Euro 2012 preview: France
France's possible starting line-up
Whatever happens at this tournament, Euro 2012 will be an improvement on the sheer embarrassment of World Cup 2010 for France. The off-field problems meant it was almost impossible to determine how good a side France could have been, and therefore it’s difficult to judge how well Laurent Blanc has performed. But then, repairing the morale of the squad was key, and Blanc seems to have handled that well; his side are now on a 21-match unbeaten run.
On the field, there are still problems to solve. In his three pre-tournament qualifiers, Blanc was either indulging himself in widespread experimentation, or he was a little lost. France have a great number of good players, particularly attacking midfielders, but those players are all of a vaguely similar standard – only Franck Ribery seems undroppable – and all are highly versatile.
Blanc seems to have too many options, and while it feels like there’s a winning combination somewhere, France haven’t yet found it (although the 4-0 win over Estonia on Tuesday night was impressive). As a result, they are highly unpredictable – if it all comes together they could win the competition. If Blanc keeps changing things, it could be a disaster.
Backline
Hugo Lloris is the undisputed number one, and a fine goalkeeper. Ahead of him, though, there are problems. The centre-back duo, Philippe Mexes and Adil Rami, don’t seem to function well together – they play high up the pitch but seem vulnerable to balls played in behind, and neither seems to be particularly adept at covering for the other, which was particularly obvious in the 3-2 friendly win over Iceland, when France were 2-0 down in the opening half. They play high up the pitch, and don’t have the pace to cover the space in behind.
Laurent Koscielny has been given a brief chance to impress, and because his game is all about pace and covering space in behind at Arsenal, he seems like a good alternative at the back – either centre-back is droppable. However, Blanc’s decision to go with Mexes-Rami in the final friendly against Estonia indicates that they’ll start against England. Strangely, Blanc has only brought three centre-backs to the tournament, none of the full-backs have experience of playing in the middle, and Diarra would be an uncomfortable makeshift centre-back. Koscielny came on as a substitute against Estonia in a holding midfield role, though this was probably simply to give him playing time, rather than a serious tactical option.
Patrice Evra and Mathieu Debuchy will play at full-back. Evra has had an inconsistent two years at Manchester United and is prone to lapses in concentration for his national side too, but has shaken off the challenge of Gael Clichy. Debuchy would have battled the injured Bacary Sagna for the right-back position, although he was probably favourite to start anyway, having played well throughout Sagna’s previous injury. He might surprise opponents with his forward running – he’s a bigger attacking threat than Evra.
Midfield
Blanc has chopped and changed in the midfield zone, playing a 4-2-3-1, a 4-3-3 and something in between, trying to find the right combination in the centre. He’s basically settled upon a 4-3-3, which means one ball-winner, one passer and one attacking player.
In the first role, Alou Diarra has benefited from Yann M’Vila’s fitness concerns and will play directly ahead of the defence. He’s a solid player – good positionally and decent on the ball, but he can suffer from being stranded ahead of the defence when the other two midfielders move forward, and you get the impression that he’s much more comfortable when paired with another holder, as he is for Marseille, or even simply a ‘passer’ playing deep in a 4-2-3-1, rather than in the Makelele role.
Yohan Cabaye plays ahead of Diarra and plays an efficient, busy role – he’s energetic but patient on the ball, generally looking to supply another creator rather than play the killer ball, as he increasingly did for Newcastle towards the end of 2011/12. He’s essentially an all-rounder.
The third midfielder will be, slightly surprisingly, Florent Malouda. He performed excellently in the friendly against Bosnia, and shuttles forward to link midfield and attack. He’s benefited from the use of a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-2-3-1. Whereas Jeremy Menez and Mathieu Valbeuna would have been candidates for the third slot in an attacking band of three in a 4-2-3-1, they’re not able to play as a midfielder in a 4-3-3. Malouda is the obvious choice, although it’s a shame Marvin Martin didn’t get a start in the pre-tournament friendlies, as he seemed suited to that role and would have brought more guile to the midfield.
Front three
Further forward, Ribery plays higher up the pitch than he does for Bayern, and has found form at the Euros by combining with the striker whilst cutting inside and driving towards goal. His form for the national side has been inconsistent, but he has a habit of scoring the opening goals in games. On the other side, Samir Nasri’s place is less secure. Valbuena and, in particular, Menez could challenge him for that spot – Menez would be a more direct option, although maybe Blanc wouldn’t want to replicate Ribery’s immediacy on the ball, and wants balance. Valbuena had a disappointing season at Marseille, so Nasri remains first-choice, coming inside and looking for passes from midfield.
