The hosts were the better side for long stages of the match, and were rewarded in the 73rd minute as Loic Remy scored the winner with a powerful strike from just inside the box.

Below, Sports Mole takes a look at the players who impressed on each team.

French forward Karim Benzema (C) vies with Spanish defender Mikel San Jose (R) during the friendly football match France vs Spain, on September 4, 2014 © Getty Images

FRANCE

Goal

Hugo Lloris: The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper had very little to do on a comfortable night at the office, but the captain remained calm throughout as his defenders excelled. (7/10)

Defence

Mathieu Debuchy: Solid night of work from Debuchy, who made a number of vital tackles and offered a good option for his teammates going forward. (7/10)

Raphael Varane: The 21-year-old produced his best on what could prove to be an important night in his international career. Diego Costa endured a difficult evening, but this was mainly due to Varane's brilliance as the Real Madrid player displayed maturity beyond his years. (8/10)

Mamadou Sakho: It was a typically nervy start to the match for the centre-back, but he improved as the game went on to provide good support for his fellow defenders. (7/10)

Patrice Evra: One of the few poor performers for the hosts. The experienced left-back was often caught out of position, and struggled to get involved in an attacking role before being taken off in the second half. (5/10)

Midfield

Blaise Matuidi: Broke up play impressively when Spain threatened to unlock the French defence, and kept things simple by allowing Pogba to run the show in midfield. (7/10)

Paul Pogba: Undoubtedly the best player on the pitch as he displayed his obvious quality with a superb range of passing, and a willingness to get forward as often as possible. In truth, it was men vs. boys at times as Pogba dipped into his bag of tricks to frustrate Spain late on. (9/10)

Moussa Sissoko: The Newcastle United midfielder was a willing runner throughout the match, and was a great outlet for the hosts when he drifted wider to run at the Spanish defence. (7/10)

Attack

Antoine Griezmann: We've seen far better performances from the 23-year-old in the past couple of seasons, but he still managed to get involved with some nice touches on the edge of the box. (6/10)

Karim Benzema: It was a difficult start to the match as he missed a couple of chances in the first half, but he was wrongly denied a goal after the break when the assistant referee raised his flag. Improved as the game progressed, and linked well with his teammates. (7/10)

Mathieu Valbuena: It was his perfectly weighted pass which led to the goal for Remy, and his clever play in the final third of the pitch earned him a great reaction when he was removed late on. (7/10)

Substitutes

Loic Remy: Chelsea's recent signing was asked to work from the left side of a front three, and he showed some excellent touches before deciding the match with a stunning effort. (7/10)

Yohan Cabaye: No fuss from the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder as he displayed his wide range of passing, while also dropping deeper to provide support for the French defence late on. (6/10)

Lucas Digne: Performed far better than Evra during his spell on the pitch, and might feel he could be in line for a start against Serbia on Sunday. (6/10)

Remy Cabella: He helped his own cause by chasing down a number of long balls in the closing stages, but was unable to make a big contribution late on. (6/10)

Morgan Schneiderlin: Very little time for the Southampton ace to impress as he added another body to the congested midfield late on. (6/10)

Spanish forward Diego Costa (L) vies with French midfielder Blaise Matuidi (R) during the friendly football match France vs Spain, on September 4, 2014 © Getty Images

SPAIN

Goal

David de Gea: Might feel it is his time to take the number one shirt, and he did himself no harm by making a couple of good saves to deny Benzema. (7/10)

Defence

Dani Carvajal: Impressed going forward from deeper positions on his debut as he caused problems for Evra, but was caught out on a number of occasions by Valbuena. (6/10)

Sergio Ramos: Often found himself without anyone to mark as Benzema drifted around looking for space, but was as solid as ever at the back. (6/10)

Mikel San Jose: He'll certainly learn a lot from his debut after battling impressively with Benzema, and is likely to have caught the eye of Del Bosque with his eagerness to get on the ball. (6/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: It appears that the Chelsea defender finds it easy to take his club form onto the international stage as he complemented his tough tackling with some excellent runs forward. (7/10)

Midfield

Sergio Busquets: Very few mistakes from the Barcelona midfielder, but he often found it difficult to compete with the dominant Pogba when forced to face his own goal. (6/10)

Koke: He'll certainly feel that he can be a big part of Spain's future. However, he struggled to dictate the tempo the way his manager would have wished, and was another victim of Pogba's dominance. (5/10)

Santi Cazorla: Very poor in the first half, but showed signs of improvement when he pushed further up the pitch to link with Costa before eventually being taken off. (6/10)

Raul Garcia: Lasted less than an hour on his debut, and he'll be bitterly disappointed with his inability to make an impact on the match. He'll surely enjoy better days in a Spain shirt. (5/10)

Cesc Fabregas: He was Spain's main creative force when the visitors were on top for a brief spell before the break, and barely put a foot wrong in his 67-minute stint on the pitch. (7/10)

Attack

Diego Costa: In truth, one of Spain's poorest players on a frustrating evening. Started superbly this season for Chelsea, but failed to respond to Varane's faultless display. (5/10)

Substitutes

Ander Iturraspe: Replaced Busquets at the interval, but was unable to prevent Pogba from stealing the show in the second half. (5/10)

David Silva: A rare bright spark for Spain as he caused the French problems by finding space between attack and midfield, and was inches away from equalising late on. (7/10)

Paco Alcacer: Another player who struggled to make an impact on his debut, despite rising to the physical challenge of facing Varane and Sakho. (6/10)

Pedro: Probably believes that he could have played an important role from the start due to his pace. However, he was often a periphery figure after coming on six minutes prior to Remy's winner. (5/10)

Isco: The attacking midfielder was given just 12 minutes to impress, but linked well with Silva in a brief cameo and almost set up an equaliser for Alcacer. (6/10)