World Cup Preview - Group A - France
Nickname: “Les Bleus”FIFA Ranking - 7th
Coach: Incredibly, it's still Raymond Domenech.
Game Schedule:
June 11 – France vs. Uruguay (Cape Town, 2 p.m. EST, ESPN)
June 17 – France vs. Mexico (Polokwane, 7:30 a.m., ESPN2)
June 22 – France vs. South Africa (Bloemfontein, 10 a.m., ESPN2)
Prospects: Group A is rounded off by 2006's beaten finalists, but somehow very few pundits predict a return to the final this time around for Les Bleus. Perhaps it's the albatross-like presence of Domenech at the helm. Or his bizarre provisional squad, which excluded the likes of striker Karim Benzema, who seems to have paid the price for a big money move to Real Madrid's bench this season, and Arsenal's Samir Nasri. Instead, Domenech is relying on warhorses such as Djibril Cisse and Patrice Evra. France is also likely to be roundly booed throughout the tournament by fans who'll remember that they're only here because of the notorious "Hand of God" moment by Thierry Henry in the play-off with the Republic.
Key Player: Franck Ribery's guile has been one of the keys to Bayern Munich's path to the Champions League Final, which he'll unfortunately miss through suspension after his red card in the semis.
Youngster to watch: 23 year-old Marseille striker Hatem Ben Arfa might play a role off the bench.
Who Will Get the Goals: With TH-14's pace waning, it'll be up to his strike partner Nicolas Anelka to knock them in as he did for Chelski this season.
Who Will Get the Cards: Lyon's Jeremy Toulalan - one of the most negative figures in world football.
Funniest Name: Rennais striker Jimmy "Chateau" Briand.
Prediction: Winner of Group A, France will narrowly edge out South Korea in the Round of 16. Finally, they'll be swept aside magnificently by the Three Lions in the July 2nd Quarterfinal.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 6:52 PM
1 Comments:
Bang on again Bob. Even without Benzima, surplus to the Meringues requirements this year and Sammy who is on the Domenatrix's s**t-list, an attack that includes Anelka, Malouda, Gourcuff, Henry and Ben Arfa, with support from Clichy and Evra on the wings should do fine. But it's the man at the helm who'll be responsible for how far they get. Personally, I'm interested to see if he reprises that bell-hop's jacket he wore throughout the Euros.
I agree with you about Toulalan and raise you in the negativity sweepstakes with Anthony Reveillere, also of Lyon. I guarantee that neither of them will be eligible to play 3 consecutive games due to suspension.
Where I disagree with you is that Rod Fanni is a 100% funnier name than Jimmy Briand.
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