France-Colombia Liveblog (Stop by and Leave Comments!)

Final Score: France 1-0 Colombia

Ribery 25′ (pen.)

Very entertaining, high-quality game. And this starting eleven is not going to get us out of the group stage.

90+3 And that’s the game. They just showed a shot of Ribery that looked like an icepack on his ankle. THIS would suck.

90+3 Nasri is muscled off the ball.

90+2 No word on stoppage time yet. Are we done? Please?

90′ Long cross from Malouda(?). Anelka charges up field to reach it, but is offside.

89′ France clears the ball, but Colombia sends it back to…didn’t catch the name. But he sends in a long, hard shot that seems to catch everybody napping. Fortunately it goes wide.

88′ I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for this game to be over.

87′ The announcer said he’s seen less entertaining World Cup matches. I’d have to agree.

85′ Thuram charges forward, way past the midline, and is eventually taken down and dispossessed. No call, and there are a few scary seconds before the ball goes out becuase we’re short a defender. Colombia looks threatening, but Gallas casually sends the ball up the field.

84′ Diarra is taken down. Nasri takes the free, switches to Sagnol, who heads it back into play, but our midfield eventually loses it. Colombia charges down the field again, but the player is fortunately offside. Barely.

82′ Toulalan is shoved down and is slow getting up.

81′ Sanchez off, Motta on for Colombia. Also Guarin on, Escobar off.

80′ Anelka gets a nice shot off, and for once Julio bobbles it. Out for a corner, which is delivered perfectly by Nasri to Anelka’s head. Unfortunately Julio is able to grab it again.

79′ The ball is moving around the midfield for both teams without much happening. And as soon as I type that, Bustos breaks free up the right and sends a cross into the box, which Thuram is fortunately perfectly placed to clear.

76′ Ribery and Henry off, Nasri and Anelka on for France. The announcer thinks Henry was wonderful. I think he’s been awful.

75′ My heart stops. Polo sends a shot into the side netting. Deflection for a corner, then eventually out off France for another corner. Zapata heads this one wide, but it looked dangerous.

73′ Ribery puts in a nice cross, but Julio comes out to snatch it out of the air.

72′ Colombia has dominated possession. France gets it back, but Sagnol’s delivery is straight to Colombia. France gets it back again, and Henry gets a shot off but it goes wide. Must have deflected, because Ribery puts in a corner which Colombia gets to first.

70′ More lovely combination play for France, Sagnol to Ribery in front of goal, but again Julio saves. Julio is man of the match for Colombia by far.

69′ Gomis is warming up. How do you think he’ll do as the lone striker?

67′ Nice combination play again, starting with Abidal, then Henry, who places it perfectly for…couldn’t tell…Ribery, maybe? Who sends off a very weak shot straight to the keeper.

66′ I really think that Henry needs to not start. And it’s L. Diarra on, BENZEMA OFF! What. The. Hell? Let’s see how this shapes up on the field.

65′ Sagnol delivers a very lousy cross that goes out for a goal kick. Hernandez off, Torres on for Colombia.

64′ Raymond must have had a discussion about the backpasses, because at least there have been no bad ones.

62′ Free kick goes to Abidal, and Maouda charges up the field. He sends it up to Ribery in the box. Ribery is heavily defended and sends it outside the far post. Why is it that none of these opportunities France gets in open play actually go in?

60′ It sure looked to me like a Thuram handball in the box, but I guess not, since Colombia and the refs don’t say anything. Corner for Colombia, which France heads out. Henry gets booked for taking out…somebody. Hernandez, I think.

59′ Benzema goes one on one with the keeper, who charges out. Benzema can’t get around him and instead sends it straight at him. I’m thinking Benzema is a bit burned out. He would have gotten that in October.

58′ Gonzalo (maybe Gonzales?) on, Amero off for Colombia, also Polo on Falcao off.

57′ Malouda gives a lovely throughball to Henry, who loses the ball.

55′ Nice combination from Sagnol-Benzema-Sagnol-Henry, but Henry gives it up in the box.

