The Liverpool striker came off the bench to hit the winner in Montevideo in a friendly encounter that failed to hit the heights

France boss Didier Deschamps admits Uruguay’s introduction of Luis Suarez was decisive as les Bleus’ winless run in South America continued.

Defeat in Montevideo means the visitors have still not won in the continent since 2001 after the Liverpool striker’s 50th-minute effort sealed a narrow 1-0 triumph for Oscar Tabarez’s men.

Deschamps believes the game was an even encounter which was settled by a moment of quality from Suarez and was not too disheartened by the loss after fielding an experimental side.

“We had opportunities in the first half to take the lead but then they brought on a player like Suarez,” he said to TF1 after the match.

“That changed things a lot. Even though he changed things and they some created chances, we kept up our levels of effort. After the goal they slowed the game down but we still had the opportunity to equalise.

“There were a lot of changes made on both sides. It was a pretty even game all things told and one moment from Suarez made the difference. “

France get another opportunity to break their winless run in South America when they go on to face Brazil on Sunday as Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side make their final preparations ahead of the Confederations Cup.

On the back of their confidence-boosting win, Uruguay play Venezuela in a crucial World Cup qualifier on Tuesday before meeting Spain next weekend as they kick off their own Confederations Cup campaign.