France v Spain....the haves and the have nots. Guess who the haves are.

Well at least this game did not count for anything more than pride...and clearly the French pride took a major hit today. Les Bleus dropped the match 2-0 and it could have been much worse.

The Good:

• Spain was very very very good. What else can you say? Playing with 5 midfielders and a solo striker, the Spanish controlled the pace of the game and once they pounced on the French with a David Silva goal in the 21st minute everything feel into their hands (telling that the beginning of the action saw Henry lose the ball to his Barca teammate Iniesta who surgically found Villa). They could simply use their constant movement and precise passing to keep the ball away from France and therefore eliminate any danger to Cassilas.  Fabregas, Villa, Ramos, Puyol, and the rest all showed their class all over the pitch in both defending, passing, and controlling the pace of the match. The second goal was a result of this ability, they caught France completely flat footed on their back line allowing Ramos to make the turnstile - Escude - look like a stick in mud to coolly finish the action with a goal. Spain managed their second half with ease. Being able to bring in Xavi and Senna for Fabregas and Alonso, as well as Torres for Villa demonstrates the absolute frightening depth the Spanish have at their disposal. Well done Espana, you are we deserved European Champions and if you play like this could be finally putting that long sought after star above the badge on your kit.
• That was Domenech's last game in Stade de France! Assuming a minor miracle does not produce itself this summer and some how France get the 1984 Platini, the 2000 Zidane, the 1998 Desailly-Blanc into their line up, this tournament will end, at best, in the 1/4 finals and with that the end, finally the end of the Domenech era. Since France will not be playing any of their 3 preparation matches in Stade de France we will have seen the last of the astrologer manager on the side lines for France in Paris.

The Bad:

• As good as Spain was, France was equally BAD. No heart, no semblance of a system, tired players, old players, no creativity and a no real reason to hope was what Les Bleus gave us tonight.
• The central defense for Les Bleus of Escude and Ciani did nothing to threaten Gallas nor Abidal. I do not want to be overly critical of Ciani, for his first call up and his first start he has to face the #1 ranked nation and defending European Champion, not an easy task. Escude on the other hand once again did nothing to give me hope he is the answer in the center of the French defense. Couple this performance with the ones during the qualifying campaign and I am starting to wonder if Boumsong would not be a better choice...that is how bad he looked! Based on his performance for his club, I think Ciani deserves another look. I just don't see the same for Sevilla man...are you telling me that Mexes would have been worse???
• Where was the French offensive midfield? We can now stop making any comparisons between Gourcuff and Zizou, granted the comparison was really never fair to begin with. I fear that the best game for Gourcuff was away to Romania...where he and Ribery were clearly the offensive class on the pitch, both scoring goals during the match. However since then I have not seen the ability to control the game and be the go-to midfielder that Gourcuff once promised to be. I realize that he has had much more pressure and games heaped onto his shoulders but he needs to be progressing and not regressing on the big stage. He tried to make some creative passes and some 1on1 moves but all seemed to fail...I will give him credit for his attempts, but with so much dependent on the ability of the France #8 to control the pace and rhythm more consistency needs to come from his boots. Not sure Henry works on the left either, he is showing his age and is not a true midfielder. And sticking Ribery on the right does not seem to be a fit either. Frightening that Gouvou actually looked half decent manning the right channel. Maybe Nasri needs to be brought back into the mix, let Ribery move back to the left and stick Henry on the bench or up front.

The Ugly:

• France's complete apparent lack of system or strategy. What this game showed me was that once again Domenech seems to be completely overwhelmed by the situation, by nations with more talent and by managers that know how to get their teams to dictate the pace and style of play. During the match the commentators made the statement that maybe Gourcuff should be lined up deeper, along side the holding midfielder(s) allowing the French to start their attacks from deeper. Maybe even looking to hit on deep balls...much like what Spain were doing versus the French. After going down 1-0 what did the French do? Nothing. They simply allowed the Spanish to kick the ball around and play keep away. Maybe Les Bleus should have played higher up the pitch, press the Spaniards. Maybe Les Bleus could have shifted to a 4-3-3...slot Gourcuff deeper between Toulalan and Diarra - push Henry and Ribery higher on the wings look for long balls from the back 1/3 of the pitch see if you can catch the Spanish flat footed. Plus this was a friendly....so maybe take out one of your holding midfielders and bring in another attacking player earlier in the match - such as Ben Arfa, see if his ability to dribble at defenders could de-stabilize the Spanish defensive block. 
• The age of certain players - specifically Henry. I realize he is France's all time leading goal scorer, but is his time for Les Bleus coming to a rapid end? What about Anelka? I realize this is only 1 game, and both players still have something in the tank, however not sure the French captain in particular should be an undisputed starter.

So what can we say about this match...congratulations to Spain, they look very dangerous indeed.

France have a very steep hill to climb these next 99 days. I fear it may be too steep. I am not sure that the 4-2-3-1 system is what makes sense for France without a player such as Zidane to truly take control of the tempo and pace of the match. Perhaps Les Bleus can look to their counterparts on the pitch today and consider going with a straight across 5 midfield. Look to combine 5 from a Ribery - Nasri - Ben Arfa - Gourcuff - Toulalan - Diarra - Diaby

to make a midfield that can defend, pass, score and give the team the heartbeat it needs. You can rotate Henry - Anelka - Benzema - Gignac up front. With a midfield at 5 you should also be able to alleviate the pressure on the back 4 by being able to hold the ball longer as well as start your attacks from deeper on the pitch. Players such as Ben Arfa, Nasri, Ribery and Gourcuff can themselves score goals so you should be able to make up any deficit in goal scoring by eliminating a striker. This system would also allow you to play a similar style to AS Roma, where you might only have 1 striker but during the flow of the match end up having another 2 to 3 offensive players appear in a goal scoring positions - the danger for the opponent is how do you defend against the threat of a Ribery or Ben Arfa or Nasri pushing higher into a striker position?


Too bad Domenech will most likely stubbornly stick with not only his system but his players. Unlike the Ivory Coast, I do not think the FFF has the will power to sack their manager with 99 days left until the World Cup. Too bad. France needs to forget this game asap....Spain should see this as only another reason to believe they can achieve something this summer.