Journey to the 2010 World Cup: First Stop, Spain

February 24th, 2010 | by: Sarah | View Comments

South Africa is now less than four months away (opening game is June 11th) and while most countries have arguably been preparing for this tournament for 4 years- Raymond Domenech has declared that his preparation will really start next Wednesday when France play Spain. Our approach to qualification makes so much more sense now…

But, sarcasm aside, I’m really excited about the kick-off of the international friendlies that France scheduled to prepare for this summer’s competition. Domenech will name his squad to face Spain tomorrow (Thursday, 2/25) and I’m anticipating (or maybe just hoping) there will be some surprises in his list.

The players we know will be absent are Gignac (hamstring), Abidal (hamstring), Gallas (calf), Squillaci (ankle), Alou Diarra (thigh) and Benzema (groin). The players who are still question marks are Ribery (left foot) and Diaby (knee)- they could be called up, but they are both still struggling to recover from prior injuries.

When asked about France’s injured players, Domenech replied that

“They have the right to be hurt, I’ve told them that! What matters is that they are all present for the World Cup.”

We have already discussed Patrick Viera returning to the squad- but some younger players have also demonstrated that they may have what it takes to replace veteran players on the team. On top of that, several players are struggling with injuries and poor form- so Domenech has the perfect opportunity to see how some new players could enhance the team…

Sarah’s Player’s to Watch

Patrick Vieira: Domenech has already announced that if Patrick goes, he will be the captain of France. It seems a little strange to me that the possible team captain is doubtful- shouldn’t they be one of the most consistent players on the field? Henry has supported Patrick inclusion since he returned from injury, but he has only played a handful of matches for Manchester City. And, he has already been banned for three games for kicking out at a Stoke City Player. With two Diarra’s (Alou and Lass) as well as Toulalan all fighting for this position- I doubt Patrick will be called up for this game…we are only allowed 11 players on the field- do we really want two of them to be old, out of shape and not consistently playing good football?

Louis Saha: Louis has managed to bounce back from years of chronic injuries to being the 5th most prolific scorer in the EPL. He has scored 15 goals in 30 games this season. He hasn’t been called up since November 2006 and he might be considered too unreliable, old and injury prone to be considered a serious contender (for South Africa) when France already have Benzema, Henry, Gignac and Anelka on the roster…

Djibril Cisse: Djibril’s situation is similar to Saha’s– but he plays in a much less competitive league (Greece). Though he has been playing well…he has a fiery personality, which is the last thing France needs at this point.

Hatem Ben Arfa: France’s midfield is extremely competitive with Gourcuff, Malouda, Diarra (Alou), Diarra (Lass), Gouvou, Nasri, Sissoko (Moussa), Toulalan, Ribery etc…is there room for him? Maybe..maybe not, but he’s definitely putting his best foot forward in an attempt to make Domenech’s choice more difficult. He had a horrible start to the season- barely getting any minutes. Since 2010, he has really demonstrated that he is capable of being the player that everyone thought he could be. Domenech has noticed his recent improvement, and remarked that, “He is someone who is a genius. The day he starts to stabilize and consistently repeat his performance, [his talent] will be indisputable in any team in the world, since he is no less talented than Cristiano Ronaldo. ”

Historically France and Spain are evenly matched sides, with France winning 11 and drawing 6 of the 29 matches between the two countries. matches from the 29 meetings between the sides. France won the last encounter in Paris prior to the 1998 World Cup- which France later won.