Upfront, Karim Benzema has been in superb form at Real Madrid and will start as the lone striker. He’s a terrific all-round forward, able to lead the line with force as well as score goals. There was a brief chance that he would have to play deeper, with Olivier Giroud playing highest up the pitch – Giroud’s hold-up play against Iceland was sensational – but now it seems the Montpellier striker will be a (very good) substitute. He’ll join Valbuena, Menez and Hatem Ben Arfa on a strong bench.
At least, that’s how it will probably be in the opening game. Blanc really doesn’t seem to have a firm idea of what he wants from his side, and it’s very possible that he could change multiple players, and even his formation, between the group games.
Expect a France side that plays out from the back and looks to dominate possession in the centre of the pitch. The difficulty comes in the final third – the transfer of the ball from midfield to attack must be swift and purposeful.
Conclusion
Arguably the most unpredictable side in the competition. In the final two pre-tournament friendlies there was a hint of cohesion and understanding between Malouda, Ribery, Nasri and Benzema, but as a unit these players are yet to be tested against major opposition. France need a couple of attackers to have excellent tournaments.
Quick guide
Coach – Laurent Blanc
Formation – 4-3-3, at least from the start
Key player – Karim Benzema
Strength – plenty of attacking options, lots of creativity
Weakness – a poor centre-back partnership compared to the rest of the side
Key tactical question – What is France’s Plan B?
Key coach quote – “I like passing the ball around and I like to keep the ball. I like it when the ball is played out from the back, and I also like my teams to be efficient.”
Betfair odds – 12.0 (11/1)
Recommended bet - England v France to be a draw at 3.2
This is will be the winner.
They are very balanced side and against Germany they were particularly impresive.
Blanc deserves credit for what he has done after the fiasco in 2010.
I wouldn’t rate them based on a test match against half a german side (~5 regulars).
They certainly seem to have potential though and seemed stable in defense.
Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to say Diarra has won his battle against M’Vila’s ankle? He subbed in for M’Vila v. Serbia and seems to be the mostly like to sit when M’Vila becomes available. I hope Blanc doesn’t regret not bringing Sahko or Yanga-Mbwia.
I don’t think Diarra “won the battle against M’Vila”, he simply took advantage of the fact that M’Vila injured himself in the 4th minute of the match against Serbia. As you may know Diarra has had a bad season with Marseille and M’Vila is undoubtedly a better player, so I strongly doubt that Diarra would start if both are fit.
Think about the back four of France, their biggest weakness. It could have been a great strength with Clichy-Koscielny-Kaboul-Sagna
Oh do you watch football outside of PL? Rami is miles ahead of Kaboul
Kaboul has been excellent this season, really progressed as player. He was unlucky to get injured and miss out, I agree with Dirk, him and Kol could have a great partnership. I rate Debuchy over Sagna though.
I watch alot of Spanish football, and also PL football. Rami has had a good season, but to say he’s been miles ahead of Kaboul, who’s had a fantastic season is wrong.
Rami has also looked pretty shaky in the warm up games alongside Mexes.
M’Vila when fit will always start ahead of Diarra. Also, Blanc prefers to play Nasri as a central attacking midfielder with Menez or Valbuena operating on the right wing (or left when swapped with Ribery)… I don’t know where you got this set up from. The ideal France team plays 4-2-3-1 with M’Vila and Cabaye in the midfield with Nasri operating in front of them.
As a side note, I think it would be foolish of Blanc to play Evra ahead of Clichy. Evra has shown himself to be the weakest player in the side again and again, constantly making potentially lethal defensive errors.
The set up is from last night and it will be the team against England.
Besides, it wasn’t the first time Blanc tried this type of 4-3-3 instead of his usual 4-2-3-1, and it wasn’t the first time he tried fielding both Ribéry and Malouda together (which he can’t with the 4-2-3-1, where they’d both play on the left wing). He also said in the press conference before the Estonia friendly that this 4-3-3 system was the one he counted on, though he always likes to keep his options open.
I’m personally not a big fan at all of Malouda. He’s slow, defensively terrible and way past his prime. He can still pull off the occasional golazo but generally a liability in the team. Considering the defensive weaknesses obviously present in the French team Malouda should only really be used sparingly as a substitute for Ribery, and even then his lack of pace puts me off him in favour of a player like Menez or the underrated Valbuena.
Blanc should have considered bringing along a deep lying playmaker like Cheyrou into the mix. A reliable defensively minded midfielder such as Lassana Diarra (as Alou is frankly in terrible form and extremely unreliable) would also be a good option as then M’Vila would truly shows his ability placed into his usual deep lying playmaker roll. A midfielder of Cabaye and M’Vila is a little defensive but with the creative Nasri placed in front of them, the midfield here can work perfectly with two players capable of protecting the defence. Nasri is often placed on the wings and although I don’t like the guy (I am after all a Spurs supporter) I recognise that he carries some immense technical ability that he always utilises to most effect in the centre of the pitch as an attacking midfielder.
