france

The heavily criticised Raymond Domenech was sharpening his axe this week, as his original 30-man provisional squad was cut to just 24. It was only last week that Domenech called up no less than 30 players to the French fold, yet not even a week has passed and six have already seen their World Cup dreams dashed.

Hatem Ben Afra, a player with a big future, was the notable exclusion, although Mickael Landreau of Lille was also sent home. The remaining four casualties were Adil Rami, Rod Fanni, Yann M’Vila and Jimmy Briand.

Both Patrick Viera and Karim Benzema were ruled out of the 2010 World Cup as Raymond Domenech opted against using either when naming his original 30-man provisional squad, raising more eyebrows back home.

With six now out of South Africa contention, Raymond Domenech needs only to make one more cut before his French squad is down to the allocated amount of 23 players. So, with a couple of weeks still left before Domenech has to officially announce his 23-man France squad, which player will receive Domenech’s final kiss of death?

Raymond Domenech will announce his final 23-man squad on 27th May before they head off for a training camp in Tunisia.

Full Name: Franck Bilal Ribery
Date of Birth: 7th April, 1983
Position: Midfielder (Winger)

Current Club: Bayern Munich (Germany)
2009/2010 Apps/Goals: 29-6

International Appearances: 42
International Goals: 7

Described as the ‘jewel in French football’ by arguably the greatest French football to have ever lived, Zinedine Zidane, Franck Ribery will look to steer the French national side to their second World Cup title in South Africa.

Ribery tends to occupy the left-wing position, often picking the ball up from deep and charging into the heart of defences. He is pretty small at 5ft 7incs but that works in his favour, with his quick acceleration and agility enabling him to dodge defenders, often making a mockery of the leanest defences. Ribery does like to cut in from the left and have a pop at goal, although goals have dried up in recent seasons however, with Ribery’s main goal threat now coming from his penalties.

There’s no doubting the talent of Ribery, but he can be a feisty character, often difficult to contain when he gets temperamental. However, it has been a turbulent year or so for the Boulogne born winger, with police investigations involving his private life an obvious distraction and one of the reasons why the French public aren’t too pleased that Ribery looks likely to be involved with the French National team in South Africa. We know his off-the-field drama has got to Ribery because his very next game, once matters about his private life were revealed in newspapers, Ribery was sent off in a Champions League semi-final match with Lyon. He did, however, later go on to win the German Bundesliga title.

Franck Ribery is world-class, up their with the very best in the game when at his peak, but recently Ribery hasn’t been anywhere near his best and has slipped off the radar somewhat. Last summer, many of the big clubs were after his signature, Real Madrid and Chelsea notably, and with the Bavarian winger seemingly seeking out a move from Bayern Munich in Germany, he should be eager to impress in South Africa in a bid to catch the eye of any prospective summer buyers.

Franck Ribery: Top Goalscorer in 2010 FIFA World Cup – 80/1 WilliamHill

Raymond Domenech has never sat well with the overall majority of the French public, so we wonder how the news went down when Karim Benzema wasn’t included in a 30-man preliminary squad ahead of the finals in South Africa, which are now less than a month away.

The big news from France yesterday afternoon was that there would be no Karim Benzema, no Patrick Viera and, to our dismay if we’re honest, no Samir Nasri. We thought the latter shown plenty of promise for Arsenal this season, even if he didn’t have an outstanding seasons on the whole. Viera was never going to make the team in our eyes, time has unfortunately caught up with the former France 1998 World Cup winner, and despite a late switch to Man City in January, Viera’s bid to impress Domenech has failed. Benzema, though, was omitted from a pretty huge squad of talented names, although a poor seasons in the Spaniah La Liga with Real Madrid looks to have been the killer for the former Lyon star.

In terms of some surprise inclusions, there weren’t too many. A small chuckle of laughter did break out at the sight of Djibril Cisse in the team, although, to Cisse’s credit he has enjoyed a fruitful season over in Panathinakos, Greece. Andre-Pierre Gignac is perhaps one of a few names that won’t look at all familiar, but he’s been a proven goalscorer over in France and has shown his worth in the few qualifiers he participated in, scoring a couple of goals in only a handful of appearances. He’s a bulky figure, dangerous from the air, and is a player which will be a handful.

Those playing in the English Premier League that were selected for duty were; Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Man Utd), William Gallas (Arsenal), Bacary sagna (Arsenal), Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Florent Malouda (Chelsea) and Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea).

Thierry Henry, who has hardly been in glittering form for Barcelona over in Spain, was given the nod, as well was Franck Ribery, who has had plenty of off-pitch drama to perhaps justify his absence from the squad, but the Bayern Munich winger was selected.

