France 0 – 2 Italy

I’m disconsolate.

I’m in pieces.

Where to start?

At the beginning, I guess. Domenech made some big changes for the game, dropping Sagnol, Thuram and Malouda. Clerc came in for Sagnol and Evra kept his place, while Abidal came in for Thuram.

The Abidal move raised eyebrows – why was Domenech dropping Thuram at this stage? And why wasn’t he playing a recognised centre back? There were whispers that Thuram had asked to be excluded, so that explained his omission. But Abidal? We know he’s been earmarked as a potential future centre back for France, but now? Against Italy? In a must win? Why not Squillaci or, dare I say it, Boumsong? These were his centre backs. If Abidal was next in-line behind Thuram then bringing two more centre backs was a real waste. But Abidal started and it was a move that proved costly in the end.

France vs Italy – Group C – preview

Well it’s finally here, the big clash of the 1st Round…and there’s only one possible outcome for us…win or go home.

Yes that’s the situation we find ourselves in for tonight’s final group game. Our massive underachievment so far means we must win, a draw is worth nothing. I won’t go through all the possibilites because a) it’s too depressing and b) too lengthy! You can read about them here.

A win, a win, can we get a win? Well we can of course, but will we?

Holland vs France Media recap

Here is some of the media fallout stemming from the 4-1 embarassment.

Andre Oijer had admitted that he stopped Henry’s shot with his hand, saying “I completly stopped the ball with my hand. Otherwise it’s certainly a goal”. Holland were only leading 1-0 at that point.

A big worry among the French media is that Holland will “let” Romania win in order to potentially avoid facing France and Italy in the semis. Domenech, ever the mind game player, already seems resigned to total failure in this tournament. He describes the Dutch as a team that will “will rotate players vs Romania and that won’t play with the same energy. It seems written in the cards that Romania will win and progress. You would have to be very optimistic to expect [France] to go through.” Thuram dismissed such a scenario, proclaiming that he “believes in the integrity of the sport” and that he “doesn’t understand peoples worries on that matter”.

He also defended his decision to insert Gomis and not Benzema by explaining he wanted someone who could play in the air, hold the ball up and link with wide players.

Thuram has accepetd responsibilty on 2 of the 4 goals, simply saying he could have done better, especially on Robben’s goal (the third Dutch goal) where it was imperative to keep him from scoring.

Wenger has chimed in with his 2 cents by saying he feels the defense, while experienced, is too old (no doubt a hint to the exclusion of Clichy and Sagna). He also thinks the team really misses Zidane who was always a safety net of sorts when the team struggled. Without him, he describes the team as “cut in two, a generation of thirty somethings along with those in their early twenties and no one in between”. He also feels that while France have played some good football, they haven’t appeared to really want to win. Vs Holland he thought the players didn’t pick themselves up enough and generally looked down.

–Stéphane F.

Holland 4 – 1 France

I’m going to keep this short. There are so many feelings and thoughts running through my mind right now that I don’t really know what to think. So I’ll give my thoughts briefly and leave the analysis for later.

We lost.

Holland scored 4 goals.

The first, scored by Kuyt from a corner, came when Holland were starting to threaten and during the next 10 minutes Holland were all over us. For the rest of the match France utterly dominated and Holland scored three goals from four counter-attacks.

Right in the middle of all that there was a moment which was heartening and terribly sad in equal measure. We scored – and for just one moment (literally) the score was 2-1. By then we’d conceded the first of our counter-attack goals and were already feeling hard done by. We felt we should’ve scored so much earlier already. But when that goal came I was convinced the tide was going to change.

France vs Holland preview

So it looks like Pat and Thierry may be back… although its probably more likely we’ll have Titi than the Old Man. Or at least I hope so! They’re going to have to find some incredible strapping for our old pensioner if he’s going to play and be effective tonight – or perhaps Tony Stark can lend him his Iron Man suit?

Many seem to feel that their return is essential, that we won’t be able to win without them and that they were the key element that was missing on Monday. And, of course, Henry may well be the difference tonight – he has been one the most important players for France for a decade now and he has big influence when we play, but for me that still doesn’t excuse their performance against Romania. Regardless of the absence of Henry and Vieira and the fact that we played with two defensive midfielders, the bottom line is that that was a poor display and no France side should play like that. We expect better from them and if they’re honest so do they.

With or without Henry, its time to step up.

France vs Holland — Group C — Update

According to sources close to the team, Domenech might be favouring a 4-2-3-1 vs Holland, the formation reminiscent of the 2006 World Cup.

He’s also contemplating up to 4 changes. He was quoted as saying “I’m going to be honest, for once I’m hesitating over four positions”. When asked by a jounrlaist if he was serious, Domenech replied “yes, you can believe me, if you want”.

The most likely changes are apparently Evra instead of Abidal and Diarra instead of Sagnol. Diarra could also replace Malouda. Govou’s name has been mentioned as a possible starter as well.

It seems Vieira isn’t yet 100% so Toulalan would continue to deputise for him. If fit, one would assume Henry would act as the lone striker.

Well this is the sort of formation, or at least the sort of change, we’de been harping on about. I guess we’ll never get away from the two defensive midfield idea.

–Stéphane F.

France Euro 2008 Update

In trying to find some positives I came across an interview between FranceFootball and Gallas. He of course admitted that the team could have played better. But, he also echoed those thoughts that suggest France didn’t play all that badly and that Romania stifled the game.

He also admitted the need for playing faster, with more tempo, and to better support the attacking players.

France 0 Romania 0 – draw in first group C game

Wake me when it’s over…

Don’t you just hate it when they do that?

France’s penchant for playing down to lesser opponents levels reared its ugly head again tonight in Zurich. A match that was tipped as “must win” looked anything but for our boys. They gave one of the most uninspiring performances I’ve seen from them. No player looked interested enough to take the game by the throat. Where was the ruthless Ribéry? The clinical Benzema? The deadly Anelka?

France vs Romania – Preview

Tomorrow France begin their quest for a 3rd European Championship. They face a Romanian side ranked 12th in the world, only 5 spots behind France. Some might think (or hope!) the gap is actually considerably bigger.

France injuries: Henry, Ribery and Vieira

There was a minor scare yesterday at France’s Swiss training camp: Both Henry and Ribéry cut short their training due to injuries. Not much is known at the moment, other than both players decided to retire before getting involved in the more physical aspects of the session. For Henry, it was a sciatic nerve problem,