Talk about being ambitious…Last November, France just barely got past Ireland in their play-off series. And now for the FIFA date, France, ranked 7^th by FIFA calculations, were facing Spain, ranked 1^st.  France did not impress at all in the qualification to South Africa, and if not helped by deficient refereeing and FIFA’s Jekyll-and-Hyde policy of punishment, could have been sitting at home during June while Ireland played in the World Cup. La Celeste followers have complained that the AUF cannot find quality opponents for our team and here was the French Federation booking a game with Spain. Were the French meeting an equal or would they be humiliated at home? Also, how would French coach Domenech use this friendly? Would he use it to fine-tune the starting XI? Or would he re-consider his team selections and audition some new players to add some much needed spark?

France 0 – 2 Spain

FIFA ranking: France (7), Spain (1)

France

It would appear that Domenech is oblivious to all the criticism levelled at him. He will not coach the French team after the World Cup but for most French fans (including their Prime Minister and Zidane), it is disastrous that he is still at the helm. The moment that Domenech presented his call-up list, it became obvious that Domenech wanted to use this friendly to promote some chemistry between players on the French starting XI. And there were not any surprises on the starting XI or even in the substitutes. That is to say, he is keeping the same team that squeaked through qualifying.

• There were 3 players from the starting XI who were not available due to injury: defenders Abidal and Gallas, and midfielder Alou Diarra.
• France used a 4-4-2 formation and began the game with 8 from the starting XI: goalkeeper Lloris, defenders Evra and Sagna; midfielders Lass Diarra, Gourcuff and Ribery; and forwards Anelka and Henry. The experienced Escude played the fullback position in lieu of Gallas and Ciani received his first cap in Abidal’s place. Experienced Toulalan replaced Alou Diarra.
• The second half saw only three changes, with experienced midfielder Malouda and forwards Govou and Cisse replacing Ribery, Henry and Anelka.
• Although the game was an exhibition game, Domenech did not try to audition players and had 8 players on the bench who did not play at all: defenders Fanni, Rami, Boumsong and Cissokho; midfielders Ben Arfa, Cheyrou and Sissoko; forward Remy.
• It would appear that Domenech has absolute faith on defenders Abidal, Gallas, Evra and Sagna, although they had a poor Euro 2008. And obviously, he prefers Escude to Arsenal’s Clichy, who was not even called-up. Domenech has even publicly promised Vieira (who turns 34 this year) the team captaincy (!) provided he plays regularly at the club level.
• Arsenal midfielder Nasri (once dubbed the new Zidane), who played brilliantly versus Porto, continues to be snubbed by Domenech. You could argue that after the snub Nasri had added motivation for his Champions League match, but still, he probably deserved a look in this friendly.
• Domenech opted to call forward Cisse, after a 2-year absence to replace Gignac. Gomis was available but not called. Real Madrid’s Benzema was injured, but Domenech has used him sparingly in the qualifiers anyway and Benzema probably would not have received the call-up.

Spain

• Spanish coach del Bosque does not appear to have settled on a starting XI; there are still some questions about the midfield. Considering their Euro 2008 line-up, it could be stated that Spain started the friendly against France with 6 of their starting XI: Casillas, Puyol, Ramos, Iniesta, Silva and Villa. The other 5 on the field were Pique, Arbeloa, Busquets, Alonso and Fabregas (no slouches here!).
• And in the second half, they had 5 starters: Casillas, Ramos, Senna, Xavi and Torres. With Pique, Arbeloa, Albiol, Busquets, Guiza and newcomer Navas (1^st cap) also playing.
• Similar to Domenech, although the game was an exhibition game, del Bosque did not play goalkeepers Reina and Lopez, defenders Marchena and Capdevila, midfielder Mata and forward Negredo. Marchena and Capdevila are virtually guaranteed starting positions, and it was just a case of del Bosque evaluating Arbeloa, Albiol and Pique.

Conclusions

• The score flattered the French team.
• Ribery is the only player that really challenged the Spanish defense. The left side of the Spanish defense consisted of Arbeloa and Albiol, who are not considered starters for Spain. Ribery had some individual efforts, making a couple of runs down the wing that were extinguished at or near the box. After Spain made some adjustments, he was not very effective. Ribery will be the key to the French team’s success in the World Cup, but first he must stay healthy.
• Henry is a ghost of the player that he once was. He did absolutely nothing.
• The French midfield was outplayed (and outnumbered) by Spain. In the first half, Spain played a 4-1-4-1 (the same formation they used versus Germany in the Euro 2008 finals), although Silva did play almost like a second forward in the hole. In the second half, Spain changed to a 4-4-2, while France kept a 4-4-2 even though they were down by two goals. Domenech was criticized for not being more aggressive; it looked like he was conceding defeat and wanted to avoid humiliation.
• At one point, the French resorted to the long ball with Anelka; physically, he looked huge compared to the Spanish defenders, but his touch was not very good.
• The French team showed some life and came close to scoring when Malouda and Cisse came on in the second half and fullback Sagna played further up the wing, making some good crosses from the right wing. It was a combination of a bit of a letdown from the Spanish side plus fresh legs for the French.
• The score flattered the French team (yes, it bears repeating).

   

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