French fear first-round failure again
Source: Agencies |
June 11, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WORLD beater or first-round flop? France has been at both ends of the tournament spectrum in recent years and goes into today's Group A opener against Uruguay with fans still unsure which is this year's likely path.
Followers of the French national team have long given up trying to predict how it will fare having seen it gravitate wildly and though the players are sounding upbeat, there is an underlying nervousness about its Cape Town opener.
After lifting the trophy in 1998 and following up with the European Championship two years later, Les Bleus suffered an ignominious defeat by Senegal in their first match of the 2002 World Cup and went out in the group stage. They bounced back to reach the World Cup final in 2006 but were abject in Euro 2008 where they managed just one point.
Having struggled to qualify for South Africa via a fortunate playoff win over Ireland France was then presented with what looked a favorable draw alongside Uruguay, South Africa and Mexico.
However, an unimpressive warm-up campaign culminating in a 0-1 defeat by China, combined with signs of upward development from its three rivals, has left the country torn about the team's prospects.
"The good thing in a way is that we are used to doing it the hard way because that's what we did in qualifying," said midfielder Jeremy Toulalan. "We know it will not be easy but we're used to that and ready for it."
While coach Raymond Domenech can afford to leave captain and former talisman Thierry Henry on the bench, Uruguay's hopes sit squarely on the shoulders of its striker Diego Forlan.
Fresh from another free-scoring season in Spain, where his goals won the Europa League for Atletico Madrid, Forlan has developed into a world-class striker and declared himself fully fit after bruising his thigh earlier in the week in a training collision.
Team confidence has lifted on the back of impressive warm-up wins over Switzerland and Israel and team spokesman Matias Faral said on Wednesday that their training in Kimberly had gone well. "Everything is good, no injuries, and everything is okay with Forlan," he said.
Followers of the French national team have long given up trying to predict how it will fare having seen it gravitate wildly and though the players are sounding upbeat, there is an underlying nervousness about its Cape Town opener.
After lifting the trophy in 1998 and following up with the European Championship two years later, Les Bleus suffered an ignominious defeat by Senegal in their first match of the 2002 World Cup and went out in the group stage. They bounced back to reach the World Cup final in 2006 but were abject in Euro 2008 where they managed just one point.
Having struggled to qualify for South Africa via a fortunate playoff win over Ireland France was then presented with what looked a favorable draw alongside Uruguay, South Africa and Mexico.
However, an unimpressive warm-up campaign culminating in a 0-1 defeat by China, combined with signs of upward development from its three rivals, has left the country torn about the team's prospects.
"The good thing in a way is that we are used to doing it the hard way because that's what we did in qualifying," said midfielder Jeremy Toulalan. "We know it will not be easy but we're used to that and ready for it."
While coach Raymond Domenech can afford to leave captain and former talisman Thierry Henry on the bench, Uruguay's hopes sit squarely on the shoulders of its striker Diego Forlan.
Fresh from another free-scoring season in Spain, where his goals won the Europa League for Atletico Madrid, Forlan has developed into a world-class striker and declared himself fully fit after bruising his thigh earlier in the week in a training collision.
Team confidence has lifted on the back of impressive warm-up wins over Switzerland and Israel and team spokesman Matias Faral said on Wednesday that their training in Kimberly had gone well. "Everything is good, no injuries, and everything is okay with Forlan," he said.
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