Raymond Domenech will first need to cut his squad down to size, reducing the 30-man squad to just 23 before the 1st of June. His first World Cup game, however, is against Uruguay on the opening day of the tournament before clashes with Mexico and hosts South Africa.

France 30-man Preliminary Squad:

Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso, Mickael Landreau, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda

Defenders: Eric Abidal, Gael Clichy, Patrice Evra, Rod Fanni, William Gallas, Marc Planus, Adil Rami, Anthony Reveillere, Bacary Sagna, Sebastien Squillaci

Midfielders: Abou Diaby, Alou Diarra, Lassana Diarra, Yoann Gourcuff, Yann M’Vila, Florent Malouda, Jeremy Toulalan

Forwards: Nicolas Anelka, Hatem Ben Arfa, Jimmy Briand, Djibril Cisse, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Sidney Govou, Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Mathieu Valbuena

In a bizarre twist in his international fortunes, French midfielder Patrick Vieira has been told by national coach Raymond Domenech, that he will be captain at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as long as he is fit. This is an interesting turn of events, well, maybe not so much, as Domenech could give the “Tinker Man” Claudio Rainer a run for his money when it comes to making changes, as Vieira was left in the wilderness for France’s most important games of 2009. France ended up in a World Cup Qualifier against Ireland, in which Domenech left 1998 World Cup Winner Vieira out of the team, and naturally the ex-Arsenal star wasn’t very happy about the decision. Vieira has been capped 107 times for his country, and is, apparently, a little regretful at turning down the chance to play for Real Madrid at the end of his Arsenal days.

France famously, or infamously, won that play-off against Ireland, thanks to a Thierry Henry handball in the build up to the crucial winning goal. It was misdemeanour that wasn’t spotted by the referee or linesman, but was seen all around the world. No punishment was forthcoming to Henry, and it capped a decent qualifying campaign by the French, which saw them finish as runner’s-up in the group, as they could not get the better of a very strong Serbia side, who finished a point ahead of them. But now, in a change of heart, Domenech now is keen to get Vieira back into the squad as Captain, as his experience could go a long way. After joining Manchester City on loan until the end of the season from Inter Milan, Vieira has just gotten his first couple of games under his belt back in the Premier League, after recovering from injury. Apparently the French boss is resolute in his decision, stating that without doubt Vieira will be captain if he is fit.

France are in Group A of  the 2010 FIFA World Cup, along with South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay. They open their account on June 11th against Uruguay.

France to win: 6/5 at SkyBet
Draw: 9/4 at Bet365
Uruguay to win: 17/5 at Bwin

France are 16/1 at Ladbrokes to win the World Cup

 

IRELAND V FRANCE

While England and Brazil are fighting it out in Qatar for the bragging rights of winning a friendly, Ireland will be looking to get a foot in the door of the plane which heads to World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The Republic of Ireland take on France at Croke Park on Saturday, looking to make the most of an important home advantage. Ireland, under manager Giovani Trapattoni, went unbeaten in their qualifying group, which included Italy. France, who finished second in their group to Serbia, lost only the once. There are only four European spots left now at South Africa 2010, and Ireland, despite being the underdogs with the Bookies, will be looking to round off an excellent qualifying campaign, by giving the French something to ponder. The pressure and expectations will be on the French, and coach Raymond Domenech has some injury worries. They will likely be missing influential midfielder Jeremy Toulanan, and Franck Ribery has already been ruled out. Real Madrid’s Lassana Diara, who needed extra time to join up with the rest of his countrymen, is fit and ready to go though. Ireland boss Giovani Trapattoni has the luxury of pretty much a full squad to choose from though. With Damien Duff returning from injury, and Liam Lawrence looking most likely to take his place in the middle of the park.

It’s a tough call to know which France will turn out. Sometimes throughout qualifying they have looked a little disorientated and with no cohesive game plan. They may very well employ three strikers up front, with a 4-3-3 formation. That will sound like a brave move for an away team, but you just never know with France. They can either turn on the style and look imperious, or struggle to get and flow into their game whatsoever. But even when they are playing badly, they can still grind out a result. There will be a contrast in styles no doubt, with the emphasis on the Irish to push forward with the home crowd behind them. The Irish should play at pace, with passion, as they are just 180 minutes away from joining England at the World Cup 2010, and more likely than not, ending the under pressure Domenech’s turbulent reign at the helm of France.

