Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France
Nickname: Les Bleus (The Blues)
Colors: Blue, white, red
Current World Ranking: 7
Manager: Raymond Domenech – Started his tenure with the national team after their early exit from Euro 2004. His team struggled to qualify for WC 2006 until he called up retired legends Claude Makelele, Lilian Thuram, and Zinedine Zidane. The rest is history. They again struggled under Domenech to qualify for this WC, prompting many French natives to call for his resignation. If they fail to perform at this WC, he certainly will be shown the exit in short order.
History: If you’re looking for the luckiest team to be in the World Cup Finals, look no further than France. They fumbled their way through qualification with one under-achieving performance after another, and only made it into the Finals at the hand of one of their legends, literally. After all the qualifying was done, they still had to go into a 2-game playoff with Ireland in order to advance. They played well enough in the first game in Ireland to earn a 1-0 win, which required them only to hold Ireland to a 0-0 draw in the second leg in Paris to advance. But they couldn’t even do that. Ireland led the game after a goal from Robbie Keane in the 32nd minute, which is how the 90 minutes of regulation ended and sent the game into extra time, tied at 1-1 in aggregate.
The entire qualification then came down to one of the most controversial moments in all of sports: Ireland conceded a free kick about 30 yards from the goal with 17 minutes to play in extra time. Florent Malouda of France lofted a high arcing ball to the back post where Thierry Henry (Tee-air-ey On-ree) converged with Irish goalkeeper Shay Given. The ball bounced once and looked to be heading directly out of bounds until the hand of Henry intervened not once, but twice to keep it in play. Even then it required a remarkable play off the outside of his right foot to knock it into the path of the onrushing William Gallas who headed the ball home in what would prove to be the decisive moment of qualification.
In the immediate aftermath of the event the entire Irish team and nation were in a positive uproar, and rightfully so. Ultimately the goal was allowed because neither the main official nor the sideline official had a clear view of the incident. In that respect, there’s nothing wrong with the goal. But still, in this day and age of high definition slow motion, it was obvious to all that could see, what Henry did was a violation of the rules of the game, and France got away with it. Oh, and by the way, two of the French players were offsides too. Oops.
Henry admitted to the world that he handled the ball but said he only did so unintentionally; it was a split-second reaction, he said. He apologized, but the damage was already done. Ireland was martyred. France was vilified. But the reality is, France is in the finals and Ireland is not.
Regardless of the way in which the team qualified, the real concern for France is their horrible form of late. The pinnacle for the French team was undoubtedly winning the World Cup as the host nation in 1998, almost single-footedly by the brilliance of the greatest player to ever suit up, Zinedine Zidane. 2002 in South Korea was a disappointing follow up as they went goalless in the Group Stage and failed to advance, but it seemed that France had climbed back to the top in 2006 in Germany on the shoulders of Zidane until the unbelievable head-butt incident. It’s not an exaggeration to say that France has not been the same since, not least of all because of the retirement of their talismanic captain and god. Ever since that moment they have struggled to find their identity and their form.
Players: So without Zidane, who does the team turn to? In my mind, the answer to that question will determine how far France can advance. If the answer is no one, they won’t make it to the Round of 16. If the heir to Zidane’s thrown is somewhere on France’s current squad, they’ll advance, it’s just becomes a matter of how far.
Thierry Henry: To sum up the man in a single handball is a huge disservice to what has been a great career for Henry. He made his international debut in 1998, won the ’98 World Cup, the 2000 Euro Cup, and in 2007 became France’s top goal score of all-time. In the 2006 World Cup he scored three goals and was one of the 10 finalists for the Golden Ball award for the top player in the Tournament that ultimately went to Zidane. He established himself as a world class player with Arsenal in England from ’99-’07 where he became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 226 goals and captained the club for his final two seasons, then chased fortune, fame, and trophies to Spain with Barcelona. Unfortunately it took him more than a full season marked by persistent injuries to fully acclimate to La Liga and even now in his third term as he’s contributing valuable minutes and the occasional goal, his fragile and aging body has caused his career to fade. At 33 he still has a glimmer of the ability to lead France to greatness, but personally I think the opportunity has passed him by. He can still be the moral leader of the team, but someone else needs to carry them on the pitch.