I’m a strong advocate of the 4-3-3 formation, but I think Nasri’s particular talent as a Trequartista should be exploited, so 4-2-3-1 can work far more effectively. Also, against the likes of Spain and Germany ball retention will be difficult and a formation such as 4-2-3-1 would work far more effectively whereas 4-3-3 would fall down as France would be unable to dominate the possession.
Julian – Your statement would have been correct prior to the warm-up friendlies – the second one in particular. The 4-3-3, which could also be described as a 4-1-4-1, is very similar to the 4-2-3-1: Cabaye moves forward half a meter, and it’s a 4-1-4-1. The big change was that in the second friendly, Malouda played maybe his best ever half for France in the central attacking midfield role, with a great goal to emphasize the point.
The shape is subtly different – as you can see by the position Malouda takes up to defend. You can see that he’s thinking of himself as having a holding-type role in the 4-3-3, playing (nearly) as deep as Cabaye.
And as Mr. Cox has now gathered from other comments, Blanc clearly (and rightly) prefers M’Vila to Diarra. (Also, Bosnia was not one of the friendly opponents. Thirdly, and I’m guessing here, I think you overstated how secure Evra and Mexes’s starting positions are for England. Overall, though, a great piece as usual).
Benzema could be arguably the best striker in the tournament. A great talent and has really come on in the last year or so. If France can make the chances for him then they could be lethal.
As ever, France are very unpredictable but if it clicks they could win their group with relative comfort. In the first game against England it will be important that they score first.
Hello to ZM, and first a huge cheers for the site, there’s many fans across the channel.
It’s not certain that Evra has shaken opposition: everyone thinks that Clichy is a strong contender, and as you said so yourself, Blanc does seem like an undecided person. There’s hope that the MU player would finally be dropped from the XI as he has been lackluster for quite some years under the tricolor jersey. But he seems to endure thanks to inertia, deference to his supposed status (that almost no one believe in) and a little bit of luck (I seem to remember that Abidal was Blanc’s favorite option).
As noted above, Diarra is only in because of M’vila injury. He is one of the most contentious member of the squad, having been through two bad seasons, both at Bordeaux then Marseille where people laments of his inactivity.
The Benzema-Giroud pairing was obviously not meant as a starting combination, as they are the only two true forwards that Blanc brought with him. It seems it’s a shame as Benzema prefers to play as a false nine and to have a target man with him, but this never seemed like it was the plan (and well since before Blanc) and Giroud was a bit of an unknown quantity until recently for the NT.
France are my tip to win. I think they have a balanced squad, not full of the ego’s that ruined the last tournament. The only major worry is something ZM picked up on, that Blanc might make the wrong choices for games.
In defense, France have a possible good partnership, if Kol is allowed to play next to Rami. If both Rami and Mexes play then France could be caught out by good movement and pace inbehind. It seems strange Kol isn’t already a first choice, he has had a great season at Arsenal and is in top form. Evra has looked shaky, but generally turns up in the big games and is a good leader for the defense. Debuchy is an excellent RB and will offer great attacking thrust down the right.
In midfield, M’villa’s injury is a big loss to France, though it hopeful he could return after the England game. Diarra is a lesser player and has come off a poor club season. Cabaye will partner him and is an excellent deep lying playmaker. He keeps the ball moving for a French side that likes to dominate the ball and has had a great season with Newcastle. The big gap is the lack of a quality AM, with Malouda a possible selection there. Malouda offers good energy, dribbling and a feisty shot, but doesn’t have that ability to play a killer ball. Thats why I’m hoping Valbuena is chosen as the AM, as he can offer creativity and will makes runs into wide positions allowing the two wingers inside.
The forwards then offer a good threat. Ribery is looking in good form and is a world class winger, most sides will find it hard to stop him. His combination with striker Benzema is looking good too, who is an excellent all round striker that has come off a great season at Real Madrid (where he sharing of duties with Higuian should mean he isn’t too tired). The RW slot will either be Nasri or Menez with both offering different threats. Menez would offer direct pace, while Nasri could combine with Debuchy better and look to connect with Benzema and Ribery.
I think France will top this group and have a decent chance of winning the tournament. They have a good blend of experience and players who have something to prove. They are a bit of a surprise package (like Holland at the world cup) which means a lot of teams will not know how France will play. Finally they have some very good options off the bench like: Giroud (a great target man), Menez (if he doesn’t start), Ben Arfa (bang in form) and Valbeuna (if he doesn’t start).
If they win the group (likely) then could either face Italy or Croatia/Ireland. I think they have a better team than Italy and could handle the pressure of beating the underdogs of Croatia or Ireland. Then once it gets to the semi-finals anyone could win, and France could revel as the underdog against the likes of Spain and Germany. M’villa’s recovery will have a big say.
