The Good:
- The French team will to fight, I was pleasantly surprised that Les Bleus weathered the storm and showed a lot of backbone and resolve after being down 1-0 and down to 10 players. The penalty was questionable...more on this later, but Les Bleus could have easily rolled over and allowed the Serbian crowd and team to complete squash any hope. Rather Les Bleus showed heart and kept attacking, after equalizing they keep attacking looking the more dangerous of the two nations. Les Bleus obviously took chances and realized that 1 point or 0 points were not very different, but getting the fill 3 would have changed the situation. Chapeau au Bleus for this effort.
- France's two veteran strikers - Henry and Anelka - both strikers expended bags of energy and at times tried to take on the entire Serbian defense to
try and get the vital goal for the draw and the victory. It was an Anelka long distance shot that led to France's tying goal from ... Henry who pounced on a bobbled handling by the Serbian keeper to gift the Frenchman his 50th goal in Blue. The attacking duo continued their personal assaults against the Serbian goal for the remainder of the match. Anelka in particular was not afraid to try and dribble the defense, in an other game this might be seen as selfish, however under the circumstances the veteran French striker knew he needed to hold the ball, try to make something happen, and not be afraid to attempt long distance attempts at the Serbian goal. Henry did the same from his left side, at the end of the match even slotting deeper to provide some cover for the French defense. - Speak of which, the French defense needs to be commended. While they appeared a little overwhelmed to start the game, and had to make some
desperation defensive plays. Gallas and Abidal worked well together, Abidal making a solid cover late in the first half when Serbia seemed to have sliced through the French defense. Evra and Sagna once again showed their worth on the wings, defending well and adding some punch on offense. Evra in particular was very active on the offensive end. Finally, Mandanda was thrust into a difficult situation and shown a glimpse of what has pundits raving about his ability. The penalty was, clearly, not on him and a well struck kick. After that he settled down nicely, played the ball well with his feet, made a courageous challenge on a through ball into the box towards the end of the 1st half, was more decisive in the air than in previous occasions, and did the necessary on a laser from Branislav Invanovic to keep it from finding the back of the net. - As much as I criticised his regular appearance on the starting sheet, I will have to save Toulalan was good during this game. As Petit said during the commentary of the match, the game actually became perfect for his style of play. Being down a player his responsibility shifted to purely destroying any semblance of off
ense from the Serbs. Something he is very capable of doing. His work rate is to be applauded. He ran out of steam late in the game when he attempted to dribble out of difficulty being trapped by 3 Serbians. But overall his work rate and defensive ability were vital for France holding on to the draw. Granted, not sure what the French were doing on a late corner passing it to the Lyon player at the top of the 18 yard box where he promptly ballooned a shot over the goal. - The atmosphere in the 'Marakana' was electric, granted it was slightly ugly the whistling of the Marseillaise, but that is another story. Clearly from the start the Serbian team was feeding off this energy. The camera pans of the crowd was fantastic, the communist built stadium gave the feel of a massive crowd, cheering in unison for a common cause....very socialist! It must something special playing in such a stadium with that type of crowd.
- French finishing...yes they go the vital equalizer but they had other chances to actually go up by a goal or even 2! Anelka, always the stiker, had a few chances, especially in the second half to give a simple lay off pass to a wide open Gourcuff in the penalty box, but instead tried for goal. Granted he also put the Serbian keeper in difficulty with his long range shooting but sometimes the pass is more important. Henry had the ball for a 2-1 lead and a brace but smashed it harmlessly into an on rushing keeper. Gourcuff tried shots from distance again, with out much success...other than a surprising direct kick from 35 meters out that forced a scrambling save from Vladimir Stojkovic to put the ball into corner.
- Speaking of Serbian keepers, Vladimir Stojkovic needs to be called out on a shaky game. The Henry goal, falls squarely on the shoulders of the former Nantes keeper. Anelka's shot was powerful, not a screamer, but had some venom. It skipped in front of the
keeper, but hit him right in the chest/hands. It was a ball any high level amateur, let alone professional keeper handles with ease (granted I am sure I have mishandled my fair share of similar shots, but I meet neither of the above criteria). There was no screen, no deflection, a clear view of the shot that came from at least 20 meters out. He should have know Henry was pressing on him and if he really had fear of handling the shot, could have easily boxed if to safety. The direct kick from Gourcuff forced a scrambling and desperate save on a ball that should have been a simple catch or deflection. He made a meal of another scramble in the second half, and thankfully 9 of the Serbian players were in the box otherwise France might have added a second.
- The referee's decision on the penalty and red card against Lloris was TERRIBLE. An absolute awful and ugly call, completely changed the game. Even at game speed it seems that Lloris gets a finger on the ball and the Zigic let his right leg lag behind and then completely flopped. At first I thought the card might go against him for diving! I realize that the referee was enacting the rules of the game as they are written, as the last defender with a clear scoring chance, Lloris' foul was justified for a red card and penalty. It did remind me of the red card Lehman took against Barcelona in the Champions League finals, although that one was CLEAR!! See below.
- Late game substitutions from Domenech...once again. I understand that Domenech was looking to protect the draw and point when he brought in Diarra for Gourcuff. However I must agree with Petit, why not insert another offensive option? The Serbians were also clearly happy with the 1 point, and as was stated even had France lost it would not change much - they still need results from the last 2 games to secure the 2nd place and get into the 2nd place playoff. So why not go for the second goal the last 15 minutes of the game? I understand the Ribery for Henry substitution, Titi was cooked and you are bringing in another offense player. However why not Benzema for Gourcuff...or even Malouda?? At least Malouda has played as a fullback so you are adding a player with some defensive instincts, but much offensive ability than Diarra. With 9 players, Les Bleus were "setting fire" to the Serbian penalty box, what if they had added a fresh offensive player to the mix late in the game?? Once again I am not sure how Domenech manages late in the game.
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