Unbearable defeat

Surely France need a #10! How horrible to play 2 crucial games without a #10! I guess Blanc should've at least called the likes of Pedretti…

I am really hoping that Gourcuff and Nasri get call-ups in October! We've already missed them although they just hadn't play for a while for EDF!

Its hard to be optimistic now. New coach, new players…same old France.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8qe7vnTY3k

offside player interfered with play.

what i would like to see in october
- no more mexes and rami
- no more mvila, diaby, valbiena and don't call back lass
- no more 2 attacking fullbacks
- call players who are on form
- call technical/skill players
- try 4-3-3
————-lloris———–
bocaly-squillaci-ciani-mathieu
———–toulalan———-
—–gourcuff—-cabaye—–
ribery—–gameiro—-malouda(c)

blanc should also call capoue, gonalons, griezmann and riviere

what's wrong with mvila? i thought he was one of the better players besides valbuena…

All I gotta say is that I share your pain. It will take a long while until we get back to respectability. The French psyche has been crushed so badly over the years and it needs time to recuperate. As a Gooner so painful to watch Clichy getting beaten so easily by a Belarus Player. It's only a game people. Keep the Faith.

All sarcasm aside, I literally can not remember the last time this team won a match. Can someone fill me in?

Why weren't Gourcuff and Nasri called up?

Gourcuff is serving a 2 match suspension from FIFA for his red card against South Africa
Nasri is injured.

Oh right, had to take Nasri off my Prem Fantasy team. Should've remembered.

I'm not sure if this will sound sincere but I legitimately feel for you guys. Blanc seems like a really solid coach and you have the talent, so it's weird to see these kind of struggles.

What's wrong with Mexes, M'vila and Valbuena? They performed well in the game. My only concern is that a little fatal mistake by Clichy and underperforming Menez and Hoarau.

IMHO, for Bosnia match I'd like Gameiro to start instead of Hoarau. Menez is still likely to play, as he is one of the most talented French midfielder, and the best midfielder we have in our recent squad alongside Malouda. Blanc just doesn't have too much choice in the midfield, as there are no Gourcuff nor Nasri.

I remember the embarrassment of not qualifying for WC'94. We came back strong for EU'96, WC'98, EU'2000. Blanc has been handed the perfect circumstances to lose matches to Europe's bottom feeders:

1) Gourcuff suspended by FIFA,

2) Ribery's scandal and diva attitude,

3) perfect timing on injuries for Nasri and Benzema

4) the worst luck possible in scoring opportunities

5) the vulnerable state of the French and other country's exactitude in exploiting it

This is an EXTREMELY difficult time to be optimistic. French defenders cannot defend and the strikers cannot score – pure and simple. Owing to the lows reached during EU'08 and WC2010, I REFUSE TO BELIEVE that this team will not come together under Blanc. Getting their identity will take time and when they do, watch out, because Nasri and Gourcuff will be a devastating double-#10 combination in the attacking midfield.

Amen! God bless France..!

Good comment. A #10 will keep things organized and tidy. I'd like to see Gourcuff and/or Nasri flourish in this role and grow with this young team. No need for panic because I do not think a Euro qualification should be the team's ultimate goal. It would be icing on the cake however the true goal should be to play disciplined/organized football and bring some beauty back to the French game.

I'm a little disheartened with the result, even 24 hours after. I know injuries to major players cause massive headaches to a coach, especially in Blanc's position. I didn't expect more, I just feel sad that at least one ball didn't cross the Belarus goalline.

The goal: Gaël Clichy is mostly to blame since he lost 3 chances to recover the ball during the play. Yann M'Vila was careful enough in his pass to him but Clichy lost the ball once, only to lose Aliaksandr Hleb twice more before the shot came, which neither Rami nor Mexès were in a position to block.

The near future: things might become worse. October and after: Gourcuff and Nasri plus maybe Ribéry will allow Blanc to reach more of a power position. Gameiro is still my #1 choice for the man up there. He has what it takes to succeed. Looking beyond Euro2012 I'm convinced Blanc will have a very stable and trustworthy back 4, much like France had back in '98. It takes time, though.

My mistake, Vyacheslav Hleb was the player who fooled Clichy. Lloris was hardly bothered by Belarus before that goal. Shame

although it is counterintuitive, bosnia may be an easier opponent for france than belarus. bosnia will look to attack (whereas belarus packed the middle of the field). france will have more opportunities to counterattack.

It sounds sincere to me, the only reason France and Italy are rivals is because we were two great footballing nations and it was always a huge game. Now there really is no basis for a rivalry anymore, I just hope it can start again.

I consider their last VICTORY (in a match that actually meant something) to have taken place in Dublin… When was that, February of 2010? However, it is difficult to look back at ANY match in which Domenech was present to be anything but an abomination.

ForeverZidane, I know I have you beat on embarrassing defenders at club level. Try having Patrice “I Can't Keep My Mouth Shut” Evra playing for your club. He can be quite good, almost great at times. But, he needs to do more defending and less talking.

Personally, I think these “attacking defenders” — unless they are DAMN good at what they do — often leave their own goal exposed. I think the French attack would benefit from 2-3 honest-to-God/real/fulltime STRIKERS on the attack, backed by 3 offensive midfielders and leave the 4 defenders to worry about keeping a clean sheet. I'm not much on defensive midfielders unless you have someone like Viera who can handle both roles naturally.

and so you see, i was right…