I thought that Benzema sharing duties with Higuain would make him more rested too, but then I looked at the numbers. Benzema played 52 matches in all competitions for Real Madrid last season (albeit not all of them starts), which is hardly a light workload. I still think he will have a great tournament though, he can do damage in so many ways
I think he became more recognized as the first choice striker as the season grew on, but still shouldn’t be as tired as others at this tournament. I think his partnership with Ribery could tear some teams apart (ahem England)
Hello everyone,
I am french…
Thank you again for your analyse.
I would like to add a few details :
- Diarra will play as long as M’Vila is injured. M’vila played a lot of games this year and didn’t play much in the last games for France to rest him by the start of the tournament. M’mia is clearly the number one and Laurent Blanc has a full confidence on him.
Diarra is embarrasing as he is not fit for 90mn at this level and he has been good this season.
- Evra is embarrassing : he is not good at the moment. His placement is terrible and his quotes recently are awful, he is very very arrogant. For instance, in a recent interview, I heard he was speaking about himself by using “he” or “Evra” in order to discuss about his next game (yesterday) and he finally didn’t play well. Abidal is missing for sure… Clichy had an opportunity to play a fews months ago, he didn’t play well, wasn’t much in the squad in 2012, didn’t play much and is in the squad because of injuries at left back. We had plently of good left backs a few months ago but now, it’s a problem as there are not fit or injured. Evra doesn’t defend sometimes, I am worried about him…
- Mexes is back from injury and he is not good at the moment. He maade big mistakes last night and as well in a few games recently. Rami is allright but he played more than 60 games this season and he is a bit tired. Debuchy is good but plays very high. It could be a problem at the transition.
Koscielny played the second pregame competition and played well. In the third game, Mexes and Rami played without any confidence because Koscielny’performance put pressure on them. They both wanted to force their plays and made mistakes.
The trio Malouda-Cabaye-Diarra is new and they don’t protect the defence well enough yet.
Another problem is Nasri. Either is play on the side or in the centre of the game, he is disappointing. He might be the first to be dropped if the results are not good.
Mind Ribery and Benzema, they are in very very good form…
I am worried about the team without the ball.
With the ball, no worries, we are unpredictable, as you said, as we have plenty of versatile good players. It was impressive last night on that point.
Correction : Diarra hasn’t been good this season.
Thanks for the info, very interesting.
Nasri never seems to get credit when he plays well, though. He was very good in the last friendly against Estonia. He was taking players on with confidence and blowing by them. Also, in the second half especially, he was doing some really cheeky 1-2’s with Benzema and Ribery and almost scored/created a couple goals. I think he will be on good form for this tournament, and if all three of those up top are firing, this team will be very dangerous.
ZM, where’s the preview for Ukraine?
I think you may have forgotten to upload the article.
My logical pick to win the tournament will be Germany but, I have a feeling it will be France.
France’s plan B will probably be pairing up Benzema and Giroud.
Sadly it’s never been tried before.
Maybe last years controversy will be the worst it gets for this hugely talented bunch of individuals, as they seem united under Blanc, which wasn’t the case under Domenech who was undermined at every turn (although apparently he picked teams based on star signs).
France v England is going to tell us alot.
I think analysing France is pretty simple. Absolutely deadly up top, Benzema and in particular Ribery have looked quality in the warm up games, but their shaky at the back. Your bang on about Evra, and Mexes has looked very vulnerable in the warm up games.
Should be a good match that reveals a bit about both teams. I’m curious to see if Hodgson will tinker his lineup depending on the opposition. For example, will he pick Wellbeck to take advantage of the French centre back weaknesses, as well as Walcott to expose Evra’s lapses in concentration and when he pushes to far forward? Or will he pick the same 11 game in and game out so that they get used to each other and his system?
Personally I think he’ll go with Welbeck against France, his pace and movement simply offers more of a threat to Mexes and Rami than what Carroll’s approach would in my opinion.
I really hope he does play Walcott, I actually think he’s low on confidence, against Iceland and Estonia, defensively he was poor, regularly getting caught out of position, and as has been mentioned, he loses concentration and let’s players run off him far too easily. He’d be worried if he steps out on Monday and see’s Walcott’s extreme pace up against him. I have a feeling Hodgson will go with Milner though, in order to combat Ribery.
I see it like this, others may disagree. I can’t actually see Milner having too much of a stopping effect on Ribery, whereas Walcott will actually force Ribery into defending, and also scare Evra. We’ll see though.
Surely Koscielny will be a starter rather than Rami. The Valencia defender lacks pace, as does Philippe Mexes. Koscielny had better individual seasons than either of them did. He was absolutely brilliant for Arsenal (unbiased Gooner here ;] ) and has to get the nod at the back I feel.
The substitution into midfield was interesting and I agree with oyu that it probably won’t become the trend. However, I have always said that I feel he could play that role if given time to truly learn it. He has tremendous work-rate, near-perfect tackling and as we’ve seen with Arsenal, a decent dribble and a good pass.