Ireland to win: 11/5 at Ladbrokes
Draw: 11/5 at Stan James
France to win: 6/4 at Totesport

Current Form of Last 10 Games (including Friendlies):
France W6, D2, L2
Ireland W2. D6, L1

Ireland have a 40.6 win percentage at home. France have a 55 win percentage away.
France’s last two games have ended in positive for Over 2 goals
Ireland have won on either a -0.25 or -0.50 Asian Handicap in three of their last four games

Prediction: Ireland 1, France 1 – 11/2 at Bet365

November 14th
Croke Park
Kick Off: 7pm

Ireland vs France – World Cup 2010 Qualifying Play-Off

Some good news ahead of Ireland’s World Cup 2010 Qualifier against France on November 14, is that midfielder Damien Duff has regained fitness. Fulham’s Duff returned to action, and it means that Republic of Ireland boss Giovani Trapattoni has all of his core players available to chose from ahead of the crucial first leg.

The Irish will enjoy home advantage for the first leg, and will need to improve on their defensive record by trying to keep a clean sheet to take back to France for the second leg. That could be the all important factor in the overall scenario, as it is more than likely France will find the back of the net, with the array of talent they have in the attacking department. In only two of the 10 qualifying games did Ireland keep out the opposition. It was only in the 2-2 draw against Italy in the final Group game, that Ireland shipped more than one goal. That means eight of the 10 games, they conceded at least one goal, while not immense, it points to a weakness that France’s attacking power could expose.

There will be a big difference up front. France scored 18 times compared to Ireland’s 12 during the Group stage. Les Blues’ boss Raymond Domenech has Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Andre Pierre Gignac, Nicolas Anelka and Lassana Diarra available as goalscoring threats. The French lost one game in Group 8, that being their opening fixture away in Austria. After that, they comfortably, if not spectacularly negotiated their way into second place, finishing behind Serbia. They were helped along by keeping four clean sheets.

The home crowd will play their part on Saturday, and the Irish should go into the matches in good spirit. They finished runners up in Group 8 behind the World Champions Italy, and did not suffer a qualifying defeat. The two drawn matches with Italy, should be the inspiration which they should draw from, as in both the games, the Irish had chances to win the encounters. In the game in Dublin, only a late resilient goal from the Italians saved their blushes. Ireland will play with a lot of passion, and will cause problems for France at Croke Park, and ex-Chelsea player Damien Duff is one of the vital components to getting in behind the French defence.

Trapattoni has stuck largely to his guns with selection of his squad, rewarding the players who have gotten through the Group Stages to this point. There had been much outcry of Trapattoni’s comments over Blackburn’s Steven Reid who is left out, and Steve Finnan, Andy Reid and Clinton Morrison have all missed out on places after recovering from long term injuries. The Italian is keen to keep the group and team spirit together, but Duff’s inclusion is different, for his has contributed some important time in the Group qualifying matches.

Tottenham’s Robbie Keane will be welcoming the service that Duff can deliver. Although not on great goalscoring form for his club, Keane is arguably the Republic of Ireland’s biggest goalscoring threat, having banged in five goals during qualifying for his nation. The Play-off format is the same as most two-legged competition affairs, where aggregate winner progresses, with away goals counting double in the case of an aggregate draw. It will be extra time and penalties at the end of the second leg if everything is on par at that point.

Ireland v France: First Leg Match Odds
France to win: 6/4 at Totesport
Draw: 11/5 at Stan James
Ireland to win: 21/10 at Bet365

Betting Advice: Could be a great night at Croke Park, but the French are going to give the Irish a good game, and probably really push at stages for that vital away goal. They will come away with 1-1 draw and be happy. Ireland do not concede a lot of goals, and France are not often more than good for two.
Ireland v France 1-1 draw will fetch 11/2 at Bet365

To Qualify Odds:
France: 4/11 at Victor Chandler
Ireland: 5/2 at SkyBet

World Cup News Week

October 31 – November 6, 2009

Republic of Ireland boss Giovani Trapattoni stands by his decision to not select Steven Reid and Steve Finnan out of the squad to face France in the qualifying play-off on November 14th…South African Government embraces the “Football Fridays” campaign which sees workers wear the national sides football shirts to the office to show support…Denmark Coach Morten Olson is pragmatic about his sides chances at World Cup 2010 after topping the qualifying group ahead of Sweden and Portugal, they aren’t favourites but could cause upsets…Bahrain coach Milan Macala is hoping not to blow their chance of reaching their first World Cup again, for the second year running they are in a play-off final and square off against Oceanic winners New Zealand, the first leg in Bahrain ended in a 0-0 tie…German striker Miroslav Klose wants to surpass the impact Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo will have at the World Cup…South American qualifying runners-up Chile are looking forward to visiting South Africa 2010, with Chilean ambassadors arriving in Johannesburg to scope things out…the World Cup Trophy tour hits Namibia…Patrick Viera has been left out of the French squad by manager Raymond Domenech, the ex-Arsenal player will not take part in the qualifying games against the Republic of Ireland and he has voiced his disapproval…Cause for concern for Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo will likely be missing from the line-up for their qualifying play-off games against Bosnia- Herzegovina because of an ankle injury…Strong qualifiers come head to head in a friendly match while the European Qualifiers take place, it’s England v Brazil in Qatar on November 14th.

