After holding Spain to a 1-1 draw at the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vicente-c36001 Calderon in a World Cup qualification game, Les Bleus can hope for better days to come
Courageous, heroic and creative, the new-look French side finally provided a moment of intense joy to its fans by holding reigning World and European champions http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011, to a 1-1 draw on their own backyard. The encounter would now be taken as a reference to
a new generation of Les Bleus players who were looking for their identity since the retirement of the legendary Zinedine Zidane.
And, against Spain, France did exactly what they had hoped for, come away from Spain with a precious draw to show for all their efforts. Indeed, Les Bleus could even have registered an historic win had the linesman not raised the flag when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350
was clearly onside.
Didier Deschamps, the famous captain of the golden generation of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 national side that won the World Cup in 1998 before becoming European Champions two years later, was definitely an important reason behind the draw.
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 manager arrived at the helm in place of his old friend Laurent Blanc and in a matter of weeks, he has been able to instil a fighting mentality in a young squad that has a lot of talent.
After a first half during which Deschamps’ men were chasing the game and might even have returned to the locker room two goals down, the French tactician had to do something to change the mentality.
Managers know how important a substitution is and it’s these little things that change the whole complexion of the game. In the 57th minute, DD made a bold move by replacing a transparent Maxime Gonalons with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mathieu-Valbuena-c24690. This was an offensive
addition to the team which is a big gamble against a team like Spain.
However, the gamble paid off big time as the Marseille man once again proved why he is so highly-rated. Le http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Petit-c29836 Velo destabilised the Iberian midfielders and defenders alike with his short runs and technical genius.
The Marseille striker was not the only impact sub on the night. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Moussa-Sissoko-c26938 and Olivier Giroud were called into play in the 68th and 88th minute respectively and both men were destined to prove their selection. First it was Moussa
Sissoko whose technical and physical impact unhinged the Spaniards who don’t like the physicality in football.
And later on, it was Giroud who once again silenced his critics by scoring a goal in third minute of extra-time. And, no one can blame Deschamps for making three big moves in the bench at a time when most managers would have done otherwise.
“Yes, those who have entered were entered well, whether it’s Mathieu, Moussa or Olivier. The you ask why we did not do this since the beginning. I knew we would be obliged to defend early in the game.”
Three major changes and one point is not really a bad choice made by a manager who is certainly keen to make France an attacking side.
Although it’s still early days and that feet must be kept on the ground. France’s second-half display against Vicente del Bosque’s men proves that Les Bleus really have the ability to play a good offensive game when the needs arises which means that this
versatility to switch style of play could prove helpful in the remainder of the qualification games.
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