You may be right about Kos, but it surprises me when people talk about club performances over what’s happening in the national team
Obviously Blanc, who decided quite some time ago of its central defense, believes that it is more important to build chemistry in his pairing… as a former CB, I suppose it is one of the few domains for which he actually have some strong opinions. I see Mexès was even made captain against Iceland, he already was in the past and could be designated for the whole Euro: I guess it’s a nod to build confidence.
Of course, as usual when it comes to NT, lurks the question of current form v. XI stability, and I think everyone is right to be worried by the back four. As a personal preference, I would have liked M.Sakho from the PSG to be in the squad, despite his so-so season: he did make the whole qualifying campaign… and as pointed here, another real CB in the roster (instead of another “running to defense, explosive” midfielder) would have been reassuring, just in case.
To be honest, I see a lot of people putting us in the favorites or at the very least a dark horse, but I can’t see it: Despite the long unbeaten streak, the team lacked cohesion, organization or a general plan up until very recently. Some of the coveted players only just woke up, like Ribery who finally put an end to a long mediocre spell at the NT in the last two games. A lot of the players still have to fulfill the grand promises they are supposed to embody (Ben Arfa, Nasri. Ménez is annoying but everyone agrees he made great progress this year, probably thanks to Ancelotti). Maybe I’m too negative… it is true that France had the luck of a good draw for this Euro, all the more since England seems in dire straits. In the end, for NT, those are the only matches that really counts.
It’s true that national team performances are more important in a knockout tournament like this, but I feel that Blanc’s reluctance to break up his centerback pairing has limited his ability to properly consider Koscielny. I don’t know how many starts Clichy has gotten in qualifying, but high profile lapses during the crucial pre-tournament period like Evra and Mexes have made seem like the only evidence a manager can really use to determine the balance of his side. It’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of players with different qualities in so few games, but based on club performances Kos and Clichy both suit France’s high line much better than their alternatives, and I’m surprised more effort hasn’t been made to integrate them. Clichy, at Arsenal and City, has always made up for his lack of physicality with excellent recovery pace and very good anticipation, Kos has proven similar attributes at Arsenal, and in an ideal world both should probably be preferred. I understand the need to generate cohesion in short periods of time in national teams, but persisting with a back four that just isn’t working, only to be forced into changes during the tournament seems like folly.
If Walcott, Welbeck and Young successfully exploit the shakiness that France has made evident, there’s gonna be a lot of damning hindsight with such strong alternatives on the bench.
Can I get a like button for this post? Nice one, Anon.
Hindsight is 20/20; foresight is nearly as clear with Mexes’s form in the three friendlies. He was already on thin ice from the first two warm-ups, then he had that remarkable would-be assist to open the scoring for Estonia.
Atmosphere is very good in the team now. Thanks to the disparition of Gallas, Henry and Anelka.
All they need to do is get rid of the last distraction from South Africa 2010: Patrice Evra.
(Im’ french, and we french people are well known for speaking only french. So please forgive my mistakes.)
Plan B?
If you mean the “B” starting line-up, probably with Benzema and Giroud (who made 3 assists on the last matches) and Malouda out, Ribery as a free player and Nasri as a 10. Hard to explain without a diagram, but imagine a straight diamond midfield just like Italy (without wingers), but more offensive.
But if you mean “it’s half-time and we’re losing 0-2″ plan B, we don’t have an actual “tactical” plan B. We put Ben Arfa and/or Menez and/or Valbuena on the field, Cabaye give the ball to one of them, and then… “it’s up to you guy, we’re all counting on you”.
Note that there is very few french supporters who want to see Evra on the field. Most of us are missing Abidal a lot, and wonder why Mathieu never get a chance. By the way, Réveillère has still a slight chance, considering he’s more efficient than Debuchy in defensive tasks.
But Rami-Mexes will play for sure, despite very good Koscielny appearances.
Merci pour partager avec nous. Why do most French supporters want to see Evra on the bench? Due to form? Or because of his role in South Africa?
It’s a package.
Before playing, he says “Evra is at his top form”, “You’re going to see the actual Evra”.
Then he plays, run to attack on left side, make a poor cross or lose the ball, and don’t help his partners in defensive tasks after that (because he walks and let the opponent winger, who runs, free to counter attack). Such a way to play is possible when you have Vidic and Ferdinand to cover your back, not when you have Rami and Mexès.
His role in South Africa definitely has something to do with it, and more generally his arrogant attitude ever since. But he also had a horrible performance recently against Iceland, where he was basically guilty on both conceded goals.
It’s his form right now. He doesn’t look as bad as Mexes, but it just looks like Clichy would be a better option. It’s not completely clear (to me) that Clichy would be better, but Evra has not looked good in the warm-up friendlies.
