Les Bleus hit a pothole on way to Brazil - some issues to deal with.

France leave the south of France with a 1-1 draw versus Paraguay. A French team which controlled and dominated most of the game, but some lack of finishing. End of the day no injuries and a result like kissing your sister...blah.

The Good:

• If this was a hockey game, my #1 star would go to Giroud. The Arsenal striker showed his quality and most noticeably in the air. He was called upon to receive the ball high up the pitch and distribute to the attacking wingers and midfielders. Something he did with aplomb. He could have had himself a goal in the 82nd minute on a header off a corner, which did lead to Griezmann's goal. He was also cheeky in the first half on a cross to Remy which was almost a high light goal in the 32nd minute. Giroud's play over the last two games make it a legitimate question as to whether or not he should start over Benzema. Time will tell.
• The French defense, for most of the game, was solid. Kos and Sakho looked very comfortable. Sakho made some strong defensive plays in the second half that snuffed

  

  Rock at the center of French defense

  out attacks from Paraguay. Kos playing the role as the launching pad for counter attacks. The wide players, Evra and Sagna, did their job and were solid in the offensive support on the flanks. Although I still wonder if it is worth sacrificing the offensive punch from Debuchy for the defensive strength of Sagna. Lloris also showed the importance of having a quality keeper, making a strong save on Samudio's direct kick in the 55th minute. Lloris was also strong in the air. The goal was not his fault. More on that later.
• No injuries. After what we saw in Ireland this weekend, where Italy lost their starting midfielder, Montolivo, due to a broken leg. Teams have to play these matches, but there is always that fear of injury. Let us hope that France ensure the health of their squad heading to the match against Jamaica. 

The Bad:

• Pogba, not that the Juventus midfielder was terrible. What was bad was his inconsistency. He seems to drift in and out with regards to his intensity. There is no question in his ability, when he wants to he is the heir to the Pat Vieira moniker. However sometimes he seems to get frustrated or lackadaisical with his play. This was clear at the end of the game where he seemed to get lazy and frustrated. It was his foul that lead to the Paraguay goal. Pogba needs to keep his intensity and focus at a high level, like he did last summer when he led the U20 French team to a World Cup title.
• Haven't said this in a few games, but the French finishing was not good. There were some good looks at goal, but clearly not enough goals. Really not even that many testing shots for Silva to face. Remy had a number of chances, Matuidi and the aforementioned Giroud as well. France cannot afford to waste so many chances where they don't even test the keeper. Something to keep an eye on. 

The Ugly:

• Argh so frustrating...why can't France defend set plays? The Paraguay goal by Caceres in the 89th minute was in large part due to awful defending on a set play. Where were the French central defenders??? Sagna was the closest defender...isn't he of small stature compared to the likes of Kos or Mangala? I did give the French defense some praises but they also deserve blame on the goal. Les Bleus have plenty of height to defend such set pieces, so why the still can't seem to do so on a regular basis is frustrating, to say the least.
• The drama from the Paraguayan players. So frustrating. Between Silva's silliness at the end of the game or Paraguayan players flopping whenever there is any contact, real or fake. Les Bleus better get used to such histrionics if they face similar South America sides.

So Les Bleus "drop" a game against Paraguay...ok they didn't lose, but the game left a bad taste. Add to this the continuing saga about whether or not Ribery will make the trip to Brazil and you have a day that did not leave us with as much feel good as we had after the Norway game. Much will be known over the next week, especially with regards to Ribery.  See you in a week when Les Bleus face off against the Reggae Boyz. That will be very telling.

Allez les Bleus.

France v Paraguay: match #2 for Les Bleus, some questions remain

After the flattering 4-0 win over Norway, you would think that France are already in the 1/4 finals at the World Cup. Yes it was a very encouraging win. Coming on the heels of the remarkable 3-0 win against the Ukraine and then the 2-0 win against Holland, it appears that Les Bleus are moving in the right direction. They are. However there remain some questions with this squad.

• Injuries - Benzema reassured everyone that he is fine and will be ready to go. Fingers crossed. Varane seems to be taking normal precautions and I don't think there is anything to worry about. The real question, or fear, is how De Kaiser's back is doing. I am speaking of Ribery. His back remains a real concern, one that Deschamps has not been able to calm fears over. Per World Cup regulations, France have until 24 hours before their kick off against Honduras to replace the Bayern Munich winger from the roster. The fact we are even discussing that rule is concerning. This makes

  

