Thinning out of DD's midfield - Grenier and Capoue out for France

Deschamps faces a challenge as the Lyon playmaking midfielder - Grenier - had to withdraw from the French squad ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. With Capoue going down this past weekend in the North London derby, Deschamps is all of a sudden scrambling for some cover in his midfield. This should not be much of concern in game 2 when Pogba and Matuidi come off suspension. But against Georgia, DD is looking at thinning options for his midfield. He did call up Gonalons which is a good facsimile of Capoue, but has yet to make any moves to shore up Grenier's absence. Grenier is more offensive so could we see his Lyon teammate Gourcuff get another look?

We shall see if Deschamps makes a move soon.

One step forward...half step back - Les Bleus without Diaby for next match

Surprise surprise...well maybe not that surprising, but after a wonderful game both against Liverpool for Arsenal and most recently for Les Bleus against Finland, Diaby looks like he is out against Belarus due to a knock he picked up. Here we go again. So Deschamps heads into Tuesday's qualifier with a dilemma on his hands - without Diaby what formation and where will the creativity come from?

I think it is safe to say we know who will be lined up at the back -

Lloris in goal

Ready to take a big step with the senior side?

Back four of - Evra on the left, either Jallet or Reveillere on the right and what appears to be the future central pairing of Mbiwa and Sakho in the middle. After that it is anyone's guess. Will Deschamps stick with a 4-3-3 or go with a 4-4-2 and have two strikers? If DD goes with the former, it would appear that Capoue has every chance to start in place of Diaby. A good role, but not sure the TFC midfielder has the same volume in his game to animate the offense for Les Bleus. If DD goes with the later, look for Giroud and Benzema up front, with the likes of Ribery and Menez/Valbuena to animate the wings.

Without the presence of Nasri, Ben Arfa or even Gourcuff, France a bit light in the central midfield creative availability. What Diaby brought to the game last week was an ability to sit in that central midfield role and carry the play, distribute, drop deep and attack the goal. Not sure Capoue is ready to do all those tasks. If Deschamps looks to this formation, I would expect much more pressure to fall on the shoulders of Cabaye to animate the game as well as Ribery to drop deeper to assist...even though the Kaiser has been asked by Deschamps to on the contrary stay higher on the pitch.

Je préfère donc le voir dans les 30-40 derniers mètres car il a cette faculté d’accélérer, de percuter et d’obtenir des fautes aussi. Après, il faut trouver le juste milieu. - Basic translation is Deschamps wants Ribery to save energy and stay in the final third of the field...

Of course if Deschamps opts for the 4-4-2 this lack of a natural playmaker may be even more exposed - since one would believe he would look to pair Mavuba and Cabaye as the central 2 of the 4 midfielders, and his wingers would be wide, so who would sit in the hole behind the strikers? Or could a Benzema drop deeper, as he tends to do?

Regardless of the formation, Les Bleus should...I realize this is a big should...find a way to defeat the lowly Belarussians. Of course we all remember what happened in this same fixture for the last qualifiers.



Hopefully that memory will keep this version on its collective toes. Belarus did lose to Georgia, so they should be ripe for the taking. I will be interested to see what formation Deschamps leans on...Allez les Bleus

Nothing to see here...carry on - France v Uruguay ends in a drab draw

First game down for new manager Deschamps...nothing gained nothing lost. France v Uruguay ends in a 0-0 draw. France had the most clear chances, but lacked a certain efficiency in front of goal. Not too much to take from the game, but here are some thoughts:

The Good:

Bright future for the TFC midfielder?

• Ribery looked lively and was a real creative threat. There was a move in the first half where he was caught between three defenders some how pivoted off the first defender and tapped a perfect pass through the legs of the other defender while the third player was trying to find his jock. He stayed on his preferred left side but did float around the pitch appearing in the center and on the right. Let us hope that the Kaiser keeps this form, France will need him to get through qualifications.
• The new kids - Mbiwa and Capoue - demonstrated some real interesting elements. The first was calm and cool for his first cap, considering the role he plays that is impressive. He made some very cool tackles around the 18 yard box that demonstrated a level of talent and a coolness under pressure necessary for the role. He was unfortunate to not open his goal count as well, calling for a fantastic finger tip save from Muslera. Something to keep an eye on. The TFC midfielder came on in the second half and I was struck by his dominating size but also his fluid play - dare I say a "box to box" midfielder a la Vieira??? Okay this might be a stretch, right now. Not sure if Capoue will have the offensive ability that the former Gunner had, but again something to watch in the upcoming France matches.

The Bad:

• What to do with the strikers? There is much debate on how to get Benzema to play like he does for Real Madrid...or even how he played in the past for France. There was very little connection between Benzema and Giroud. However, Benzema, as we suspected, could not help but drop deep on the pitch. At least with Giroud on the field the Uruguay central defense had to respect this threat. Unfortunately, like what happened in the Euros, Benzema did a lot of work, but for few results. Frustrating.
• Midfield linking players...or lack thereof. Not having Cabaye in the midfield was apparent. With Gonalons and Mavuba there was a lack of link between defense and attack. Something that we knew was a concern heading into the game. I realize this pairing was not necessarily one Deschamps will look to lean on, but it also emphasises how important the play of Cabaye is for France.

The Ugly:

•  Finishing anyone? Anyone? Sigh, I think we were spoiled when we had the likes of Henry and Trezeguet patrolling the pitch with Zizou feeding them the ball...France has yet to really find players of that finishing level. I realize these types of players do not grow on trees. But Benzema clearly has the talent to put more goals in for France. Les Bleus need to get some results from all the chances they are creating for themselves!

Overall a typical first international match of the season, cautious, lack of real extended flow, some bright spots ... but otherwise forgetable. Deschamps will have some things to think about, but there is also much work ahead for Les Bleus!

Allez les bleus!