After once again failing to secure a berth in the Under-21 European Championships, many people have questioned the mental capacity of the espoirs to make a name for themselves for the senior side
Between the team of France espoirs and the European Under-21 Championships, the love story is indeed a complicated one. If France Under-21 had a Facebook account, they would put ‘it’s complicated’ in their relationship status bar.
In the eighteen editions of the UEFA Under-21 European championship, the Blueberries have thrice played the semi-finals (1998, 2002, 2006) and have won the tournament just once which was back in 1988 when Marc Bourrier’s youngsters beat http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Greece-c2908 3-0 in the
two-legged playoff final.
The team that contained the likes of Bernard Casoni, Christophe Galtier and Laurent Blanc was to be the only French side to have won the Under-21 Euros and the wait is still not over after a new generation of French youngsters was unceremoniously dumped
out of the competition in the final game of the qualification playoffs by Norway, a team that on the night, was more adventurous and more creative.
What happened in Norway a few nights back was something beyond comprehension. Ahead of the final encounter, onus was on Erick Mombaerts’ men to effectively qualify for next year’s tournament after landing in the Scandinavian country with a 1-0 home advantage.
However, the end result of the game was 5-3 to the Norwegians who would now feature in the tournament which will be held in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Israel-c2925 next year. For France, the youngsters and a new generation of youngsters will have to wait a little while longer to reach a
competition that has eluded them for quite some time now.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Norway-c2974, Erick Mombaerts’ men this perpetuated French tradition.
Since 2000, except 2002 and 2006 editions of the same tournament, Les Bleuets have never played well and in most cases, not featured in the tournament at all. This is indeed a big blotch on a coach who has not been successful to guide the young players to
the pinnacle of a youngster’s European dream.
While talking to reporters after the game, the 57-year-old was at a loss to explain why his side was so poor. Despite having so many good players, most of whom are regularly playing for their respective clubs in Ligue 1, Les Bleuets were incumbent to say
the least.
“Undoubtedly, this is the end of a cycle. In all fairness, we will do an analysis. The number 1 goal was to qualify for the Euro. It has not been fulfilled,” indicated a placid Mombaerts while talking to L’Equipe reporters.
For his part, president of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graet was more aggressive in his say and his statements give a strong feeling that Mombaerts may not longer be the coach of the Under-21s.
“I’m very disappointed. We would not have imagined us conceding five goals.”
Destined to be a reservoir for the A team, the youngsters have not been able to shine the way they were promised to. Many people feel that these players might not shine for the senior side too. However, one should not jump to such conclusions if history
of the current senior players is given some consideration.
The likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Yoann-Gourcuff-c37416 were unable to shine in the Under 21 European Championships of yesteryears just like Varane, Mangala, Mavinga and Cabella. However, now, these players are important for the
national team whenever they are fit so one can expect this new contingent of espoirs to take the defeat against Norway as a lesson learned for future reference.
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