55′ Raymond needs to make some changes, because this really isn’t working.

53′ This half has been all Colombia. Somebody sends a nice throughball in for Bustos in the box, but fortunately Coupet gets to it first. If not, that would have been a goal.

52′ EEK! What was that? More danger, and Coupet eventually bobbles the ball out for a corner. THen Malouda sends it out for another corner. Fortunately Henry sends it out of the box and down the field. But Colombia collects it. The ball eventually goes out for a France throw-in.

50′ Colombia looks REALLY dangerous. They enter into the box, but France kind of manages to defend. (Good job by Thuram.) But then Hernandez gets the ball and sends a long shot over the bar.

50′ Cheap giveaway in the final third by France, but they get it back. Ribery loses the ball in the box. Colombia has great defense.

49′ Henry is called for trying to go over the top of Amaya. He’s only about a foot taller — it’s like a Hummer driving over a Mini Cooper.

48′ Yellow for Hernandez for an ugly studs-up takle on Makelele.

47′ Abidal gives the ball up cheaply at midfield, but fortunately the delivery into the box is poor. Anelka and Evra and maybe Diarra are warming up.

46′ Okay, we’re off. I didn’t see any obvious player changes, so I’m thinking we have the same 11.

The boys are coming back out of the tunnel. The Setanta announcer says Benzema and Henry have chemistry and that they should stay on the field together. I’m not so sure. He also says he’s not sure about the penalty, which they never really showed on replay. Patrick Vieira is looking sharp in a tie, but he’s also looking a bit depressed.

45+1 And that’s the half. They just showed a shot of Anelka on the bench, and he does not look happy.

45′ Ribery gets off a shot (that may have been a cross.) Whatever, it was a bad delivery. Colombia immediately counters up the right and sends it to Coupet in the box.

44′ But then Colombia gets it back on the throw, and France again struggles. They finally play header volleyball with something like five headers in a row without actually clearing it. Ribery and a Colombia player smash heads and the whistle blows.

43′ Malouda is in a good scoring positong except for the minor fact that he’s offside. The ball heads back to the other end, and France has a hard time getting it back. Sagnol eventually clears it.

42′ Beautiful free kick, which the keeper has to leap up and bat over the bar. Corner, which is whistled back after Malouda kicks it. Henry heads it into the net anyway, and the ref just smiles and sends it back to the corner. Malouda delivers this one into box, but we have nobody good in the air.

40′ Malouda is taken down just outside the box, the whistle blows, but then Henry sends it into the goal. I think Colombia had stopped defending with the whistle, so I’m not sure he would have scored, but still. Bad luck. Great position for a free kick, though. Too bad we don’t have a Beckham or a Juninho

39′ Ribery delivers another perfect ball to Benzema on the left and he gets off a great shot, but it goes just wide past the far post.

38′ Free kick for France. I didn’t see what happened with the foul. Something to do with Makelele. Maybe ten yards outside the box. Ribery delivers the free kick perfectly to Benzema, who sends the header over the bar, but he is called offside anyway.

37′ Benzema up the right and delivers into the box to Henry, but he’s not able to chest it down accurately and it goes to a defender, but then out for a corner. Which goes nowhere, as do all our corners.

36′ Great shot from Benzema, but it goes to the keeper, who is just barely able to bat it away.

35′ Kick to the thigh from Ribery on Amaya. No intent and no card.

34′ Hard tackle on Ribery, but no foul. Malouda sends in a hard shot, on target, but Julio is able to bat it away for a corner. Ribery sends it in, but again Julio bats it away.

32′ Ball bounces into our box, but Coupet is there to collect it.

32′ Malouda takes out Escobar. That one probably should have been a card too.

31′ Toulalan moves the ball up the field and is able to get a deflection on the cross for a corner. I think it was Ribery who took the corner, nice delivery to the edge of the six-yard box. Toulalan is almost there in time, but it goes out for a goal kicki.

29′ Henry seems to be giving the ball up frequently in the box/final third. Not sure if it’s Henry or just excellent defending. Or both.

