France bounced back from a stumbling start to 2012 European Championship qualifying, winning 2-0 at Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday night on second-half goals by Karim Benzema and Florent Malouda.
Benzema was set up in the penalty area by Gael Clichy and beat a defender before slotting home with a powerful left-footed shot in the 72nd minute.
Malouda doubled the lead six minutes later following a nice collective move.
Coming off France's first-round elimination at the World Cup, Les Bleus and new coach Laurent Blanc bounced back from an opening 1-0 home loss to Belarus last week. Bosnia began with a 3-0 win over Luxembourg.
''I feel a lot of joy inside. This match summarized all the good things I saw during our preparations but that we failed to put in place against Belarus,'' Blanc said. ''I'm satisfied with the game we played and our state of mind. We were solid both in defense and up front. We deserve the three points. It could be the start of something good.''
Blanc opted for a 4-4-3 formation and made three changes from the team that lost last week at the Stade de France.
Marseille winger Mathieu Valbuena started on the right side behind Benzema, who was fit enough to play after recovering from an ankle injury. Abou Diaby replaced Jeremy Menez.
