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Romania vs. France Preview

June 8th, 2008 | By: Inara | 21 Comments »

726.

That’s how many days it’s been since France kicked off their 2006 World Cup campaign with an unimpressive draw against Switzerland. We all remember – quite painfully – how that tournament turned out. And we know now that being in second place is not enough. Les Bleus cheated themselves out of a World Cup victory, so they must make amends this summer. And to do so, they have to win against Romania. Nothing less will be sufficient in this year’s group of death.

But a lot of things have changed in those 726 days. There is no longer a Zizou to save the day, many of the “old crew” have retired, and most especially, there is a whole host of new and exciting talent on the squad. France, who were the oldest team two years ago, are now one of the youngest, and though this team hasn’t been together as long as the old one, they are potentially capable of much more.

Others might have written us off, but it’s our tournament to lose.

June 9, 2008
Letzigrund Stadion, Zurich
18:00 CET (12 PM Eastern, 9 AM Pacific, 17:00 GMT)

About the enemy:

Compared to France, Italy, and the Netherlands, it’s obvious that Romania lack the depth and talent of their fellow group members. But Romania (who aren’t anything to sneeze at either) have never been about having a dream team lineup, and more importantly, they aren’t concerning themselves with counting another team’s superstars.

Romania will be hoping that they can depend on their overall team play and style to get through (with a healthy dose of magic from Adrian Mutu – you may have heard of him). Tomorrow, they’ll be facing a France lineup that is far superior to anything they could conjure up, but only a fool would underestimate them – because over 90 minutes, it’s a team that wins, not just individuals. And on their day, Romania’s team can be just as good as anyone else’s.

Romania blogger Ian wrote a great profile on the Tricolorii, their recent results, and their key players, so definitely check it out here.

France info:

On the surface, things are looking pretty bleak because Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira are suffering from injuries. Henry’s isn’t that serious, and he’ll probably be on the bench tomorrow. But Vieira’s is potentially worse – he pulled a thigh muscle last week, and like all muscle injuries, they can be either nothing or very serious. He obviously won’t be playing against Romania, and if the doctor doesn’t give him the all clear tomorrow afternoon, Domenech will have to drop him from the squad and replace him with Mathieu Flamini. I have nothing against Flamini, but he’s no Vieira, who is our captain and our midfield general. He’s also a huge source of leadership and inspiration for the team, so his absence will affect us in more places than just on the pitch.

Good news is that Franck Ribery’s ankle pain from the Columbia game turned out to be just a niggle. So he’s good to go.

Still, all things considered, France are far from the most affected in terms of injuries, and like all group stage games, this is more a test of depth, something that I feel France has a lot of.

Tactics:

The widespread assumption is that Domenech will go with his trusty 4-4-2, a predictable lineup with predictable players. Whether that’s bad or good is another matter entirely, though I think there are more positives than negatives. While I would love to see a 4-3-1-2 with Samir Nasri as a playmaker, I don’t know if this is the time to start a new experiment. Then again, Domenech has had two years to experiment but hasn’t, so…

It’s obvious that all teams – not just France – will defend first and attack second. In these kind of tournaments that feature such very good teams (and Austria), goals are rare, and groups are often decided on goal difference. So keeping a clean sheet is the first priority.

Still, no one can argue that Domenech’s team is an overly defensive one, not when you have such attacking talent in the starting lineup. At the end of the day, it’s up to the players to make things happen on the pitch (and that includes staying composed in the final third, putting away their chances, and not aiming for the crossbar).

Coupet
Sagnol – Thuram – Gallas – Abidal
Ribery – Makelele – Toulalan – Malouda
Anelka – Benzema

Thierry Henry is not expected to start, so Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema will be paired together up front. I’m not sure how I feel about that since I’m undecided on the complicity the two have between them, but both played well against Columbia, and both are very dangerous players individually. Let’s hope the package is equally as potent. Our only other option, Bafetimbi Gomis, is way too raw to be anything but a joker at the moment. Not that I wouldn’t love to see him, but giving him his first start for Les Bleus in the all important must win game for France is not how I’d want it.

In midfield, with Patrick Vieira out, Jeremy Toulalan looks to be the most obvious choice to replace him. While he is a different player than Vieira (Toulalan is less offensive than Pat but far more mobile on the pitch), he’s just as compatible with Claude Makelele. Toulalan’s form has been no less than stellar this year, and when he’s on the pitch, everyone around him plays better. Of course, this is his first big international tournament, so it’s up to him to prove that he deserves a place in that XI. If not, Lassana Diarra and Matthieu Flamini, two other terrific midfielders, are waiting in the wings.