28′ Colombia is really good, very threatening every time they get in the final third. This particular drive ends with a cross going too far over the top and to France on the other side of goal.

26′ Malouda’s first touch has suffered in his time at Chelsea. He never should have left Lyon. Just sayin’. Les Bleus take it up the left with some pretty play from Ribery, Benzema and Henry, but give it up cheaply in the box.

24′ GOAL!!!! Ribery side-foots it low and to the right, the keeper doesn’t move, and France takes the lead!!!

24′ Henry is taken down in the box, and the ref points to the spot!!!!

23′ Henry brings the ball up the left and passes to Benzema, who sends off a nice shot, but Julio is there.

21′ Ribery is taken down from behind by Amaya. No card, but there should have been.

20′ A long stretch of Colombia possession at the back before Abidal takes down Moreno. Free kick at midfield, switched across the field. France eventually gets it back.

19′ Henry almost gets a breakaway, but a Columbia defender gets there first.

18′ Colombia has a stretch of possession, and the crowd is not happy.

17′ I think of these three teams, Colombia is the most challenging so far. Excellent defense plus some serious speed and accurate longballs on the counterattack.

16′ Long ball from Colombia, into the box. Coupet manages to get there, barely.

15′ Ho. Lee. Crap. What’s up with our defense? We had about eight bodies in the box and nobody could get the ball away and up the field!! Fortunately we eventually wear them out and get the ball back before they can score.

13′ Malouda delivers a hard but off-target shot from the left, outside the far post.

12′ Sagnol has a nice cross in toward Ribery, just inches out of his reach in front of goal

11′ Ribery comes up the left and hands the ball off to Henry, who’s immediately surrounded by yellow shirts and has nowhere to go.

9′ LUCKY for France! Bustos charges up on a counter and France botches the defense entirely. Coupet comes off his line but can’t get there in time. Fortunately the shot bounces off the post. Not sure which defenders were out of position. Maybe all of them.

8′ Long ball through to the France box, which Coupet collects without effort.

7′ Henry comes up the left and gets off another shot, which goes wide of the far post.

6′ Our players are looking very dynamic. But they usually do. Another corner delivered by Malouda straight into the box. Julio bobbles a bit before collecting it.

5′ Ribery has a beautiful run down the center. He sends a throughball forward to Benzema, who can’t quite get there in time, and it deflects out for a corner. Julio bats the corner away, then out for a France throw.

4′ Henry handball down on the Columbia end

3′ Toulalan teaks down a player rather roughly. And my screen is frozen, so I’m not sure what happened with the free kick, but I’m still getting audio, so it was apparently nothin.

2′ Henry gets the first shot off, but it deflects off the foot of a Colombia player. Malouda sends in the corner, but a Columbian head gets to it first.

1′ Okay, we’re off.

-1′ Henry and Benzema are hugging. This is Thuram’s 140th cap. Raymond is chewing on the earpiece of his glasses.

-1′ Le Marseillaise is being sung with vigor. Sagnol looks nervous. Thuram is off-key and singing with all his heart and soul, as usual. (I adore this man.)

-2′ One of my favorite parts of any games is watching the players during the national anthems. They always look so sweet and vulnerable. Colombia is singing now.

-3′ They must have handed out France flags before the game, because they’re everywhere. Stade de France is packed.

-4′ Okay, we’re in. The boys are coming out of the tunnel. I love these guys. Lilian Thuram is chatting with the little girl beside him.

-5′ Okay, folks, Setanta’s showing us next. This always give my stomach a little jump.

-10′ Setanta is currently showing an interesting piece on Romania and Netherlands. Boy, are we in the group of death. A win over Romania is key on Monday.

Welcome to the liveblog of France vs. Colombia. Keep hitting “refresh” for updates.

This game is on Setanta, for those who have it. If you have a working stream, post it in the comments.

According to Inara, l’Equipe is listing this starting lineup:

Coupet - Sagnol, Thuram (cap.), Gallas, Abidal - Makelele, Toulalan, Ribéry, Malouda - Henry, Benzema

For the Colombia starting lineup, go here.