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Tuesday, June 27, 2006Spain 1-3 France France struck twice in the last 10 minutes to see off Spain and set up a quarter-final meeting with Brazil. Spain went ahead through David Villa's superbly struck penalty after Lilian Thuram rashly fouled Ibanez Pablo. France soon equalised when Frank Ribery rounded Iker Casillas after he was found by Patrick Vieira's clever pass. With seven minutes to go Vieira powered in a header and with Spain pushing forward Zinedine Zidane broke clear for a solo effort in stoppage time. Zidane, who struggled in France's first two group games, looks to have finally found his rhythm, prompting and cajoling his teammates to victory just as he did during their successful 1998 campaign. France's victory also means Brazil will face their nemesis Zidane again, the player who scored twice against them in the 1998 World Cup final. An absorbing game offering two contrasting styles, with Spain pursuing a patient passing game while France adopted a more direct approach to try to utilise Thierry Henry's pace. Mariano Pernia went close with a dipping free-kick, though the Spain defender was soon on defensive watch as he courageously blocked a Zidane shot. While Pernia showed bravery, his defensive colleague Carles Puyol relied on athleticism to head back to Casillas to stop Zidane's pass reaching Henry. The Arsenal striker finally escaped the attentions of the Spain defence when he broke down the right and sent over an inviting cross that neither Vieira or Ribery could reach. Villa's penalty briefly stopped France in their tracks. Thuram was too eager to challenge Ibanez and Italian referee Roberto Rosetti had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Barthez guessed correctly, but Villa's shot - low and powerful - was unstoppable. Five minutes before the interval France equalised with a elegant goal as Vieira's quick pass released Ribery. Finishing has not been the Marseille's winger strongest point in France's group games, but Ribery's speed got him round Iker Casillas and his sidefooted finish eluded Pernia and Puyol as they tried to cover back. France's equaliser saw the game shift up a notch in intensity in the second half. Just as Vieira had released Ribery, Zidane did the same for Florent Malouda, whose lobbed effort drew a one-handed save from Casillas. Just past the hour Ribery skipped his way past Pernia, but he was unable to find a French player with his powerful cross. France's invigorating start to the second half prompted Spain coach Luis Aragones to make a double substitution as he brought on Luis Garcia and Sanchez Joaquin. With 12 minutes left Joaquin ghosted past Eri Abidal before firing a shot into the side netting. But it was France who found an extra gear in the last 10 minutes as first Vieira and then Zidane punished Spain. It was a deflected Zidane free-kick that Vieira headed in and France's captain applied the coup de grace with a run and powerful shot that gave Casillas no chance. The defeat was the first Spain had suffered under Aragones in 25 games since he took charge after Euro 2004. 
Monday, June 19, 2006France 1-1 South Korea France remain without a win in the World Cup finals since their 1998 victory over Brazil after South Korea came from behind to snatch a point. Thierry Henry gave France an early lead, latching on to Sylvain Wiltord's deflected shot to sidefoot home. Patrick Vieira was denied a goal when his header was blocked by Korea keeper Lee Woon-Jae after it crossed the line, but the referee did not give the goal. But with 10 minutes to go Park Ji-sung punished sloppy French defending. The draw left South Korea top of Group G with four points, two ahead of France, who are in jeopardy of crashing out of the World Cup at the group stages for the second successive time. France spurned two chances to score in a frenetic finale, Vieira ballooning the ball over the bar from a good position and Henry missing with just the goalkeeper to beat. The 1998 winners had looked soporific in their opening game against Switzerland but Raymond Domenech's side gave an altogether more alert performance until they slackened off in the closing stages. Malouda's return had much to do with France's improvement as les bleus played at a much quicker tempo than they had managed against the Swiss. Just as importantly Vieira gave a more convincing performance as well in the centre of midfield for France. France laid siege to the South Korean goal in the opening 10 minutes and Lee Woon-jae did well to come out and narrow the angle to prevent Sylvain Wiltord from scoring. The South Korean goalkeeper had no chance of stopping France's next attack - Henry took one touch before he found the net with deadly precision. France should have had a second goal when Vieira's header clearly crossed the line, despite Lee Woon-jae's desperate efforts to keep the ball out. When the ball came out of the goal Malouda lunged to reach it and in doing so he was penalised for fouling Ho Lee. For 75 minutes of the game South Korea's attacks had tended to peter out the nearer they got to France's goal. Just before the interval France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez had a momentary scare when Lee Chun-soo's free-kick went narrowly wide after it travelled through a packed penalty area. Barthez was just as inactive for much of the second half but in the 81st minute when he was called on to be decisive he flapped in a desperately indecisive fashion. Seol Ki-Hyeon's deep cross from the right was headed back by Cho Jae-Jin and Park scooped the ball over Barthez and William Gallas. Zinedine Zidane was then booked for France and will now miss the third match, possibly bringing down the curtain on his career in a way he could never have envisaged. Having reached the semi-finals in 2002, South Korea had been written off in the build-up to Germany 2006, but Dick Advocaat's side are on the verge of reaching the last 16, exceeding all expectations.
