Lithuania-France Recap

I’ve read several game reviews telling me how dominant France was in Saturday’s game, and I’m wondering if there were two different games going on. Maybe it’s just because I’m so used to seeing smooth, beautiful play from France and this was anything but. But three points is three points, and in the end they got the job done.

A few thoughts:

• Did Nicolas Anelka really have SIX offsides calls? That’s what I counted. I absolutely adore Anelka and have wanted him to start for a long, long time. And of course, with the goal all is forgiven. But Nico! Sweetie! I know you’re excited about starting and want to get to the goal, but first I’d like to introduce you to the last defender. Last defender, meet Nico. Become buds! Hang together!

• Lassana Diarra and Jérémy Toulalan both started out kind of shaky (a little like puppies overeager to please) but gained confidence as the game went on. By the end of the second half I was definitely thinking both have earned a spot on the team.

• With three holding midfielders, I expected to see a lot more play up the wings from Willy Sagnol and Eric Abidal. My first impression after watching the game originally was that this didn’t happen at all. Then I re-watched the first half and realized that it kind of happened but didn’t make an impact. Neither was really able to break free and go marauding down the field the way they normally do. I guess a lot of credit for this has to go to Lithuania, because Abidal especially never had the space necessary to make much of an impact.

• I thought Florent Malouda had a so-so first half but a very solid and aggressive second half. I love watching him play.

• My opinion? Djibril Cissé should have started over Govou.

• Did the Anelka goal surprise anybody else? It was almost as if France had sent off so many shots in the 10-15 minutes before — all of them going either wide or over or directly to the keeper — that I was lulled into a false belief that nothing would happen. Maybe Lithuania was too?

• We did get a lot more shots on goal than in the previous two games. (I haven’t seen figures, but it felt like Malouda and Anelka and even Diarra were consistently shooting.) Even though only one shot was accurate, the fact that our guys are getting in range more often somehow feels like progress to me.

• The pitch almost had the effect of an additional, erratic player on the field. You could never be quite sure where the ball would end up.

And last but not least, here’s the Anelka goal. Is this a beauty or what?