Oooof, Merci Ribery - France gets the essential done

That was a difficult match to watch, not to dissimilar from the last time the two nations faced off at Lithuania. Last match the game was unlocked late by Les Bleus with a fantastic long distance strike from Anelka.



This time it was the Kaiser - Ribery - that freed France and allowed them to return to Paris with out the incredible burden that would have fallen on their shoulders had they only take home 1 point. However, unlike the last time the two nations met in Kaunus, Les Bleus actually could have easily come home 3-0 or 4-0 winners. Let us dive into the game:

The Good:

• 3 points, this is good, well just think how bad and UGLY it would have been had Les Bleus not secured the victory. With Serbia securing the full 3 points away to Roumania (Les Bleus barely scrapped together 1 point from the same visit), the pressure was on France's shoulders to get the full compliment of points otherwise they might have been, at best, looking at the 2nd spot in group 7. Now France get to return home for the match on Wednesday against Lithuania in Paris, and should expect to get the full compliment of 3 points again.
• The 3 points would not have been secured had Ribery not "freed" Les Bleus from what could have been a disaster. The Kaiser demonstrated that he is becoming the catalyst and the leader of Les Bleus. The offense is clearly going to be built around the Bayern playmaker - http://tinyurl.com/d4tf7a. His understanding with Gourcuff is the key to the midfield and more importantly the offense. With Gourcuff still finding his sea legs, Henry on the back nine of his career, Anelka being an enigma and Benzema not finding any consistency in his game, the offense really hinges around the diminutive midfielder.

• Speaking of Gourcuff, he needs to get a gold star as well for his game. Compared to his showing against Argentina (granted a heavyweight in footie), the young Girodins had a good match once again showing that his tandem with Ribery is the key to the France midfield. While I think he is still getting accustom to the heavy burden of being both France and Bordeaux's play maker, he is showing why he is so highly regarded in international footie. As Yoann begins to understand how to pace himself and ensure he can weather the strain placed on a player of his caliber he will only grow further in the role as #10 for Les Bleus.
  
• The other player that deserves a good rating was Squillaci, the Sevilla central defender brought a lot of stability to the center of the French defense. Granted, France was not really tested, although there were some dangerous free kicks into the area. What I did see from Squillaci was a calmness on high balls that France has rarely had in the recent past. This does not mean that Mexes is not the future, but it would appear that there are some good options, slowly bubbling to the surface for France.
• One player for Lithuania deserves kudos - Karcemarkas - the baltic keeper made some huge saves. Early on he came out and closed down Luyindula on what could have been the opening goal. He was strong through out the match. On the point blank attempt by Toulalan, while the shot was blocked by a defender, the Lithuania keeper had the goal covered. He was also decisive on the the one on one match up with Nasri. The Ribery goal was impossible to stop.

The Bad:

• French finishing - again Les Bleus did the essential and the Lithuania keeper made some huge stops. However, France needed to be more efficient on their chances. Luyindula could have put up Les Bleus up early, but hurried his attempt at goal. The same occurred when Nasri came on the pitch and had a clear 1 on 1 with the keeper and buried the ball into the on rushing Baltic keeper. Gourcuff also had a great chance in the first half where he took a cross off the bounce and watched his shot settle harmlessly into the keeper's arms.
• Hard for me to call him bad, but I have to put Henry as bad. Not for his play, but I think that putting him up front alone is not really his best position these days. Henry has found himself comfortable on left side of the offense, similar to his role at Barcelona. So why does Domenech stick him alone at the point? Not sure...maybe the astrologist told him to do so. Granted, with the injuries to Anelka, Gignac, and Briand, Domenech might not have had the options to play with Henry on the wing. Obviously it appears that Benzema has fallen out of favor with Domenech and is not trusted to play the entire 90 minutes. Then again I am not sure that Benzema is at his best when he does not have a strike partner to shoulder him up front.

The Ugly:

• Speaking of which, Benzema...it is getting a little ugly with the one time rising French star. Granted he is going through a difficult time for both club and country, all players go through this. But the lack of confidence in the young Lyon player is not good. Additionally, Benzema has not really taken the opportunities when they have been given to him. He was suppose to carry Les Bleus during the Euros, but failed to show up...well the entire team forgot to show up. He has struggled with Lyon this season, at least has not lived up to the lofty goals imposed on him. I think that Benzema can navigate these times of difficulty, hopefully Domenech continues to leverage him, his talent and potential are too immense to be kept down for much longer.
• Domenech and his creativity or lack thereof. Granted, I cannot write about a France game without somehow bashing the manager. So what is ugly about this version of Domenech? First, I am not sure why Les Bleus had to play two traditional holding midfielders. Maybe if Domenech had had some creativity and played a Diaby or a Nasri next to Toulalan or Diarra, France would not have had to wait so long in the game to score a goal. Based on the fact Lithuania did not ever really threaten the French goal, except via set pieces, would another offensive player been the key to the match? I think yes. Especially one such as Diaby, who is more defensive that a Nasri and more offensive than either Toulalan or Diarra. Second, I think that Luyindula was good on the right side of the pitch, but what was ugly was the fact Henry was played alone at the top of the attack, a role he has not played in a while. What this did was left Peguy alone on the right, making most of the play go down the left side. Making Luyindula, too often, a man on an island. The right side was too often ignored. Maybe Domenech could have leveraged Nasri on that side allowing he and Ribery to change sides during the match, keeping the game more balanced. Finally, once again I need to question Domenech's substitutions. Toulalan had a huge game, but picked up a yellow card early. After the French went up 1-0, maybe Domenech should have thought about swapping out Toulalan for ADiarra or Diaby. Why? The Lyon midfielder was still running around the pitch making hard tackles, at times borderline tackles that could have warranted another yellow card, not something you need when defending a 1 goal lead.
  
• The pitch. I realize the Baltics are just emerging from the winter, but the pitch was AWEFUL. It looked worse than a pitch a weekend pub league would play on. Clearly France was not able to play some of their quick passing, combination play that a team with the likes of Ribery, Gourcuff, Henry et al. would enjoy on a pitch worthy of international play. Granted this played to the Lithuania's advantage, so maybe they had no desire to keep a high quality pitch!
  

Overall Les Bleus played well enough to earn the 3 full points. With some better finishing, the game would have been secured well before the Ribery goal. I still have little faith in Domenech and his strategy, creativity and ability to infuse confidence in his team. The next game, again against Lithuania, in Paris will be another big test for Les Bleus. France must take the full 3 points again, the away lose to Austria and draw against Romania mean all these game are vital if France have any hope of going to South Africa.