South Africa World Cup 2010 Group A: France

GROUP A

South Africa Mexico Uruguay France

France

Road to South Africa

It started horribly and ended in acrimonious scenes in Saint-Denis but France somehow conjured a record-breaking fourth successive finals berth when it was most needed. Whether they deserved a place in South Africa following Thierry Henry's handball in the second leg of the playoff with Ireland is now academic. However, while the contentious action of the French captain and figurehead that night will live on, French fans remain more concerned about how they finished a point behind Serbia in qualifying despite taking four points off the Group 7 table toppers.

A 3-1 opening round loss to Austria got the campaign off to the worst possible start, while frustration followed against Romania and Frank Ribery's goals against Lithuania prevented the struggle getting even worse. Optimists will suggest Les Bleus endured the same qualifying problems four years before and went onto reach the 2006 final.

Fixtures

France Copyright © Soccerphile	France Copyright © Soccerphile

France v Uruguay 9 June; Cape Town
France v Mexico 17 June; Polokwane
France v South Africa 22 June; Bloemfontein

Analysis

The French, 1998 winners in glorious fashion, are a shadow of the side that swept away all comers a decade ago. However, they remain blessed with a smattering of talented individuals – Ribery, Karim Benzema, Lassana Diarra principally among them – and should have enough in South Africa to maximise the benefit of a favourable draw.

France have been pooled with the weakest of the eight seeds in the hosts, who they don't even face until the final group match when qualification to the knockout stage – past Uruguay and Mexico – might already be assured.

Thierry Henry isn't quite the player of his Premier League heyday, but he and Nicolas Anekla offer invaluable experience in attack. Behind, a youthful midfield with Lassana Diarra and Jeremy Toulanan prominent are relative newcomers while neither of Raymond Domenech's possible first choice goalkeepers – Steve Mandanda or, more likely, Hugo Lloris of Marseille and Lyon respectively, have played at a major tournament before.

Key player: Franck Ribery

When you're talking about World Cup matches, it's clear France's key man is Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery. Onlookers might remember that he flattered to deceive in France's march to the 2006 final in Germany, but the statistics during that tournament and in qualifying since don't lie: when Ribery plays, the French don't lose. Domenech's biggest headache, though, is the 26-year-old's fitness. Ribery missed much of the first-half of the Bundesliga season because of a succession of different ailments and is still not guaranteed to return to domestic action after the German winter break.

One to watch: Yoann Gourcuff

If creative midfielder Yoann Gourcuff hasn’t yet broken into the consciousness of the wider football community, the 23-year-old looks certain to do so in 2010. Gourcuff, the Bordeaux playmaker, featured in 10 World Cup qualifiers during a testing campaign, including both playoff legs, and was recently named French footballer of the year. What's more, the World Cup final even falls on his 24th birthday.

Gourcuff has lacked confidence this season according to legendary defender Laurent Blanc, his coach at the Ligue 1 champions, and while an ongoing adductor problem has derailed his progress after he joined permanently from Milan in the summer, he had so much to live up from the 2008/09 season it's not surprising.

Coach: Raymond Domenech

The whispers of discontent about the managerial approach of Raymond Domenech have overshadowed France's international displays from his appointment after Euro 2004. Domenech, an often outspoken and controversial figure, has twice been given a vote of confidence by the French Football Federation (FFF) and, in December, his position as coach leading into the World Cup was again discussed by the FFF board. He survived, but the feeling is he would have to repeat 2006's achievements to stand any chance of keeping the job any longer.

Record

1930, 1934, 1954, 1966, 2002 First Round; 1938 Quarter Finals; 1982 Fourth place; 1958 & 1986 Third place, 2006 Runners-up, 1998 Champions

FIFA Ranking

Predictions & Latest Odds

Should escape the group.
World Cup Betting

How they qualified

Second in European qualifying group 7 behind Serbia, then won a play off 2-1 against the Republic of Ireland.

On the sidelines

Coach Domenech was a hit in the song Je Kiffe Raymond (I Fancy Raymond) by Catherine Ringer, a former porn star.
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Soccerphile says

A place in the quarter-finals beckons, but France need all their leading lights to be on song to progress any further.

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux)
Defenders: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), William Gallas (Arsenal), Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla), Marc Planus (Girondins Bordeaux), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Anthony Reveillere (Olympique Lyon)
Midfielders: Alou Diarra (Girondins Bordeaux), Jeremy Toulalan (Olympique Lyon), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Yoann Gourcuff (Girondins Bordeaux), Abou Diaby (Arsenal)
Forwards: Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Sidney Govou (Olympique Lyon), Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille)

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