World Cup Group A: France vs South Africa Preview

June 22nd, 2010 | by: Sarah | View Comments

Since the team hasn’t been inspiring lately – hopefully these France fans can help you get energized for France’s last stand today!

Even though Les Bleus are literally in the middle of a melt down (see the full timeline of events, which I’ve continued to update as reports surface), we still have one more game in the group stage which will determine our fate.  France is currently sitting 3rd in the group having only collected 1 point in the competition thus far.  South Africa are also sitting on a single point, but France has a better goal difference at -2 (compared to the Bafana’s -3).  Both Uruguay and Mexico have 4 points and have accumulated a +3 and +2 goal difference respectively.  Unfortunately, that means our fate is no longer in our own hands.  But we do have a chance- and miracle do happen, right?  As described by Ian on the World Cup Blog front page a few days ago, in order to qualify for the knock out stages, France qualifies if…

* If Mexico and Uruguay draw, then France is eliminated.
* If France draws or loses to South Africa, they are eliminated.
* If France beats South Africa, and there is a winner between Uruguay and Mexico, then it will come to goal difference between France and the loser of that match for second place in the group.

In the lead up to this final game, there has been tremendous speculation on the possibility that Mexico and Uruguay will both “fix the match” so that they are both assured of qualifying.  However, I don’t think either of these teams want to be second in this group and face the possibility of playing Argentina in the round of 16.  I expect this to be a competitive match with both groups battling for first place in the group.  And hey, we know firsthand how well Uruguay can defend…and now if only Forlan can continue his goal scoring streak- then the Bleus have a chance.  But, facing the Bafana will not be an easy task.  In fact, this will probably be the hardest game we’ve played in the group yet.  Afterall, our players are still emotionally raw from the events that transpired over the weekend and the home crowd will be loud and aggressive in their support of South Africa.  So, if the players thought the horns were disruptive in game 1 against Uruaguay, just imagine….let’s just say, I hope they have practiced under the appropriate conditions.  Better yet, lets just hope they practice. Period.

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THE OPPOSITION:  SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa are clinging onto the same hope as France and while their team doesn’t appear to be exploding from the inside out, the team is under tremendous pressure to not be the first host team to not qualify for the knock-out stages of the World Cup.  This could either work for or against Les Bleus depending upon how they respond to the pressure.  South Africa impressed everyone in game 1 (particularly after the first 15 minutes) when they managed to not only withstand the pressure from Mexico but also managed to score first.  Their dream start came to an abrupt end when they lost 3-0 to Uruguay in game 2.  Even if the margin is slim, South Africa appears eager to take on the wounded France and claim an “easy” scalp to ensure they don’t leave the tournament without a win.

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TEAM UPDATES:  LES BLEUS

I’m not going to rehash the events of the preceding dates- for details on that, see the timeline I referenced in the first paragraph.  But, I will throw out some cold hard facts that should have any football fan confused when looking at a roster that includes (or did include) Anelka, Ribery, Gignac, Malouda, Cisse and Henry.  Though Gignac, Henry and Cisse have played comparatively less minutes (if at all)

So, clearly we need to score.  The question is, will the players have the energy and mental strength to do what needs to be done?  Truthfully, I don’t know.  Even Domenech admits he still isn’t sure about a lot of things.  In his press conference on Monday, he admitted the players were drained after the dramatic turn of events the last few days.  But, Domenech also said he saw more determination and grit in the players than he had seen in a while.  Of course, in the same breath he acknowledged that he couldn’t be certain the players would even consent to playing- but I think (or hope) that I detected a thin veil of sarcasm regarding that last comment.

Given that we’ve only had one practice session since the implosion, its difficult to predict the line-up for the game against South Africa.  And as reminder, we are only two games in and we are already down to 21 players with both Anelka (dropped) and Carrasso (injury) both sent home.  But, Le Parisian reports that Evra and Malouda appear to have lost their place in the starting XI.  Instead, they suggest Gourcuff will return to the lineup and Clichy will earn his 5th cap for France.  Cisse will most likely replace Anelka and get the starting spot in lieu of Gignac.  The suspended Toulalan will be replaced by Alou Diarra, who will also wear the captain’s armband as both Evra and Henry are relegated to the bench.  Govou looks set to return as Domenech feels that he is a player he can trust to remain loyal.  Another uncertainty is if the player who remain on the bench are being punished or being granted a request (to not play).

Predicted Starting XI: Lloris; Sagna, Abidal, Gallas, Clichy; Diarra, Diaby, Gourcuff; Govou, Cisse, Ribery