In the back, the only position that seems to be up in the air is that of Willy Sagnol’s, who hasn’t looked that great in the recent friendlies. While it’s still likely that Domenech will trust in him anyway, Francois Clerc has looked really good lately and may just surprise us by starting.

Viewing options:

The GREAT news is that this game will be on ESPN2. Live. I just about keeled over from the shock myself. But if you don’t have access to cable television, you can check out this website which is sure to have tons of links posted before kickoff. If you don’t know how to watch games online, visit the Worldcupblog’s guide to mastering the art of internet streaming.

Laurie will be liveblogging this game, so definitely head over there to hang out, angst, and cheer on France as we embark on what is sure to be a victorious campaign for Les Bleus (we’re going to win, in case you didn’t get the memo).

Tags: Euro 2008, France, Les Bleus, Patrick Vieira, Player News, Raymond Domenech, Romania, Team News, Thierry Henry

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Comments

By jeff | June 9th, 2008 at 12:03 am

I’m a little unsettled by Henry being too injured to train. I had an optimistic thought that he was going to have a great tournament.

I’d really like to see Anelka do well, so I’ll be over the moon if he gets some goals and assists.

Still, without some kind of link between the very-deep-sitting Makalele and Toulalan, I’m worried. Against Columbia, in the first half, Henry showed signs that he was the right man to play behind Benzema. With Anelka and Benzema in there, I’m afraid it will look like a static 4-2-2-2. If I were being optimistic, I’d say it looks like a fearsome 4-4-2, with world-class wingers feeding powerful strikers. I’d be more convinced if Malouda didn’t look so sluggish.

With Henry out, I feel like there’s more pressure on Ribery and Benzema.

By Inara | June 9th, 2008 at 2:35 am

I think Henry will be okay. His not training could simply be the doctors wanting him to take it easy. It’s not like Domenech has called up a replacement like he did for Vieira. Part of me is tempted to think that Domenech is making his injury seem worse than it is – he likes his little mind games, and letting the other teams think that France is being rocked by a spate of injuries is just his sort of thing. But Vieira is definitely a worry – frankly, if we have to wait until the last minute to verify his well being, it might be better to simply go with Flamini than a half-fit Vieira.

About Make and Toulalan, I was reading an interview by Makelele yesterday who said this:

“[Vieira's absence] doesn’t change anything for me. [Jeremy] Toulalan and Patrick have different qualities. But we have been able to adapt in midfield during warm-up matches. We know what we have to do. The most important thing is to respect the French set-up. There is a great complicity between Toulalan and myself. When I move up he sits in front of the defense. There’s no problem. You adapt to your opponents. We are intelligent enough to read their game and make adjustments – it’s up to the players to decide.”

In the WC, Vieira had a more attacking role in the midfield, but France only had one striker on the pitch while there were three midfielders to share in defensive duties, so Vieira had more freedom. But since then, with France moving to a two striker system (which means only two real midfielders – Malouda and Ribery are used more as wingers), there is a greater defensive burden on the DMs. Domenech’s instructions to them have been to stay back, even to Vieira. In the games that Vieira and Makelele have played together post WC, Vieira had close to zero offensive contribution. So even if Vieira is declared fit and plays in the rest of the tournament, I wouldn’t expect him to play to same sort of game he did two years ago. For me, the greater loss is his experience and leadership.

By jasperaldo (ASR) | June 9th, 2008 at 4:16 am

I hope Gomis will start/play

Love to see him pounding on the goal

By diamond_cutter | June 9th, 2008 at 8:26 am

smh @ FG
how inappropiate

Posted from United States

By Alexandru.Giurca | June 9th, 2008 at 8:56 am

Romania – France 1-1

Posted from Germany

By sandrahn | June 9th, 2008 at 8:58 am

Laurie, could you please delete/censor racist comments like the disgusting one posted by the troll fg? And ban him completely? I really thought foums like this had rules against racism.

My only concern with Vieira’s absence is the same as Inara’s: the issue of leadership is crucial to any winning team, that’s what enabled France to get to the 06 final. There are fantastic players on this squad but I have doubts about the team’s leadership.

Posted from United States

By Laurie | June 9th, 2008 at 9:31 am

Done, Sandrahn. You know how I feel about free speech, but that one was offensive enough for me to pull the plug.

Posted from United States

By skillz | June 9th, 2008 at 9:43 am

well this game is no contest. France will destroy Romania. This is their easy game and victory is gaurenteed.

By Jean-Michel | June 9th, 2008 at 10:13 am

Allez!