FIXTURES: November 14th, 2009
Bahrain v New Zealand
Greece v Ukraine
Republic of Ireland v France
Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Russia v Slovenia
Costa Rica v Uruguay

WORLD CUP OUTRIGHT WINNERS:
Spain: 9/2 at 888Sport
Brazil: 5/1 at Paddy Power
England: 6/1 at 888Sport
Argentina: 10/1 at 888Sport
Germany: 12/1 at William Hill

The draw has taken place for the World Cup European Qualifier playoffs in Zurich, Switzerland. The top eight runners-up from European Qualifying was separated into four seeded, and four non-seeded teams for the draw. The seeded teams, as based on FIFA rankings were: Portugal, France, Greece and Russia. The Non-seeded teams were the Republic of Ireland, Slovenia, Bosnia and Ukraine. The matches for these two-leg qualifying games will take place on November 14th and 18th.

IRELAND v FRANCE
A tasty match up for Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland side. The Irish were unbeaten during qualifying, including two draws against the Italians. The French could not find a way to topple the impressive Serbia at the top of their Group. This will give them great heart, as the French are unquestionably a good side, but they are beatable. The draw was favourable to the Irish, giving them home advantage first on the 14th. This is where they will need to capitalise, and hope to head back across the English Channel a few days later with an advantage they can hold on to. The Irish are somewhat of a formidable and stubborn side at home, and their hopes could all rest on how fired up they will be in the first leg. They have to go at the French, and go hard. The Irish are ranked 34th in the World, a long way down from the French in 9th. But none of that will matter on the night, when a place in South Africa 2010 is up for grabs.

PORTUGAL v BOSNIA
Much has been made of Portugal’s qualifying struggles. While they could not seem to find the winning touch early on, and survived some matches by the skin of their teeth, they finished runner’s-up on merit, but only because Sweden couldn’t manage to hold off Denmark in what was a crucial deciding game. That defeat for the Swedes opened the door to a remarkable qualifying comeback for Portugal, who had the easier finish to group qualifying. This could be the most interesting match, as it promises a lot of goals. Portugal seems to have negotiated its way through a period of transition, but Bosnia have one of the strongest and most potent strike forces in Europe. They can score goals, and will probably stand up well toe-to-toe with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. Bosnia have nothing to lose being the underdogs, and while they finished a long way back of Spain in qualifying, they have the potential to undo all of Portugal’s hard work in trying to get to the World Cup 2010. They will need their temperament to be right on the night though.

GREECE v UKRAINE
Just reading that fixture sounds like it is going to be a tight battle. They both conjure up pictures of teams which are hard to beat, working as tight, efficient units without giving anything away. It was to some surprise that Greece didn’t emerge victors in a tight Group, but Switzerland had more staying power in the end, and Greece had to battle somewhat down to the wire just to get to this stage. Ukraine were the only team to beat England in qualification, and that came in a pressure game in which they needed to win to leap frog Croatia into second place. That they did, and a good run of form at the end saw them into the runner’s-up playoffs. They have the iconic Andriy Shevchenko leading them, and this will be the tightest game in the play-offs, where it is genuinely hard to pick a winner.

RUSSIA v SLOVENIA
Both could have won their groups but fell just short when it mattered most. Slovenia did manage to beat Slovakia, who won the group, home and away, but it was their results in March, a draw and a defeat which undid their hopes of finishing top. They are a neat side, well organised, but could be undone by a lack of goal scoring power. That should not be too much of a problem for Russia however, as they looked a strong team throughout, until they lost their penultimate game at home to group winners Germany. They can cause immense problems on their day, and are probably a lot stronger than they are given credit for. They will be the ones who are happiest with the outcome of this qualifying draw.

November 14th First Leg Match Odds
Greece to win: 5/4 at Bet365
Draw: 9/4 at SkyBet
Ukraine to win: 12/5 at Bet365

France to win: 13/8 at BetFred
Draw: 11/5 at SportingBet
Ireland to win: 2/1 at Paddy Power

Portugal to win: 4/9 at Boylesports
Draw: 7/2 at SportingBet
Bosnia: 8/1 at SkyBet

Russia to win: 4/11 at Bet365
Draw: 7/2 at Boylesports
Slovenia to win: 8/1 at Totesport