William Gallas exits practice.

His finish wasn't brilliant…Gourcuffs free kick was.

I would put Squallaci in as the starter if Gallas is unable to continue, but being that he plays for Sevilla, my opinion might be a bit bias.

That is what I had meant to say, oh well. Gourcuff is so good at freekicks. It's definitely a great weapon for France. For some reason though Gourcuff has been awful with his corner kicks recently, not sure why.

Bias it may be, but Squallaci did very well against Costa Rica. He would be my choice as well.

This is bad news. I think the best replacement would be Planus, he played good yesterday. As for the replacement for South Africa, I think he should pick Mexes.

Abidal and Gallas together make the same mistakes they made 2 years ago. It is time to give more chances to Squillaci and Planus. Domenech cannot expect to get past 3 strong teams (based on their friendlies) with such a shaky defence. Wake up now or end the tournament in 3 weeks

PLANUUUUS! Most definitely. Okay, Okay, I think Squallaci would be a better suited to play next to Abidal. So maybe not Planus.

What did I tell you guys 2 weeks ago? check my post…
What did I tell you people would happen with Gallas?
I said the slightest tackle and he will leave the match in 10 minutes.
Cancer in the locker room to boot.
So Frustrated with these guys! For F@@K sakes come on France

Squallaci is definitely the starter, though France is lucky that they have so much depth at center back. I'm always impressed by Gallas' strength with the ball at his feet, and he will surely be missed in what promise to be very rough and tumble games in Group A.

I believe that Squallaci should start but Planus definitely deserves playing time.

If Domenech called up Mexes I may be able to forgive him.

Good call. Mexes is an intelligent defender.

“You people?” Whatja mean, you people?

“You people” refers to people who follow this site.

It's just that I'm a Bordeaux fan…

Maybe Domenech will call up Ciani to replace Gallas, lmaooooo.

Mexes? Once dubbed “the new Blanc”. Are there actually people out there who still believed that? Mexes is the good defender who never became a great defender. Escude should replace Gallas, with Mexes you're screwed. Domenech shouldn't have taken a risk with one of his key players during meaningless warm-up games. Now he's paying the price. Whatever happens, it seems pretty certain Gallas is nowhere near 100% when the WC kicks-off.

Mistakes like a red card sending off? I worry about this too. I'm sort of inclined to agree that an enforced change might not be a bad thing.

Couldn't agree more re: Mexes. I dont watch Serie A, but I thought that he isn't even first choice any more at Roma? There was a time when (maybe) he was the right choice to make- I think that time has passed. In hindsight, I agree with Dom's decision here- though I do not agree with his decision to include Boum Boum Boumsong in previous squads….

I've just personally never been a fan of Mexes, but there hasn't been a good reason previously to exclude him. Except my gut dislike for him, which is probably no more reliable than Dom's astrology….am I actually starting to understand Dom's madness?

As a Ligue 1 fan- Ill admit that the idea of Planus on the frontline is….thrilling! When given the opportunity, he is consistent and his importance to FCGB was apparent at the end of this season. He can handle the pressure and he certainly has the ability. Hope he gets a chance! II see positive things, in particular, for Planus when Blanc takes over the team…

I would also be happy with Squallaci- I know less about him because I don't watch La Liga too much but I liked what I saw against Tunisia. To be honest, I thought both Planus/Squallaci looked better than Abidal/Gallas- but i worry abt making two new changes and how that will affect their communication with Lloris. The good thing abt Gallas is that he marshals the backline (despite Evra being captain) – and is so afraid to yell. Lloris is not doing that yet- and putting 2 new centers in might lead to confusion over who exactly is the leader there.

From all reports, the off-field morale is high and everyone is getting along…the past is in the past. The right decisions were made to prevent that type of cancer from spreading this time. Who knows who started it- it was nipped in the bud (obviously with some costs) and I'm proud of Domenech for finally doing it!

If this is what 2 years makes than Im not sure they will ever gel like they need too…just lacking chemistry.

Okay- lets be fair. Was it a masterpiece? No. But he got his head to the right place when no one else looked likely to. Personally, Im fine with ugly goals, esp when a player scores a lot of them and they result in wins. I would rather have a player who is guaranteed to score a few goals (though ugly) than a player who will prob only give us 1 goal the whole tournament and have it be a beauty/wondershot!

Call me crazy, competitive, whatever you want- I just want to win!

Communication is key at the back. Why not pair guys who play together at club level? Why not Ciani + Planus or Escude + Squillaci?

Under Domenech's guidance Ciani + Planus are more likely to perform as they did in Bordeaux's last 2 horrible months of the season than show their true nature (as in 2009 Bordeaux). Basic understanding of a coach's system (does he even have one?) is mandatory if a team is to succeed in a win or go home cup tournament. Domenech prepared this meal (not being able to go with the same 4 defenders for more than 2 straight matches) and now he'll have to eat it. The only way for France to get past their 3 rivals would be scoring 2 or 3 goals per match. I can't see it happen. One can only hope

I would like to first say that Ciani doesn't have the mentality to be on the National team. He's a good player, but to be disturbed so much by the atmosphere surrounding the club as to make some crucial mistakes that he did…. No! Not for the NT.

Second, in the defense of Planus. There has been nothing wrong with Planus' performances in the past month few months, he was out for about three games and we we're quite desperate for him to come back. Ciani on the other hand has built quite a reputation for grave-digging. When Planus returned to the squad from injury, his first game back it looked like we actually recovered our old defensive structure. We actually managed to win convincingly in quite some time, and after the match Blanc praised Planus for his performance and experience that he brought to the side.

So glad to hear that the morale is high. They could surprise a lot of haters and make us proud. I still stand by my opinion on Gallas who should not be on this squad solely because of his physical limitations. Why not Mexes?