Posted from United States

By Michel-Olivier | June 9th, 2008 at 10:22 am

anelka suck, he never show up for a big game. i would rather play gomis and benzi up front or benzi as the lone striker up front.
i’m not a french fan but i hope they play a good game because today is boring.

Posted from United States

By sandrahn | June 9th, 2008 at 10:24 am

Thanks, Laurie. I agree with you on free speech but there are limits.

“well this game is no contest. France will destroy Romania. This is their easy game and victory is gaurenteed.”

skillz, comments like this make me really really nervous. This will NOT be an easy game. Look at Austria yesterday. One of the worst teams in Europe whose own fans petitioned for them to absent themselves from the tournament. Yet they gave a very good account of themselves because they have tall, strong defenders. The Czechs just couldn’t get a look into goal. The Czechs might not be as good as France but even without Eduardo they do have good technical attackers in the midfield, and they should’ve been able to score against a poor team like Austria. Yet all they could get was a penalty.

Romania are much tougher than Austria, France will have a hard time breaking them down. And France already have a hard time scoring as it is.

Posted from United States

By Seb | June 9th, 2008 at 10:25 am

Lineups are out, it’s as expected. Henry’s nursing an injury and Vieira’s out, though in the team.

9 Benzema – 8 Anelka
7 Malouda – 6 Makélélé – 20 Toulalan – 22 Ribéry
3 Abidal – 5 Gallas – 15 Thuram – 19 Sagnol
23 Coupet

By Jean-Michel | June 9th, 2008 at 10:43 am

Nothing but positive vibes moving forward guys.

Posted from United States

By Gypsy | June 9th, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Nice game Africa..oops, I mean France.
Why not try to field a team of true nationals instead of players poached from other nations with names such as Samir and Kazim who clearly do not come from this continent let alone country!

Posted from United States

By Hana | June 9th, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Wow. Congrats Gypsy, you just posted the single most idiotic comment I’ve seen in a while. Give yourself a pat on the back.

Being quite possibly the only Italy fan who likes Les Bleus quite a bit, I have to say that I’ve always admired the multi-culturalism of the French national team. It’s just so cool seeing the different array of descents of the players, yet they’re all no more “French” than one another. Here’s to hoping that after today’s dismal draw, both France and Italy can progress.

By sandrahn | June 9th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

Nice comment, Hana. Gypsy, your ignorance knows no bounds. These players were all either born and raised in France or emigrated to France as very young children. None of them every played for Africa.

Posted from United States

By Danezu (Romania) | June 9th, 2008 at 3:22 pm

By skillz | June 9th, 2008 at 9:43 am
“well this game is no contest. France will destroy Romania. This is their easy game and victory is gaurenteed.”

funny ! i saw another match -it’s finished 0-0
still,good luck in the next games to France !

By Danezu (Romania) | June 9th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

wow !!! holland – Italy 3-0 !!! group “C” it’s crazy!!!

By sandrahn | June 9th, 2008 at 3:47 pm

I’M STUNNED! Holland have been riddled with injuries and their recent performances have not inspired at all. There was absolutely no optimism in Holland about this game. Polls of Dutch fans overwhelmingly predicted that Holland would lose against the tougher Italians and not get out of their group. I’ve always enjoyed Dutch football (tho van Basten’s approach is NOT total football, it’s much more conservative than Dutch football has been known for) and I certainly hoped they’d beat Italy with their great attacking talent but I had no hopes. Congrats, Holland, fantastic result for them!

Posted from United States

By Benjamin Tran | June 9th, 2008 at 6:19 pm

im happy holland beat italy so badly
it made up for france’s poor display of football.

for our next game i want to see
1) viera back. he is the link between attack and defense in the middle, we missed that this game with make and toulalan not willing to take the initiative
2) henry for anelka. maybe it was romania’s tight defense, but henry would have done better than anelka
3) nasri for malouda. malouda was invisible apart form one shot, we need more creativeness to our game, and malouda only gives runs up and down the left side, nothing else. nasri did not have time in 15 min to do anything, and with romania settled for a scoreless tie, there was not much to do

with these changes, france will win for sure cuz
netherlands is an attacking team. we have imo the strongest defense in the euro, so we dont have to worry to much about that. in the holland italy game, toni and del piero had so much space to work with, and this type of space for henry and benzema will result in goals. today against romania, there was no space. cuz they played 8 defenders behind the ball and then 2 forwards on thuram and gallas’s ass to make a presense for teh kickball clearences out of their box.

prediction, france 2 1 holland

anyone agree?

By Michel-Olivier | June 9th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

@ b tran
i remember they said italy would beat holland 4-0, 2-1, and even 3-1. so i don’t agree, however it will be tight match.

Posted from United States

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