Group play is over...now the real work begins for Les Bleus

France ended their World Cup qualifying group stage campaign, and are now awaiting to learn their fate with which of the following nations - Slovenia, Ireland, Bosnia or Ukraine - to play a tense home and away series to determine which nation will head to South Africa next year. The fact that Les Bleus need an extra 2 matches to reach South Africa is an indicator that the qualifying campaign was not a success. Not a massive failure...that would have been had France ended 3rd or lower. So let us first look at the match against Austria:

The Good:

• Once again, Benzema had a solid match. Maybe he continues to be motivated by his small verbal skirmish he had with his manager. Clearly he has demonstrated a willingness and desire to battle these last two games when wearing the blue kit. He scored a superb goal with the head early in the match, latching on to former Lyon teammate Malouda's cross. He was lethal making charging runs on the left wing (why does it seem all of France's offensive players gravitate to the left - Henry, Ribery, Malouda, Benzema...). He also razzled with his footwork, not hesitating in his one on one challenges of the Austrian defense. At times showing footwork that somewhat resembled another France #10 with Algerian roots. If Benzema can consistently demonstrate this drive and ability, it must make Domenech reconsider having him act as a substitute for Les Bleus.
• Speaking of strikers, Gignac also showed something in this match. The Toulouse striker scored a wonderful goal from outside the box, once again with his right foot, but the ability to strike from long distance is something that Les Bleus are missing.
  
• Malouda also impressed me. He was almost acting as the #10 for much of the match, drifting around the pitch, springing attacks, linking up the defense to the offense, and not being afraid to take his chances. He almost scored on a screamer in the second half only to see it go just wide of the far post, had a brilliant run end of the first half where he was able to deflected the ball from one foot off the other to ease around 2 Austrian defenders.
• The French defense was placed under too much pressure, however Fanni demonstrated that he has some strong talent in those boots. He tackled well, was very active offensively not afraid to fill in the space to support the offense and was not afraid to use his pace and dribbling to take on defenders. Even when he made mistakes, midway through the second half he lost a ball in his defensive 1/3 but used his pace to recover and smother the shot. I am not ready to say he should start ahead of Sagna, but I think there is talent and depth at that post.
• Ok this might be a first, but I will say that Domenech for once was good...barely. What do I mean by that? I am happy to see he did not simply run out the same team he has in the past. This match meant nothing in terms of the standings, but it was a great opportunity to see some players - the entire back line was different: Fanni, Squillaci, Escude, Clichy. The holding midfield - Sissoko and ADiarra. Offensively Malouda, Gouvou, Benzema and Henry. The playing of Henry and Benzema to me, signaled a test to see how the two could function together, could France head back to a 4-4-2 with Ribery and Gourcuff in the offensive roles in the midfield? Bringing in Gomis and Gignac was good, see what they can do offensively, because I am sure that during the playoffs you will need to, in at least one of the games, bring in some offensive substitutions late to try and get a goal.

The Bad:

• I hate to pick on him, but Escude looked terrible! The Austrian goal I place squarely on his shoulders. It was too easy for the Austrian striker to nudge him off the through ball which lead to an odd man attack on Lloris and Squillaci. He did not look at ease defending or positioning himself defensively. He did not inspire confidence in the center of the French defense.
• I praise Domenech, now I need to call out some bad! Why save his last substitution? Get another player out on the pitch. Maybe change your keeper, why wasn't Carrasso the back up? Get him in there to give him some experience, see how he plays for 45 minutes. What about Diaby? It would have been nice to see him on the left side, see if he and Clichy can carry over some of their work with Arsenal to Les Bleus. If you are selecting these players when you get the chance...play them! I would have been interested to seeing a diamond midfield with Sissoko the defensive base, Diaby on the left, Gouvou on the right and Malouda at the offensive tip - with Gomis and Gignac as the tandem strikers.
  

The Ugly:

• The idiot fans that invaded the pitch late. Not good people, come on let's grow up. That cannot be good either for France as they bid for an upcoming Euro tournament.
• The fact Les Bleus need to play 2 more matches. Let us face it, this qualifying campaign has not been a thing of beauty. Starting with the ugly 3-1 loss to this same Austrian team, followed by lackluster draws against Romania and the brave but wasted effort in Belgrade. Throw in there 2 difficult victories against Lithuania and you have were France is today - heading to the 2nd place playoff. France might still make it to South Africa next year, Zidane thinks so, they might even do something other than site seeing while there...France have the talent as well as the depth - how many nations can leave a Mexes off your squad? I am still not convinced...no surprise...that Domenech knows what he is doing, what system really works for his talent pool and how to ensure he gets the most out of this collection of players. Making the World Cup or European Cup is no longer the goal for France, they need to contend at this tournaments, nations like Germany and Brazil, even when they are "down" know that getting to a 1/4 final or 1/2 final is the least of their expectations. Les Bleus are getting to that level, but with that comes the mentality that such success is the rule not the exception. The campaign was ugly and is far from over, however sometimes the ugliest qualifying campaigns lead to the best results - similar to Euro 2000 when France struggled mightily to qualify, doing so by the narrowest of margins - and we all know how the Euro 2000 ended.

So France lives another day...we will see next week who they will get in the November 2nd place play off. For now we can ponder what could have and should have been, but more importantly think about what might be with Les Bleus. Do you think it will be good or bad???