Belarus Preview

September 3rd, 2010 | by: Jean-François | View Comments

It’s almost time for Blanc’s first competitive match as coach of France. I’m sure he didn’t imagine it would be this way, France is riddled with injuries and suspensions to their key players. At least we have someone competent who can piece together a squad of misfits. To add to Blanc’s woes, this morning Karim Benzema was ruled out of today’s match.

Let’s take a look at Belarus. Last week I published a post containing Belarus’ squad. I will admit I was not fair to Belarus. However, their squad is still, by far, inferior to ours. Belarus’s form is WDWLW with victories over Armenia, South Korea, and Lithuania. Compare that to our LDLLL, with losses to China, Mexico, South Africa, and Norway. According to our readers, Hleb is their best player. He is an attacking midfielder who plays for Birmingham City on loan from Barcelona. We have never played Belarus before.

Here is the rumored starting lineup for France: (4-4-2) Lloris – Sagna, Mexes, Rami, Clichy – Menez, A. Diarra, Diaby, Malouda – Remy Hoarau

The bulk of the responsibility will be on the wingers, Malouda and Menez. It is unknown who will wear the Captain’s armband, but if my vote counts I choose Malouda.

This match will be challenging in many ways. However the only way we make it to Euro 2012 is by winning, and France must prove that they are capable because they have much tougher opposition in Bosnia and Romania. The only way France can gain faith and recover is by winning. Everything has gone right for the current squad at Clairefontaine, they even got a surprise visit from Zizou. My prediction is a 2-0 Victory for Les Bleus.

What are your predictions? We should be doing a liveblog for this match so be sure to stop by!