I think the last video of him wiping his ass with a french jersey and then smelling it and has made him an internet sensation is just the cherry on a vast sundae of reasons.
Its all of them but the one that cant cleaned up by a PR campaign is bad form. Dissent, arrogance, lazyness are all forgiven when youre at the top of your game. When you are on the downward slope of your career and errors become more frequent, there comes a time for all players when its time, when the bad outweighs the good, and you change the guard. It happens for all players, all the time.
When Iceland is your Waterloo, you know its time.
Very accurate report, ZM. It’s very difficult to object anything!
The only point that I’d like to raise is your statement: “France is unpredictable”.
What makes you say that is is more unpredictable than any other team?
In terms of structure, it was clear a long time ago that the shape would be a 4-3-3.
In terms of players, mosts of the positions were already defined before the 3 recent friendlies : Lloris, the back four, M’Vila, Cabaye, Ribéry, Benzema.
Only 2 slots were subject to competition: the right winger (Ben Arfa, Menez, Valbuena and Nasri being possible contenders) and the remaining central midfielder, where Nasri again, Malouda and Gourcuff were potential starters (although the latter would have been a surprise). Now, it seems that Malouda and Nasri will start, but depending on their respective form/performances, I believe it could also evolve. I’m not sure it’s really troublesome. After all, the tournament features 6 games in 3 weeks if France goes to the finals, so the squad will need to rotate a little bit. Players like Menez, Ben Arfa and Giroud shoud be given frequent playing time. By the way, they would also consist in France’s plan B, with a more direct route to the target man or to the dribblers.
Eventually, in terms of strategy, we know what we can expect. Unless they play against Spain or Germany, Blanc will tell his players to have the majority of the ball possession, and to play a patient game. Then, either the full-backs will try to send good crosses into the box, or the three talented players upfront will take their responsabilities and try to be creative enough near the penalty area to surprise their opponent. However, the team will not a good counter-attacking opportunity, if any. Defensively, they will press moderately, not as high as Barça, but not very deep.
In conclusion, it would be quite surprising to see France not qualifying for the quarter finals, since they seem to be ahead of Ukraine or Sweden, at least. Then, there may be chances to play against favourites such as Spain in the quarter finals or Germany in the semi finals, so of course France would be the underdog in this kind of games, but surprises are possible.
France are my dark horse pick, the squad is united and they will want to banish France’s 2010 demons by turning up with a huge performance at the Euro. I’m surprised by the lack of attention this team is getting, the favourites talk is all about Spain/Germany/Netherlands and besides it seems like both England and Portugal are getting more spotlight than France.
As ZM has pointed out they are very exciting team offensively, the Ribery-benzema combination can destroy any defence on their day, and supported by the creative Nasri and a fantastic midfield base of Cabaye and M’vila (I really hope he will get fit in time since Diarra has been unconvincing) they make for a fearsome team going forward. They even have very strong bench options with Valbuena, Giroud, Menez and most of all – ben Arfa, who’s been hitting top form with Newcastle at the end of the season and this kind of chaotic player seems perfect to introduce for the last 15 minutes in search for a late spark of genius.
However, their defense is far less “exciting”. In the knockout stages one lapse of concentration from Evra, Mexes or Rami can cost France their whole tournament. Imo Evra is only in this side based on his reputation because he has been underwhelming for the last two years, Mexes has never truly convinced me as a great centre-back, and Rami is very hit-or-miss, capable of both, a terrific performance or dropping one horrendous blunder after another.
I think that France is the team that has been damaged the most by injuries, with a back line of Abidal-Koscielny-Kaboul-Sagna I’d pick them as winners, but as things stand I say they will top their group, advance to the semis and get trashed by Germany or Netherlands. I just don’t see this French defense containing Muller-Ozil-Podolski-Klose and Afellay-Sneijder-Robben-RVP combinations.
M’vila won’t play against England but his injury is not serious apparently, expect him to be on the field pretty soon.
Ooh – ta.
France’s starting eleven is suspect. I do think they could survive a key match on the basis of a comeback – their bench is delightful. Also, I think Nasri is very hit and miss, when he’s hit, France will be unstoppable. When he’s miss, expect lots of crosses that go nowehere and cutting inside straight into tackles. Lloris is potentially a game-changer, too …
Nasri contributes in other ways – he helps defend, he can keep the ball. Your description of him isn’t wrong, but even when he’s ineffective in attack, he’s not really a liability. He does ok overall. And he can score goals, so it’s worth having him on the pitch in case a chance falls his way.
I agree far more on the latter than the former. I don’t rate Nasri very highly defensively. His defensive production I saw at one point this year for Manchester City was half that of David Silva, who isn’t exactly known for being a workhorse, either. On the other hand, he can finish, that is definitely true.