William Gallas: Also 33, and also having made a name for himself in the Premier League, first at Chelsea then at Arsenal. As a tough central defender Gallas was named the club’s captain in 2007 but was removed from the post for inconsistent play on the pitch and outbursts at his teammates off it. Those days are behind him and he remains a strong veteran for France, anchoring the defense.
Nicolas Anelka: The guy looks like he’s sleep walking on the pitch but make no mistake about it, he’s quick, direct, and can score goals by the boatload. He’s played for just about every club team in the world but finally at the age of 29 transferred to Chelsea and has settled in as a formidable striking partner to Didier Drogba at Chelsea. What I’m saying is, they guy is good. But I’m also saying, I hate this sonofabitch with a passion. You mention the word “Chelsea” to me and you’re likely to get a punch to the throat, that’s how much I hate that team. But France is not Chelsea, so I’ll give him some credit here. While all of his transfers from club to club has made him the second most expensive player in the world on aggregate behind Cristiano Ronaldo, all the movement has limited his ability to make a permanent impression on the national team until just recently. Overall he will definitely contribute, but I don’t think he’s the savior.
Frank Ribery: Born in ’83, Ribery made his national team debut in the run-up to the 2006 Cup and for anyone who watched him play in the Tournament, they were treated to a real spectacle from the youngster who scored their opening goal and featured in all seven matches. Most betting people would put their money on Ribery to succeed Zidane, and Zidane himself has called him, “the jewel of France.” But things have been anything but smooth for RIbery since the 2006 Cup. He and the team had a pitiful showing at the ’08 Euro Cup and he went nearly a year between scoring goals after rupturing a tendon in his ankle. His club play over that same period has been equally rocky. In 2007 he moved to the German club, Bayern Munich, where he quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world. But nagging injuries and constant speculation over being transferred has affected his play. When he’s fit and on the pitch though, the kid is pure magic. It’s all the other stuff that makes me question whether he can lead France though.
One interesting fact about Ribery from a great book called Soccernomics, he is such a successful penalty kicker because no soccer strategist has been able to nail down a pattern to help their goal keeper when defending against him. Basically, he doesn't even know where he's going to kick when he lines up for a penalty throwing everyone off and almost always scoring. That is an invaluable trait in a tournament like this.
Ok, ok, fine; I wasn’t going to mention it but if you insist on asking – the scars on the right side of his face are from a car accident he was in when he was just two years old. He received over 100 stitches as a result. Are you happy now?
Karim Benzema: Having made a name for himself in 3 season with French club Lyon, leading the league in goals in 2007-08, last summer Benzema joined the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo, and Xabi Alonso who all quit on their previous clubs to chase the fame, fortune, and trophies in Spain with Real Madrid. Unfortunately for him (I personally couldn’t give a shit) things haven’t worked out quite so well. He’s suffered through injuries while the team has failed to live up to the expensive price tag. They’re currently 2nd behind Barcelona in La Liga and have already bowed out of every other major domestic and international competition, including the Champions League at the feet of his former club, Lyon. But I don’t want that single career move to define this kid because I do believe he’s the One for France. At the ripe age of 23 he has potential oozing out of every orifice. If Benzema plays well, France will advance out of the Group stage. If he plays brilliantly, they may even make it to the Quarters. The question is, is now his time?
Prediction: France was handed a gold-plated gift at the Finals draw after barely qualifying by finding themselves in Group A and avoiding all other international juggernauts like Argentina, England, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Brazil and Spain. Their history alone should have them easily qualify in first place in this group, but they have truly become so unpredictable that I really don’t know what will happen here. According to Soccernomics, France always outperforms what the data on paper tells you. They score more goals than they should and in a ranking of National teams from 1980-2001 France ranks #3 (behind Brazil and Germany) with a winning percentage of 70% compared to all competition. So they really are just lucky bastards basically.
South Africa is the host nation, Mexico has something to prove, and Uruguay will be salivating at a chance to face Argentina in the next round. All of those factors could spell doom for France if they can’t rise to the occasion.
One final note on Group A as a whole: It just occurred to me the other day that South Africa will be in its winter months when this tournament takes place. While the European players are accustomed to playing through the shitty winter months for their clubs this fact alone could be a huge advantage not just for South Africa but for Uruguay too, who share a similar climate.
[A special thanks to the Wayne Rooney of Omaha for the Soccernomics stats]
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