France v Ireland...The Hand of God, Frenchy style

Okay okay, might not have been in the World Cup in a knock out stage game between two nations that had recently fired their weapons against each other in anger....but this, in Ireland will be seen much as Maradona's hand ball is seen by England - a major travesty of justice! For France the essential is done, albeit under extreme duress, and they will be in South Africa next summer. The Irish can only feel extremely disappointed and let down, they were the better team tonight and yet they head back home and will not get to experience the first African world cup. A video recap first:



Truth be known I "watched" the match in a hodgepodge manner - Setanta's terrible video stream, the live text updates from numerous sites and the audio stream from RTL. With that in mind let us look at the match:

The Good:

• The Irish fighting spirit, clearly Ireland did not feel there was anything they could not accomplish and the fact they had to win by 2 goals away to France was not seen as an insurmountable mountain. Kudos to them. They came out and dominated the first half, clearly the better team. While the possession would make one believe France were dominating, watching the match it was clear that Ireland was allowing France to play their game but the French did not know what to do, routinely turning the ball over to the Irish and making huge mistakes. Keane rightfully punished the poor french defense in the 32nd minute when no one decided to pick up the Tottenham striker who was camped out in the French 18 yard box, everyone decided to watch as Duff drove the ball to the end line and calmly crossed to Keane who surgically finished. He could have had a goal a few minutes earlier but Lloris made a brave save punching the ball away just as Keane took a might whack at the loose ball...again a result of terrible French defending. The Irish could have had a second when Duff went through and once again the French keeper had to save his teammates from a summer vacation next year. Ireland fought bravely, Ireland believed they could win and Ireland's fight should have seen them get to penalties...kudos to the men in green shorts.
• I also have to call out Keane. I stated that he was invisible in the game in Dublin, which was the exact opposite in Paris. He was a major threat to the French goal, his goal was absolutely deserved and he was unfortunate to not getting another goal a few minutes sooner. Had he played like this in Dublin it might be the men in green packing their bags for South Africa next summer.
  
• The only player from France that can hold their head high is Lloris. After last match I stated he was clearly France's #1, after this match I think he has clearly cemented his place as France's backstop for the World Cup. Once again his serenity, bravery and ability was what prevented France from taking what could have been a 2 or 3 goal defeat. His save on Keane, mentioned above, was superb and saved the French house. His save after 60 minutes on a break away on Duff also saved the French bacon. The goal was unstoppable and on his defenders not him. Lloris also demonstrated a coolness needed at the end of the match to keep the game under control. Bravo Hugo, tu est le numero 1.
• France is going to South Africa....ok might not be good for the Ireland or the fans of the green, and having the Irish fans and team in South Africa would have been good for the event. However France remains one of footie's power houses and not having them in South Africa would have been a big loss. Now Les Bleus can go to South Africa and play their 3 games and come home...

The Bad:

• The French defense. It looked like the Maginot line at times, completely standing still and being by passed by the Irish offense. Too often they were too slow and in poor position allowing the Irish to run around them. On the Keane goal, 3 French defenders were caught flat allowing Keane to receive the cheeky Duff cross and calmly slot home the shot. Neither Diarra covered themselves in glory either giving the back 4 cover. Were it not for the heroics from Lloris they would be carrying the title of French Goat.
• Gourcuff once again seemed slow and was never the offensive and creative presence we expect of the French playmaker. I realize the Irish defense as well as his time off due to injury play a role but a player of his talent needs to make himself more influential in such matches.
• Without the creative expression from Gourcuff, the French offense suffers and once again does not cover itself with glory. Henry, Anelka and Gignac all appeared to grow frustrated at the Irish defense and never got into a rhythm offensively. There is too much offensive talent available for Les Bleus to not show more offensive prowess.

The Ugly:

• Um no surprise...but the Gallas goal. Okay it was not Gallas' goal but the assist from Henry. Clearly he handled the ball with his forearm and then seemed to gently palm it into his feet to give a nice pass to Gallas who just had to tap in for the goal. Clearly on the video you can see Henry handles the ball before giving Gallas a soft pass to easily head in the tying goal. However watch the play at regular speed and think about where the official is standing.
  
  
  
  He has at least 6 to 7 bodies in front of him all scrambling towards the ball and Henry has an Irish defender blanketing him, so at full speed it is not as clear as to whether or not he handled the ball or if just bounced off his chest or upper leg. Does such a play add fuel to the fire to add more officials? Have video replay? Absolutely. But Henry did what we are all taught...play to the whistle. Should France be penalized for Henry's actions? Um...seriously? Should the Yankees give back the AL East title to the Red Sox in 1978 for Bucky Dent using a corked bat? Should Argentina give back the 1986 World Cup title because they won a game on the "hand of god?" Does Manchester United need to give back the game that Roy Carroll "saved" a ball clearly over the goal line? This carries more weight because of the stakes, no doubt. Let us not forget that had the goal not counted all that was guaranteed is that the game go to penalties, while everyone was favoring the Irish in this exercise, it is by no means a certainty. Maybe it was karma since a few minutes earlier there appeared a clear foul by Given on Anelka in the 18 yard box that was not called (as well as one on Evra in the game in Ireland). At least Henry has admitted the digression.
  
• The overall game from France was ugly, I realize I already called many parts bad...but the entire match was ugly! If Les Bleus play like that next summer it will be a very short trip. There are still some ugly holes that the squad needs resolved - Who will be the central defensive pairing? What is the best formation for Les Bleus? Gignac or Benzema? Will Govou play an important role? What about players such as Mexes, Flamini, Nasri, to name a few. This qualifying campaign did nothing other than get France to the World Cup, they have not found their "soul" nor their system and the players are not clearly defined as to who are the building blocks.

So I can finally breath a small sigh of relief. France will be part of the celebration next summer. I do not have much faith that they will be able to do much - a 1/4 final appearance for me would be an over achievement! Domenech has had this team since 2004, on paper his record is not terrible - World Cup finalist 2006 and qualified for the 3 major tournaments he has had control of the squad. However that is on paper, in reality he has survived what should have been a sackable offense - his showing during the Euros 2008 - he has struggled to qualify, needing the old guard in 2005 to come back, has not clearly demonstrated a grasp of the talent he has at his disposal and has yet to give this squad any soul.

I realize this will never happen, but for France to have any chance next summer I believe they would need to sack Domemech now and put in a manager that can take the talent at hand and get a team together. Figure out how to get the likes of Mexes, Nasri, Benzema, Henry, Anelka, Diarra, Gourcuff, etc etc to work together and how to build a team. Unfortunately that will not happen. So we will go to South Africa with 2 holding midfielders, a right winger who is really a striker, a left winger who is more a left forward, a question mark at left central defense.....and a player such as Benzema on the bench, Mexes at home....and a whole host of other anomalies.

Congratulations Les Bleus you made it to South Africa....the real work starts now.