their goalkeeper and adopted a very defensive stance, limiting France's spaces in the final third.
The French side wasn't able to create many chances and aside a few talented touches from Pogba, Geoffey Kondogbia and substitute Mathieu Valbuena, the hosts of the upcoming European Championship weren't very threatening.
France's only clear chance to score in the second half came thanks to Valbuena who tried to beat Berisha with a free kick. However, his effort went over the crossbar and it didn't have a lot of danger.
The game ended with a stunning win for Albania as this result should certainly boost their confidence looking towards the European Championship qualifiers.
As for the French side, they have been quite poor over the last few months and if the team doesn't improve soon, they will be at risk of having an absolute nightmare in the upcoming European Championship next year.