I do think Nasri can be genuinely great, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play an extended stretch that made me think he was there yet. Maybe, in fact, probably if he hits those heights it will first be with France.
France are also to me, the most interesting side of the tournament. The potential for greatness or tragicomedy are both there. Part of me thinks they will win it, even though I will of course be supporting Germany
I definitely agree with Jeff here. I’m a city fan and Nasri always put his shift in. Silva sometimes looks like he works harder cuz he is out of position more. When the opposing team has the ball, Nasri is always back with the fullback.
And yes, even when he isn’t as dynamic offensively, he is still helping immensely in retaining possession and slowing/speeding up the pace of the game. And when he is feeling confident, and going for goal.. watch out!
I dont understand why Blanc doesn’t start Mamadou Sakho…I kno hes young but hes captained PSG for the past two years and is easily the most physically skilled defender on the squad and M’vila better be starting over Diarra when hes fit hes the next Didier Deschamps. And Malouda as a central playmaker? WTF is that all about hes the most inconsistent player in the world…Put Nasri in the central role.
And half the people on this site are retarded…Koscielny in the starting defense? are you guys nuts? But I am glad Debuchy is starting…I hope Evra has a good tournament because I would have loved to see Mathieu get the start.
Mark – Some of your points, maybe all of them, would make perfect sense if we hadn’t had the France matches to test things. Sakho was given several chances by Blanc, and each time he looked well off the pace. Malouda isn’t just inconsistent, he’s really poor, terrible to watch, and a waste of a squad place, usually. In France’s warmup friendlies, playing in central attacking midfield, he’s played his best matches ever for France, I think. Better than Nasri had been playing in that position, and Nasri has shifted wide right, and still looks fine – just good enough to keep his spot. Koscielny? Watch his appearances for France – he’s been flawless, and clearly in better form than Mexes who is really struggling, to the point that it’s almost painful to watch.
They have some flashes of skill but they won’t do anything special…Their back line is garbage except for Debuchy….Without Abidal or Sakho they have no rocks to fall back on. Diarra is old and will get beat by the creativity of Germany or Spain’s playmakers and they will rely to heavily on Ribery and Nasri to make things happen and with Nasri in a wide position he wont be able to use his influence that much hes to predictable when out wide. Cabaye is a great player but not a playmaker and with Diarra sitting deep him and Malouda are destined to fail to provide the creativity needed to score, giving Malouda the benefit of the doubt. They might beat some of the weaker sides but they stand no chance against well drilled teams…I don’t even think they could beat teams like Sweden or Russia they just lack that Je nais se pas, like what Zizou was or what Gourcuff was suppose to be.
I don’t really understand what Blanc is trying to do with this team it seems every match he plays a totally different Starting XI, formation and style. No doubt France are talented but they are horribly under drilled and way to unorganized. Like I said before Sakho should be playing, Valbuena SHOULD be starting somewhere they could desperately use his energy and Giroud should also be starting…hes probably one of the hottest strikers in the world right now and put him on the bence in the pinnacle of his career is mind boggling..put him in the center with Benzema out wide or in a support role….or do something crazy like play two strikers…just at thought.
Well Giroud was kind of an unknown quantity, as all players who reveal themselves during a season in an “overperforming” side. It’s not outrageous that Benzema would get precedence.
The obvious solution is to play with two forwards, all the more since Benzema actually likes that, but it’s just not the current french “tradition”, unfortunately (The whole Henry/Trezéguet debate, I’m still sore about that). And Ribéry, the other “key player”, is adamant that he will only play inverted winger, I believe, and our left-backs in the squad won’t make up for that, I think.
I think we are in agreement that Blanc failed to make some hard choices, despite the fact that he had the liberty to do so after the scandal of WC2010. No one was undroppable after that…
Agree that Marvin Martin would have been great to use in the 4-3-3.
Him, Cabaye + DM are a real threat.
The defense being suspect is kind of a theme across all the top sides at this tournament. Spain will miss Puyol dearly, Germany will start either an unfit centre back or one not comfortable with their playstyle and have only one really good full back, even Italy is stronger in other areas these days and the less said about Holland’s back line the better.
The obvious conclusion: Offense ( or more precisely the ability to score goals – see the CL final ) and a holistic tactical approach will be vital to win this tournament. France look pretty decent in both departments.
Not unlike Jogi Loew Blanc as a manager plans within a fixed set of tactical coordinates but is highly flexible when it comes to the details. If the framework stays intact and there are small changes only players will usually be able to adapt quite easily and unlike ZM I just don’t see the various slight adjustments in the pre tournament phase as a big deal. Obviously Blanc will have to settle for one line up for the England game and it is entirely possible it won’t be the “perfect” one, he will do so after careful consideration only though and not ( alleged )Redknapp style picking a bunch of players and telling them to just do their thing.
