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France 1-0 Lithuania

March 24th, 2007 | By: Laurie | 10 Comments »

Oh my Lord! Is my heart still beating? What a stressful game!

Seriously, after Anelka finally put one in in (about) the 75th, I couldn’t sit and watch any more. For the last fifteen minutes, I kept thinking of little things I needed to do that kept me running up and down the stairs every 30 seconds, just checking in long enough to make sure nobody else had scored.

Whew! Up till the score (with A beautiful trademark Anelka shot righ past the keeper into the corner), I was willing to settle for a draw. It was that close. Fortunately we got the full three points, but man. Lithuania played really well, France only occasionally played well. Put them together and you have a close, tense game.

I’ll write more after I get my thoughts together. I may watch this in replay later today to see who actually did what. Diarra played pretty well if occasionally a little over-enthusiastically. (One yellow card.) Diaby got put in for two minutes so he could claim his first cap. (I always think it’s cool when coaches do that.) Cisse was subbed in for Govou partway through the second hald, but didn’t seem to be much of a factor. (Although he could have been God himself in the last fifteen minutes and I wouldn’t have comprehended it. All I could think of then was which team had posession and whether or not Lithuania was anywhere close to scoring.)

At any rate. I can’t say “Great game!” All I can say is, “Whew! They did it!”

Tags: Euro 2008, France, Lithuania

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Comments

By Martha | March 24th, 2007 at 9:28 pm

So what you’re saying is that I made a good call when I decided not to point my itvn box in that direction this afternoon? Sounds like a dismal game for neutrals.

(But: WOO HOO, three points!)

Posted from United States

By Laurie | March 25th, 2007 at 12:54 am

Yeah, Martha, this game probably would have been as exciting for you as Israel-England was for me. But I enjoyed it. In fact, it’s on again on Setanta in two minutes. Think I’ll go watch it again!

Posted from United States

By whb | March 25th, 2007 at 9:07 am

Yeah, I have to say it was a crap game for les bleus. Maybe they took the advice that Thuram (was it him?) said in that recent post of yours that playing a beautiful game is nice, but it’s better to get the win.
They did not bother with the beautiful, but instead eeked out a win.

Posted from United States

By Nerijus | March 25th, 2007 at 10:48 am

I say this, French did a great job. They play very deliberatly by slowing down Lithuanians. Everyone and each of them were head above Lithuanians, I mean, faster, sharper, more precise. We all fears in Lithuania, that we will got more goals. Goal was not occasional by any means. If you see carefuly at 5-10 min. back before goal, you will see what I mean. It was very wise on French part. They slowed down pulse of the game, which put Lithuanians on sleep, and if I am not mistaken they shot twice from same position before.

Posted from Lithuania

By wushugene | March 25th, 2007 at 8:18 pm

At least France got the win, unlike England =P. Pity Scotland got that second goal

By Inara | March 26th, 2007 at 12:29 pm

Govou and Toulalan were the most disappointing. I have no idea why Toulalan was taking the corners - he doesn’t take them at Lyon.

I wasn’t that surprised by the defensive play, but I don’t think Domenech should throw out the 4-3-3 just yet. That formation works when you have offensive midfielders to build the team around (like Juninho, Kallstrom, etc). Maybe if someone like Nasri or Gourcuff had taken the place of either Toulalan or Diarra, the attack might have been more potent. Once there is a stable midfield, then the wingers can work off it and feed the striker. It certainly has potential - as long as Domenech finds that key man.

I have to say I was absolutely shocked at our defense though. Honestly, I don’t think either Thuram or Gallas were fully match fit, and I think the Squillaci-Mexes pairing might have provided more energy to block off those Lithuanian attackers.

Posted from United States

By Laurie | March 26th, 2007 at 12:49 pm

Inara, I’m glad to hear you say that about the defense. I’ve read several reviews saying how wonderful it was and was starting to doubt my sanity. I can’t count the number of times I wanted to scream at the screen, “Why is nobody ON that guy!!!” They nearly gave me heart failure on several occasions.

I’m withholding judgment on Toulalan just yet. During the first half I thought he was awful, but I thought he had a much better second half. And I’ve noticed that he’s what I think of as a “dramatic” player, meaning that whenever something good OR bad happens he has a hand in it. Although I am 100% in agreement about the corner kicks!

Posted from United States

By sandrahn | March 26th, 2007 at 12:58 pm

Can’t add very much to what’s already been said — very frustrating maddening game, definitely. I hadn’t realized that I’d been barely breathing until Anelka finally scored (brilliantly) and I let out this incredibly loud respiratory sound! Then I screamed! Thank god they won (esp. with Scotland’s victory) but honestly, they have GOT to do better than this! I too was shocked with Gallas. I wonder if it has to do with his recent mental state after the season debacle at Arsenal. He was on injury for a long time and has been playing regularly in recent matches. He’s been playing well but I think he’s still recovering.