FIFA World Cup Football 2010- France vs. South Africa in a must win contest.
When the French meet the hosts in what may prove out to be both teams’ last match of the tournament, they’d be expecting to win. France have disappointed fans and critics alike as the 2006 World Cup finalists bowed in front of Mexico in a 2-0 defeat prior to a frustrating draw against Uruguay. The hosts, on home soil, also failed to impress with a tight 1-1 draw against Mexico, followed by a 3-0 thrashing by Uruguay.
The French possess the team, ability, talent and experience, required to win the golden trophy. So much so that the French captain, Patrice Evra, claimed that they had the best player for every position. The Les Bleu’s however failed to utilize that ability and did not do what was required - WIN. In the opening match against Uruguay, some rather easy opportunities made by the extremely talented Bayern Munich man Franck Ribery could not be converted into goals. This resulted in a draw, which was perhaps acceptable, considering the other two teams in the group also didn’t have a winner.
Their next match was against Mexico. France was expected to win the match, when their party was ruined by an impressive performance by the South Americans. 2-0 was the score line in favour of the Mexicans when the final whistle was blown. France had yet again failed miserably. With a likelihood of crashing out of the World Cup, France hopes to expect a favourable result from the Mexico-Uruguay game and hope to defeat the hosts by a 3-0 margin if they are to even think of qualifying for the next round.
The hosts also had a similar turn of events. After impressing in holding off the Mexican threat in their opening match, the ‘Bafana Bafana’ were let down by a weak defence which was ideally exploited by Forlan. Uruguay thrashed South Africa 3-0 on the night in front of adoring home fans. Both the French and South Africans have a single point from each of the two games.
The chances to qualify for the next round may appear slim but the thing both of them may now be playing for will be pride. The adoring ‘Bafana Bafana’ home crowd would want to watch their national heroes bow out in winning fashion. The self destruction of the French squad on the other hand, tells another story. They would want to get out of the politics and play the game which led the French to the 2006 World Cup final. The constant experiments of formations and tactics might have cost Les Blues the x-factor needed to win. The coach Raymond Domenech may need to revitalize his team rather than make more adjustments to the formations.
A huge amount of pressure is therefore expected on both the keepers. The hosts and the French would come with all their miss-firing guns blazing, taking strikes and creating opportunities in what is a must win for both. Even if they don’t qualify, they might want to end the tournament on a high. The ‘Bafana Bafana’ would be without their first choice keeper, following the disappointing red card against Uruguay. The French keeper, however, is perhaps the only player who has kept his pre-tournament form and been excellent between the sticks.
South African coach Carlos Alberto Parreira had plenty say prior to this important clash. He stated, “I always said that it would all come down to the final match. I don’t think we can hope to defend, wait for a mistake and hit them on the counter-attack. If we are serious about wanting to make it to the next round, we’ll need to take some risks”.
In a nutshell, it can be said that this match is perhaps the greatest in the host nation’s history. Winning is important for both nations. South Africa would look to take advantage of home soil and their crowd while the French will look to perform like they should have in the tournament France have a strong squad and would like to capitalize on it by making runs from both wings in order to disrupt the often weak South African defence. They would look to utilize the sheer pace and finishing ability of their team, provided the coach finally does get the right mix together in time. In all, French look to be in jeopardy, having sent Nicholas Anelka home and the issues erupting between the coach and the team may make matters worse for them. South Africa would want to take advantage of their home soil and would go at the French, in what would be a truly gruelling encounter.
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