I am far from the best person to write a scouting report on Olympique de Marseille, but no one else is volunteering. (Add comments if you have any thoughts.)
Match: Champions League Group Phase Away to the Arsenal
Result: 0-0
Standings after this 4th match
1. Arsenal FC – 8
2. Olympique de Marseille – 7
3. Borussia Dortmund – 4
4. [...]

France could theoretically be pitted in a group with Spain, Germany, and Portugal, according to AFP.
Blanc insisted that he will not sign a new contract if the team performs poorly at the finals, and he almost predicts that we will perform poorly, so much was he trying to play down expectations.
I’m not having any of [...]

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, non?
When France needed a big player to fill the Benzema void, Samir Nasri delivered Euro 2012.
Well done, lad.
Not exactly a new Zidane, but equally effective in that final qualifier, salvaging a point.
He had me at “qualification secured.”
I heart Samir.

The goal came from Bosnia and Herzegovina fatigue – they fouled Nasri in the box. It’s like the guy knew it was an obvious foul, but just thought they were outside the box.
Nasri converted the spot kick. 1-1. France are through.
Remy had a clear chance to open the scoring and prodded it to their [...]

Let’s advance.

Here’s UEFA.com on France’s Group D:
“Group D: France remain a point ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina following Friday victories, with the pair meeting in Paris to decide the group. Romania have now been eliminated so whoever misses out in the decider will be in the play-offs.”
So it could be worse.
If we get the victory over [...]

Euro Qualifier on Friday.
Fifa.com has a post about Cisse and Gomis being called up as replacements to injured players who include:
Benzema;
Ribery; and
Sagna.
That’s 3 starters, plus Abidal reportedly has “fitness concerns.”
Mexes is still out, right? We should get an updated roster:
From AFP “one day ago”:
Revised France squad
Goalkeepers
Hugo Lloris (Lyon)
Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux)
Defenders
Eric Abidal (Barcelona/ESP)
Mathieu [...]

France escaped from Romania with a point, but Bosnia and Herzegovina have closed to within a point.
Euro Qualifying Group D Standings
France – 17 points from 8 matches
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 16 points from 8 matches
Romania – 12 points from 8 matches
Belarus – 12 points from 9 matches
Albania – 8 points from 8 matches
Luxembourg – 4 [...]

If you’re not able to watch the match, not to worry. There is a great way to get a feel for what it’s like out there. Check out this clip to get an idea for the conditions on the pitch.

0-0 at halftime.

Laurent Blanc, being grilled by reporters after the Albania match, posed the question, “Can someone reassure me that we won the match?”
France had won, away from home, 2-1, with both first-choice central defenders unavailable, and sat 3 points clear at the top of the qualifying group.
But Blanc was still being hounded. Most supporters of [...]