The Irish Opponents: Who Will be Playing for Ireland?

By: Laurie | November 1st, 2009 | 22 Comments »

On paper, this shouldn’t even be much of a matchup. France has the players with the big names and the big money.

You know. The ones who get all the press.

Too bad you can’t play a match on paper.

Gardiens de but
Shay Given (Manchester City, Ang)
Keiren Westwood (Conventry City, Ang)
Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United, Ang)

Défenseurs
John O’Shea (Manchester United, Ang)
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa, Ang)
Stephen Kelly (Fulham, Ang)
Kevin Kilbane (Hull City, Ang)
Eddie Nolan (Preston North End, Ang)
Sean St. Ledger (Middlesbrough, Ang)
Paul McShane (Hull City, Ang)
Darren O’Dea (Reading, Ang)

Milieux de terrain
Aiden McGeady (Celtic Glasgow, Eco)
Damien Duff (Fulham, Ang)
Darron Gibson (Manchester United, Ang)
Glenn Whelan (Stoke City, Ang)
Keith Andrews (Blackburn Rovers, Ang)
Liam Miller (Hibernian, Eco)
Stephen Hunt (Hull City, Ang)
Andy Keogh (Wolverhampton, Ang)
Liam Lawrence (Stoke City, Ang)

Attaquants
Kevin Doyle (Wolverhampton, Ang)
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspurs, Ang)
Shane Long (Reading, Ang)
Leon Best (Coventry Cirty, Ang)
Anthony Stokes (Hibernian, Eco)

Tags: Euro 2008

More France World Cup News

Official: The Playoff Opponent is Ireland

By: Laurie | October 19th, 2009 | 39 Comments »

It’s official. France’s playoff opponent is Ireland.
And Raymond Domenech is kissing the boots of UEFA for deciding to seed the draw.
France, the 1998 world champions, 2000 European champions and beaten World Cup finalists in 2006, will have the advantage of playing the second leg on home soil against an Ireland side coached by Giovanni Trapattoni.
While ... [read]

France 3, Austria 1

By: jeff | October 15th, 2009 | 31 Comments »

France are finding a bit of form.
And none too soon.
Domenech has pulled a rabbit out of the hat in Gignac.
Gignac put the match to rest with a sumptuous third.
Benzema got the start up front along with ever-presents Thierry Henry and Sidney Govou.
Stalwarts like Toulalan and L. Diarra made way for Sissoko and A. Diarra.
I think Sissoko missed an opportunity.
The right ... [read]

France-Austria: For Absolutely Nothing but Pride. Leave Comments and Streams Here

By: Laurie | October 14th, 2009 | 23 Comments »

This is it! The final World Cup qualifier! Are you excited?
Yeah, neither is anybody else. Let’s still hope for a good showing.
As Jeff discussed, Serbia’s win over Romania means France has no chance to go top of the group. France’s win over Faroe Islands means that France is guaranteed the second-place playoffs. Our guys have ... [read]

5-0

By: jeff | October 12th, 2009 | 13 Comments »

From FIFA:
“Serbia secured qualification in style, with Nikola Zigic, Marko Pantelic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Milan Javanovic (2) on target in a 5-0 win over Romania in Group 7.”
Ouch.
We were bettered in the group, but we also won 5-0.
Goals from:
Gignac
Gignac
Gallas
Anelka
Benzema
5-0, and it was almost convincing.
Gignac was the star man. If you have anyone trying to tell you that Gignac is ... [read]

Lineups for Faroes, Plus: Leave Comments and Streams Here

By: Laurie | October 10th, 2009 | 55 Comments »

LES ÉQUIPES PROBABLES
FRANCE: Mandanda – Sagna, Gallas, Abidal, Evra – Govou, L. Diarra, Toulalan, Henry (cap.) – Anelka, Gignac
ILES FÉROÉ: Mikkelsen – Danielsen, Gregersen, Eliasen, Davidsen – A. Olsen, S. Olsen, Benjaminsen, Loekin – Jakobsen – Hansen
I was willing to bet my house yesterday that we’d be playing two DMs, and guess what? I would have won.
Sigh. ... [read]

Serbian Hooligans Could Be the Answer to Our Problems

By: Laurie | October 8th, 2009 | 13 Comments »

Could Serbian hooligans solve all our problems?
From Prost Amerika Soccer:
FIFA have already fined the Serb FA $40,000 for incidents in all their previous world cup matches against France, Austria and Romania, and now they have finally lost patience.
Once more, the authorities have stepped in ahead of a match with Romania. FIFA has warned the Serbs that any further ... [read]

Media stepping up to the plate

By: jeff | October 7th, 2009 | 7 Comments »

Recommended reading from Met:
Here’s a must-read from Amy Lawrence, especially for the comments that follow:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/oct/07/raymond-domenech-france-world-cup
And also:
Has anyone else noticed that Fox Soccer Channel is advertising that they’re carrying both of France’s upcoming matches?
Sweet.
... [read]

No Gourcuff, No Ribery, No Problem?

By: jeff | October 5th, 2009 | 17 Comments »

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, I always say.
And thank goodness for Group 9, because the worst, if France can win at home against the Faroe Islands, will be advancing to the playoffs. As a couple commenters have clarified, the 2nd-place finisher in France’s group will not be the worst 2nd-place finisher, so we don’t have ... [read]

La Liste for Faroe Islands and Austria

By: Laurie | October 2nd, 2009 | 18 Comments »

This is it. For all the marbles. The group of players that will (absolutely positively will) get us at least to the UEFA playoffs for a World Cup slot.
Only “nouveau” is Nicolas Douchez from Rennes. (And FOUR goalkeepers? Have Lloris and Mandanda not impressed Domenech enough to guarantee their spots for next summer?) ... [read]

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Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Benj
Regardless of the player's responsibilities, until Dom gets fired, nothing will get solved. ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Inara
I might be the only one who thinks this way, but I think Henry is being a little over dramatic. He's ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Laurie
Couldn't find the original interview (because for some reason l'Equipe always refused to give me the ...[read more]
Calls for replay seem to be going nowhere

Comment by Doc Latin
It's not like they "didn't" get their breaks. Sorry. ...[read more]
Calls for replay seem to be going nowhere

Comment by Doc Latin
Well, I hate to bring this up, to follow up with Mark, but it's not like France really owned up to Z ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Doumé
In l'Equipe today, Henry talks about the fact that he felt let down by the FFF after the game. Plus ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by GFC
Good points, however at the end of the day it is the person leading the team that bears the brunt wh ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Inara
I totally agree, but again, I feel like Domenech is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. He's st ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Jao
I really blame it completely on Domenech's selection process. Calling up simply the best players is ...[read more]
Calls for replay seem to be going nowhere

Comment by Mark Dohlmar
All I have to say is I lost all respect for Thierry Hendry as a player and as a man. He is a cheater ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Inara
I don't buy that motivation is solely Domenech's job. What is the point in having all these team lea ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by jeff
I can't find a flaw in Mark's analysis.
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Thomas
Since when do we have left-back woes? Patrice Evra and Eric Abidal are the two best left backs in th ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by Mark
I personally think part of the problem started out as overconfidence as a nation as a whole, and as ...[read more]
Domenech is Not France's Only Problem...

Comment by philip
No Gignac should stay he is not the problem at all. The players are not the problem whatis they are ...[read more]

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