The attack is one of the best in the tournament, with a top notch first choice of Nasry-Benzema-Ribery and quite a few quality backups and options with skill ( Menez, Ben Arfa ), bristling speed ( Remy ), unlimited energy ( Valbuena )and a surprise package ( Giroud ).
With England, the Ukraine and Sweden on roughly the same level it’s hard to see how Les Bleus would not qualify for the knockout stages. The other three teams will be desperately scrapping for points and while it’s certainly possible one of them will overcome the far superiour quality in France’s squad, it’s far more likely they’ll take them from each other than two of them finishing in the top two spots.
I wonder just how much control Blanc really has over the locker room though. After taking over in 2010 he didn’t make some cuts he maybe should have and considering the behaviour of, say, Evra there certainly seems to be the chance of another breakdown once the pressure starts mounting in the quarter final and onwards.
“The obvious conclusion: Offense ( or more precisely the ability to score goals – see the CL final ) and a holistic tactical approach will be vital to win this tournament. France look pretty decent in both departments.”
I couldn’t agree with you more on your conclusion, I have noticed this as well but yet, I do not believe France has that superior quality as they themselves are prone in defending, especially in tracking back and in the zonal marking department. Seeing that France is playing pretty high up the field, I would not be surprised that they will have trouble beating Italy or Germany, teams with better defending midfielders and executing quick/smart counter attacks to beat their slow defence.
Michael, brilliant work on the previews.
Im halfway done and Im planning to restart from the top when I finish.
I see working regularly on the podcast with Monsieur Glendenning has given you some
new fresh insights on the workings of european football!
Think is unfair to say Valbuena had a bad season when he had 8 goals and 14 assists for Marseille, think he would do better than Nasri(But I’m and Arsenal fan so…).
Some of Blanc’s decisions are very questionable. Can’t see why Mexes and Rami are starting over Koscielny, he’s perfect for this system. Also Malouda as a number 10?!
It is a shame that the most efficient systems revolve around a lone striker, Giroud is brilliant, pretty sad that he’ll be on the bench.
excellent preview, as with the other 15 nations
v good point on Marvin Martin, he would offer more go-forward than Malouda, but I suppose he is kept on the bench because he is still young and inexperienced at that level (never played the CL!)
Plan B is a simple 4231 as was experimented during the qualifiers. The only uncertainty is on the central and right midfielders in the band of 3, who could be any 2 out of the following: Nasri, Valbuena, Menez, Martin, Malouda, Ben Arfa
A feature of that French team is that it has (too) many talented attacking midfielders who can play in a number of positions, so expect a lot of positional changes during games.
Also Benzema and Giroud offer different qualities and the same 433 could change dramatically with one or the other forward.
The main weakness is that these midfielders are not great at tracking back so that the defence can easily be swamped. Diarra is OK but a bit slow. I truly hope M’Vila can recover quickly.
The absolute key-player to me is Franck Ribery not Karim Benzema. The success of the team depends on the brilliance and creativity of Ribery. Benzema plays an important role as well but without the magic moments of Ribery France is to predictable in offence.
I’d expect Ben Arfa to start for some reason.
Can’t wait to see him in action.
Keep up the good work on this site!
Hi everyone,
Firstly, I would like to thanks all the people who has participated to this website, it’s a diamond!
When I see all these comments, I can’t understand why, in France especially. we do lack of real qualified football journalists…
Anyway, the team preview is excellent,I agree about almost everything. Mexes-Rami might appear a bit risky but they are close friends in the life and overall they represent another idea of French culture and traditions. I mean it’s good sometimes to ahve some players who have other qualities than only football abilities… We will see their performance during the first game against the Roastbeef (just kidding, I like English people!)but I definitely believe they deserve a chance, as they have participated quite well to the Qualifiers.
Also, instead of Malouda, I would put Nasri, in this particular role of “midfield offensive”,with M’Vila (when recovered)and Cabaye just behind.
In this tactic, the right forward would be Hatem Ben Arfa, who is an amazing footballer with one of the best technical skills in the world. As a left-handed, he could create danger from the right and this could be very nice to watch!
I will add a last comment about the coach Laurent Blanc. I think he is underestimated; he is a high quality international coach, with great professional player experience and yet successful results as a coach. To be honest, when Domenech was the coach, I always pointed out how ridiculous were his choices (remember that during the last World Cup,Benzema, Nasri, Ben Arfa weren’t selected!). With Laurent Blanc, I think we got a good coach, who can change his mind and more interestingly change his tactical options at any time during the game. I believe therefore that our coach Blanc is another positive element, that makes me think that we could get to the semis and then…
Everything starts Monday after all, let’s see this new French side!
Regarding England, I fear them more and more with all these misadventures! I think they will play with their Fighting spirit and a good defensive organization. We have to score first! Cheers,Bert