World Cup 2010 Team and Player Watch - France

Today, we turn our attention to France.

Group: Part of Group A along with Mexico, Uruguay and South Africa

The coach Raymond Domenech will really have selection headaches (of the good kind) considering the embarrassment of talent that this country boasts of. Brilliant French players ply their trade all across Europe from England to Spain, Italy and Germany.

The French Football team and Thierry Henry in particular received a lot of bad publicity for the manner in which they just about qualified for the 2010 spectacle. A lot of neutrals will be against them and they will not be getting a lot of support in South Africa. France won the World Cup in 1998 when they had hosted the tournament and made it to the finals of the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they lost to Italy.

A quick scan of the potential players who could make the cut reveals that ‘Les Blues’ have it in them to make to the knock out stage but will struggle after that.


Goal Keepers

Fabian Barthez’s exit from the big stage and an aging Gregory Coupet has left the door wide open for a young set of goal keepers like Steve Mandanda and Hugo Lloris to make a mark in the national squad. But the lack of a seasoned goalie might prove to be the proverbial chink in the amour.

Defenders

The French Defense is a little unbalanced in my opinion. Evra and Abidal will be competing for the left back position and should have it covered.
Willy Sangol’s departure means Domenech needs to fill the right back role.Bacary Sagna and Francois Clerc seem to be the likely options but both lack experience in internationals.
It’s in the centre of defense that France could really struggle. Gallas will be nearing 33 come June and will really find the pace hard to handle in. the knock out stages.Since Thuram is retired now i don’t think that players such as Escquede,Boumsong etc. will be able to establish a good partnership with Gallas in manning the defense.

This is the back 4 that played in the 2006 World cup finals

Abidal Gallas Thuram Sangol

I don’t think France have found the replacements for the 2010 edition

Midfielders

Ribery,Flamini,Malouda,Nasri,Diaby,Ben Afra,Lass Diara.,Sissoko,Govou. There are a lot of options in the midfield and I think Ribery will have a big part to play in the French campaign. After a lay off of 3 months he has just started getting back into groove at Bayren Munich and is showing all signs of being in rich form by the time the World cup starts.

Patrick Vierra will most probably make it to the squad for the World Cup if he continues playing the way he is with Manchester City.But he again will find the going tough in big games and again I think France are yet to identify someone to replace him.

Strikers

This could be the year when Karim Benzema steps out of the shadows of Thierry Henry and Anelka and makes a name for himself at the international stage.Anelka has been outstanding with Chelsea this season but he will require support. Henry should be used as a scoring substitute and not be give 90 minutes. His performance at the international stage has not really been effective.


The biggest problem with France in my opinion is Raymond Domenech.

According to me he is over dependant on established but aging players like Anelka,Henry,Vierra,Abidal etc. and does not like to give young and upcoming players a chance.I do not think enough time has been invested by him in finding and grooming replacements to the players who have retired.
Domenech's management style has raised eyebrows amongst players and fans. A keen amateur dramatist and astrologer, Domenech has admitted to distrusting Scorpios, such as Robert Pirès. This led to the choosing of Vikash Dhorasoo who played an important part in qualifying but not in the finals. He later fell out with Dhorasoo after he made a behind the scenes film called "substitute." His decision to leave out FC Barcelona star Ludovic Giuly in favour of Franck Ribéry, and subsequent refusal to explain that decision, left many French players and fans mystified .His exclusion of Roma back-bone defender Philippe Mexès has also raised a few eyebrows. Mexès, named "Hope of the Year" in 2000 and being a starting defender for Roma since his arrival to the team, still has to participate in a competitive senior tournament under Domenech.


Strengths : Experience of a few players and quite a creative midfield
Weaknesses : Defense and judgement of the coach

Verdict: France should make it to the knock out stages and have a very decent squad on paper.But I think the retirement of a few key players and the lack of replacements will pose a problem.France will not go too far in the knock out stages.

Other teams reviewed by me

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_national_football_team
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43946/index.html

World Cup 2010 Team and Player Watch - South Africa

With the world cup just round the corner i thought it would be a good idea to introduce the teams that have made it to the spectatcle and also highlight some players to watch.I'll also be trying to highlight the strengths and weakneses of the teams involved.

We'll start today with the host country : South Africa

Group : Part of Group A along with Mexico,Uruguay and France

'Bafana Bafana' as the host nation is fondly called has indeed come a long way from being banned by FIFA in 1962 to becoming the first African nation to host a football world cup in 2010.IPL 2 and the Confiderations cup in 2009 were wonderful advertisements for South Africa's readiness and capabalities to host tournaments of such magnitude.SA is all set to cash in on this once in lifetime type oppurtunity and various local industries are relishing the prospects of thousands of tourists coming to their shores for a holiday.
But will the host nation have enough to cheer about on the football pitch ?

I believe that the star performers for SA will be the one who play in other leagues since they would have seen players from all over the world and will be conversant with their strategies and weaknesses.

Strikers

Benny Mcarthy has 83 caps for SA and has spent time with Ajax,Porto,Blackburn Rovers and now West Ham.
Considering he is 32 he will most probably play as a shadow striker and might not be playable for the enire 90 minutes. The forward with the next highest number of international caps is Katlego Mphela who has 20 appearances to show.
The attack is definitely inexperienced.

Midfielders

Steven Piennar has been a real workhorse for the Everton midfield and considering he is 27 will be keen on a good showing in the world cup. Again, the SA midfield looks quite inexperienced and young and will definitely struggle against the likes of Mexico and France.

Defenders

The pick would be the skipper Aaron Mokoena who has the maximum number of caps (99).Known for his tough tackling, which even his country teamate Piennar experienced in an Everton – Portsmouth game.
32 year old Matthew Booth might also get a look in considering his 6 feet 6 inches frame. Due to his height he is considered one of the most important players when meeting opponents with tall players


South Africa are coached by Carlos Alberto Parreira. A wily and experience coach who was in charge of the Brazil team in the 2006 world cup.

Strengths : Home advantage
Weaknesses : Young squad with very limited exposure to world football and players.

Verdict: Unfortunatley i think the host team will not make it to the next round based on paper statistics and assuming France do not commit hara kiri

Other teams reviewed by me

Additional Articles:

Piennar beleives South Africa can advance beyond the group stages


Sources:

http://www.fifa.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_football_team