Luxembourg 0, France 2 – Goals from Mexes and Gourcuff – Bad boys Evra and Ribery both get starts

March 25th, 2011 | by: jeff | Comments Off

That’s a 4th consecutive 2-0 victory for France in Euro 2012 qualifying. They started like this:

Benzema
Malouda Nasri(c) Ribery
M’Vila Gourcuff
Evra Mexes Rami Sagna
Lloris

Some of the other players who we might have seen instead of Ribery and Evra, who missed out either through injury or the manager’s preference, include Valbuena, Menez, Alou Diarra, Clichy, Diaby, Hoarau, and Abidal. The decision was arguably harsh on Menez and Clichy, who were both available. Clichy didn’t even make the bench, which consisted of Menez, Remy, Gameiro, Alou Diarra, Sakho, Reveillere, and Mandanda, none of whom were used. The only change to the starting line-up shown above was Ribery and Malouda trading places after an hour or so.

Ribery looked much more useful when he switched to the left.

Nasri and Gourcuff also traded places at times, and sometimes left M’Vila alone, changing the formation to a 4-1-4-1.

The atmosphere was a little strange in the small Luxembourg venue. Some High School sporting events in the US produce bigger crowds, I’m guessing. The pitch also seemed small, and crowded.

I’m easing into a moan about the performance. Obviously the result is the most important thing, and no one is going to remember the performance. If the match lingers in the memory at all it will be for the return of Ribery and Evra.

Luxembourg, who have yet to score in Euro qualifying, and are limited going forward, are quite decent at defense. Their tackling and offside traps are right out of the text book.

But why did France get caught offside so many times?

The first goal, when it came (28th minute), was from a set piece, and set pieces looked like France’s only chance to score. Nasri took a free kick and Mexes headed it in.

That was a relief, and until Ribery switched to the left, France rarely looked like adding to that goal.

The second goal came from a long ball to Ribery on the left, which he took brilliantly. He got in a good cross/shot which was parried out to the edge of the box, and Gourcuff did well to reach for it and score (72nd minute). 2-0.

Aside from the good news about the result, there were some concerns about the Blanc’s tactics. This team needs more ideas on offense. Just like in the last qualifier against Luxembourg, France were better near the end of the match when Luxembourg were maybe getting tired, but they swarmed France for much of the match, and France’s build-up play matched the atmosphere of a well-attended intramural match.

The attacking third of the pitch was crowded, and Luxembourg defended well, but France couldn’t even get a cross into the box for most of the match. The only thing close to joy came from long balls from Mexes and Rami out to the wings. More often, France were caught offside, caught in possession, or passed the ball to the wrong team.

Rant finished.

A look at the individual performances:

M’Vila – Selected ahead of Alou Diarra. He was like a fifth defender, and quite a good one. His passing gets better as matches wear on.

Evra – Not great. A surprising number of offsides for a left back. No defending was required because honestly M’Vila pretty much had it covered.

Ribery – On the right: anonymous, a passenger. On the left, he looked great.

Malouda – Pfff. His spot could be in danger. Obviously Ribery is a much better option on the left. Menez and Valbuena are probably better options on the right.

Nasri – Another option for the right. He got the captain’s armband for the night, but he had no joy in his playmaker role behind Benzema. None. He occasionally joined M’Vila deep to get a few uncontested touches.

Gourcuff – Mixed bag. Sometimes tackles well. Sometimes gives away cheap freekicks. Sometimes shows great industry. Sometimes turns his back to play as if he’s not interested. Sometimes looks like a great technician. Sometimes has an awful first touch. Then he pops up with the goal to seal the points, so well played. His recent goal-scoring record is great.

Benzema – No service, but looks like a real potential danger on the counter attack. An automatic first choice striker for the foreseeable future.

Sagna, Mexes, Rami, and Lloris – Almost certain to keep their places. Reliable. Untested in this match. Rami and Mexes showed some good long-range passing.

So Les Bleus have now collected 12 points from 5 matches, and that’s a tidy return. Well played Monsieur Blanc. The defensive rigidity appears to be in place, and it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to say that. It’s still early in the reign, but so far – great, great work.

Update: This from tonight’s captain, Samir Nasri, via his Twitter account: “Tonight [was] an important win. I’m extremely proud that I was captain for the first time with the national team.”

If you followed the build-up to the match on this site, you’ll know that a lot of people rate Nasri highly right now, and he was good value for a turn with the captain’s armband.

I don’t think that rotating captains will necessarily cause an uproar among France supporters, especially if the team keeps winning. I still have the feeling that if the armband has to settle in one place, then Mexes might be emerging as the man to wear it, although I think Lloris would be a good choice too. Am I overlooking the possibility that Nasri could keep the armband for a while?