 Having been surpassed by Serbia for the top spot, and frustrated and given problems by Romania and Lithuania, coach Raymond Domenech's squad kicked things off with a damaging 3-1 defeat in Austria, but later rallied to gain a 1-1 draw in Serbia despite playing with only ten men after having trailed early in the match. After that, they swept the rest, with a 5-0 victory over the Faroe Islands and a 3-1 win against Austria. While pessimists may choose to focus on France's difficulty in securing a ticket to South Africa, optimists will probably choose to remember that Les Bleus also flirted with disaster prior to World Cup Germany 2006, where they went on to reach the Final. Given that Zinedine Zidane, Fabien Barthez, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram all called it quits in regards to their international careers in 2006, a new group of talent has stepped up. It is the only France 1998 survivor, forward Thierry Henry, who has taken the captain's armband, with defender William Gallas leading at the back, while both Jeremy Toulalan and Lassana Diarra have proven indispensable in the mid-field. In the meantime, it is the emergence of mid-fielder Yoann Gourcuff, combined with the talent of mid-fielder Franck Ribery and the revitalized defense of Nicolas Anelka, which has given Domenech a variety of options to attack with, while strikers Karim Benzema, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Florent Malouda, and Loic Remy will also be hoping to make a mark. Les Bleus has appeared in twelve World Cup final tournaments, winning on French soil in 1998, and as regular performers on the greatest soccer stage of all, France has also managed third-place finishes in 1958 and 1986, as well as one fourth-place spot in 1982. Team France has also won two FIFA Confederations Cup (2001, 2003) and two UEFA European Championships (1984, 2000). As France's thirteenth World Cup appearance, you can count on this club to show they have been here before and not fall to any undue pressures of this worldwide competition. Order your FIFA World Cup South Africa tickets now and watch La Bleus as they show the rest of the soccer world what they are made of in 2010.
|