  Let's hope it is a thumbs up with your back

  Griezmann's play that much more important to observe. How does he handle the left side of the attack? Based on what we saw last week against Norway it is positive...but one cannot assume a pattern based on one data point! Let us hope that the Real Sociedad winger continues to improve on his form and that De Kaiser's back allows him to go to Brazil.
• The right side of the formation. I alluded to this in my last post, and it is something I have harped on for a long time - France leans to the left (on the pitch but I guess also in politics...). Even without Ribery on the pitch, the French seem to launch most of their attacks down that flank and even the right sided players, like Valbuena, tend to drift over there. While I like Debuchy as the right back since he brings a legitimate offensive threat from his right side, I have to agree with the Gooner, his defense is a little suspect at times. And without his right winger there to help with the defensive and tracking duties, it leaves that side vulnerable. Norway exposed some of that early on in the game but did not have the talent to really exploit it. For this reason I think the door remains somewhat open for Sagna. Why? While his crossing ability drives me crazy...due to his lack of success...I cannot argue that defensively he is a beast. Does DD sacrifice offense to shore up the right side of his defense? But in doing so he makes France even more left leaning. Alternatively he could also instruct the likes of Cabaye to cheat to that side of the pitch, giving more cover for the likes of a Debuchy.
• Can the offense continue to show some bite? France's last few matches have shown some good snap with the offense. Can this continue? Much will depend on how Valbuena runs the creative side of the formation. As well as how the 3 holding midfielders continue to be able to jump up offensively. I also think we will need to see some distance shooting from Cabaye, which would really open up the game - forcing opposing defenses to extent themselves, thereby opening space for Giroud or Benzema. 

 Look for Les Bleus to come out with a similar formation as they had against Norway. One change will be Lloris in goal as the captain. We might see Sagna in place of Debuchy, but not sure. Giroud up front again unless DD wants to get some more time for Remy in that slot. Paraguay should be  slightly tougher opponent than Norway, clearly DD wants to get some run against a South American opponent, no surprise that the three friendlies are against a nation from Europe, South America and CONCACAF. See France's group opponents.

As with the last match, first priority - no injuries (see what happened to Italy yesterday) Second is to continue the good run of form from the last matches. Finally get plenty of players run during the game. As DD did last match, use all of your subs, get as many players some game time as possible.

France draw 0-0 against Paraguay. Yes bland, but I think France come back down to earth and we see classic friendly match between a team that doesn't really want to be there and one working through preparation.

Allez les Bleus

World Cup 2010 - Group F

Ah the Italian group, some have said this group is easy....I would actually say it might be a little more challenging that it would appear:

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Paraguay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 New Zealand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Clearly the defending champions Italy will be heavily favorite to go through to the knock out stages. It is hard to imagine the Italians not going through, even if they lose their first match against Paraguay, which could prove trickier than many would expect. Much is expected from the 4 time World Cup winner, especially after their world champion manager - Lippi - was brought back from a second stint as manger. However 4 years have passed since the World Cup in Germany, and surprisingly the faces for the Italians remain much the same - Grosso, Buffon, Cannavaro, Pirlo, Camoranesi, Toni and Gattuso...and guess what these players all have in common...they are the wrong side of 30. The team looked old during the last Confed Cup, barely defeating the United States and being thoroughly outclassed by the Brazilians. What has really changed since then? Not much...and now there is a rumor that Milan's Nesta and AS Roma's Totti will be asked to come back to the national side. Granted, on experience alone this side should get through. Paraguay will feel they have a legitimate chance to top the group and should definitely get through to the next stage. They finished tied for second in the South American group, just one point behind Brazil. They have the dangerous striker Santa Cruz to score the goals and will not be intimidated by the defending champions after having to face Argentina and Brazil in their qualification campaign. Poor New Zealand, well actually the Kiwis are fortunate. With Australia leaving the Oceania region it leaves the All Whites as the clear favorite to represent the region. Unfortunately that means they then become the sacrificial lambs in the group stages. Well at least they did not get the same draw as the North Koreans! The squad is made up mostly of domestic players having only a few players in the English or Scottish leagues. Their stay in South Africa should be short lived...well if this were a rugby group they might defeat all the teams by triple digits. Finally we have Slovakia who is an intriguing side having finished top of their difficult group - Czech republic, Poland, Slovenia...were this still the Czechoslovakian side then they would be considered one of the better European sides, but alas the fall of communism split this side. However Slovakia could surprise with players through out Europe - Skrtel, Hamsik, Vittek to name a few - there is some quality and experience on this side. They are also fortunate to start off against the All Whites - so you would expect the full 3 points. The second match against Paraguay will be crucial if they can get a point or the full 3 then the last game against the Italians will be little more than a friendly.

Predictions: Italy, Slovakia, Paraguay, New Zealand.
Player to watch: The old guard for the Italians. Repeating as World Cup champions is incredibly difficult, let alone with many of the same players. How will the old guard for Italy hold up?