Friday, June 16, 2006Domenech philosophical about draw France coach Raymond Domenech was not overly disappointed after his side's 0-0 draw with Switzerland. "This was a high-level match from both teams. We knew it would not be easy, but we managed to take two points off a direct rival," he said. "I regret that we did not score when had the chance but we are always at the mercy of these things. We could have beaten them in the first half. They could have won the match in the second half." The teams drew twice against each other in qualifying for the World Cup. And Domenech said: "We know that team all too well. It was the sort of match we expected." Thierry Henry was denied a penalty when his shot was handled by Swiss defender Patrick Mueller and the referee waved his claims away. The refereeing was not always understandable, even though it is top-level refereeing," Domenech said. "It's a shame, but we have to put up with it." France next take on South Korea, who beat Togo 2-1 earlier on Tuesday, on Sunday. Domenech said: "We have it all to do. South Korea will be qualified if they beat us, so we have to be ready."
France 0-0 Switzerland France got their World Cup campaign off to a disappointing start with an uninspiring draw against Switzerland. Both teams found it hard in stifling conditions and lacked any real creative spark until the closing stages. Switzerland came closest to scoring, with Alexander Frei fluffing an easy chance and Fabien Barthez brilliantly denying substitute Daniel Gygax. Thierry Henry was denied a penalty when his shot was handled by Patrick Mueller but the referee waved his claims away. France had the better of the early exchanges and Henry came close to giving them the lead with a header on five minutes, but Sylvain Wiltord put too much on the cross and it soared over the bar. Neither team seemed keen to extend themselves in the disagreeable heat and it was no surprise the sides only managed a goal apiece in their two World Cup qualifying meetings. Henry was isolated up front at times and this was highlighted midway through the first half when the Arsenal striker worked his way to the byline and stuck a probing cross into the box, only to find none of his colleagues had made the journey with him. Switzerland had a glorious chance to open the scoring in the 23rd minute when Tranquillo Barnetta fired in a free kick and Phillippe Senderos got the faintest of touches to nod it on to the post. In the resultant scramble Frei had the goal at his mercy, but Eric Abidal just did enough to put him off and the ball ballooned over the bar. Debutant Franck Ribery should have given France the lead when he was put clean through on 37 minutes but he nervously squared to Henry instead. The striker's shot hit the hand of of Mueller, but the Russian referee decided it was accidental. France came out of the traps quickest in the second half and Patrick Vieira wasted another opportunity two minutes in, scuffing his shot after being teed up by Ribery. Vieira looked a shadow of the player who made those surging box-to-box runs, while Zinedine Zidane's box of tricks was ransacked some time ago, although he was still head and shoulders above his team-mates. Just before the hour mark, Henry slid Wiltord in and a goal seemed certain until a perfectly-timed tackle by Senderos whipped the ball off the Frenchman's foot as he was preparing to pull the trigger. Switzerland responded with a rare attack of their own when Barnetta burst into the area, but he delayed his pass too long and the French cleared their lines. Substitute Vikash Dhorasoo was a whisker away from giving France a last-gasp winner and Frei's attempt to punch in a Swiss free kick was punished with a yellow card. When the final whistle came, the French section of the crowd made their feelings clear, realising perhaps that age has finally caught up with Les Bleus.
Thursday, June 08, 2006 Govou in, Cisse out The French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Thursday that France coach Raymond Domenech had called Lyon forward Sidney Govou into his squad. Govou arrives in the wake of the serious injury suffered by Djibril Cisse, who broke a leg in Wednesday night's friendly against China. Govou, 26, was due to join the France squad in Saint-Etienne on Thursday prior to their departure for Hannover. Govou's place in France's squad for the FIFA World Cup™ will not be confirmed until FIFA makes an official annoucement.
Wednesday, June 07, 20061 LANDREAU Mickael (GK) 2 BOUMSONG Jean-Alain 3 ABIDAL Eric 4 VIEIRA Patrick 5 GALLAS William 6 MAKELELE Claude 7 MALOUDA Florent 8 DHORASOO Vikash 9 CISSE Djibril 10 ZIDANE Zinedine 11 WILTORD Sylvain 12 HENRY Thierry 13 SILVESTRE Mikael 14 SAHA Louis 15 THURAM Lilian 16 BARTHEZ Fabien (GK) 17 GIVET Gael 18 DIARRA Alou 19 SAGNOL Willy 20 TREZEGUET David 21 CHIMBONDA Pascal 22 RIBERY Frank 23 COUPET Gregory (GK)
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