France NT News, Formations & Results

sportsczy wrote:http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Ribery-forfait-pour-le-bresil/471480

Ribery officially out.  He's had a bad back since January and he just can't get rid of it.   He may need surgery and be out all of next season too if it doesn't get better.  Lower back issue.

A shame... this was his last WC.

I just got to know this. He was never my favourite player but I am almost weeping for him now. It was his last world cup. I would have really liked to see how he would sign off. This is terrible. I rated France pretty high in my predictions. Now do I go back and redo everything?

Griezmann is really good dude. He actually fits better with Benz too. Benz and Ribery have never played all that well together. Ribery has been off form since Jan... it's not like France lost the 2013 Ribery.

sportsczy wrote:Griezmann is really good dude. He actually fits better with Benz too. Benz and Ribery have never played all that well together. Ribery has been off form since Jan... it's not like France lost the 2013 Ribery.

You have a point but then there is a counter point. In such huge tournaments being a bright player is often not enough. You need that experience and know how. With Ribery gone France have very few old heads and leaders left to guide the team in difficult situations.

For so long there has been talk about cutting down the number of matches played during the season so that players get to rest more and are not injured so often but no one takes it seriously. Just how many more players are we going to lose before even a ball has been kicked at WC 2014. Also some of the players who will go will be well below their best because they will not be 100% fit. That's one of the reasons why people later complain the world cup was not entertaining enough. Some of the players are just not in the best physical condition. It's happened in several world cups by now.

The majority of the players play for big clubs so they are used to that level of play and pressure.  That part doesn't really bother me.  With Cabella, Remy and Giroud backing up Benz, Griezmann and Valbuena, i think we'll be fine there.

sportsczy wrote:The majority of the players play for big clubs so they are used to that level of play and pressure.  That part doesn't really bother me.  With Cabella, Remy and Giroud backing up Benz, Griezmann and Valbuena, i think we'll be fine there.

So does your team have any weaknesses then? Midfield is solid with Matuidi, Pogba and Cabaye. In defense any two out of Varane, Sakho, Kocsielny and Mangala look good. Sagna is a good right back. Lloris is a good goalkeeper. Only left back may be a little weak. You have a really good but underrated coach. His selections have been much less criticized than those of most other coaches. I still feel that to actually win this tournament you needed the Ribery of 2013 though.

Wouldn't Thauvin be a better fit than this Cabella guy ?

lol, people who actually follow ligue1 know that Cabella clearly outclasses thauvin by miles.

thauvin lol

Interesting twist... DD is going to line up Benz on the left side in the "Ronaldo" role and stick Giroud at CF to start the game tomorrow. Valbuena will be on the right.

It will only work if Evra and Debuchy really bomb down the flanks and offer widith "the 2 B2Bs, Pogba and Matuidi, also stay relatively wide.

Interesting.

Definitely want to see how that works out. If he can play in that role aswell, it just makes me want him even more at Arsenal.

I remember reading a story about Benz refusing to play left wing. I think under domenech.

I don't think it works because Benz-Giroud-Valbuena has no pace in it whatsoever. The defenders don't have to worry about any of them making runs behind. You need to add pace.

At Arsenal, i think it's the same issue with Ozil on the right. If you put Ozil as the AM and Walcott on the right, then it would work.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:I remember reading a story about Benz refusing to play left wing. I think under domenech.

That was BS. Domenech would leak false stories out there so that his bad decisions would always seem like the fault of someone else. He got called out on it after the 2010 WC by everyone, including the French Federation press liaison that acted as his leak guy on NT lol.

No Griezmann?

I think DD feels like its too much pressure on Griezmann too early.... but if Benz/Giroud doesn't work, he'll immediately switch to Griezmann. He's trying to protect the kid a little bit. It's a lot of pressure to play instead of Ribery at a WC no less.

I expect Griezmann to come in at halftime anyhow.

Just an experiment with Benz/Giroud that has failed before and will fail again imo. This late experimenting is very strange by DD.

DD

The inevitable france flopping is coming

Benzema at LW as if he can dribble or cross from there as if he will track back as if he has any pace to trouble tactical masterclass indeed.

Benzema played A LOT of football on the left at Lyon. He isn't new to the role.

It can work imo. Makes tonight's match even more interesting.

RealGunner wrote:Benzema played A LOT of football on the left at Lyon. He isn't new to the role.

It can work imo. Makes tonight's match even more interesting.

He isnt the same player as before though...when was the last time you saw him dribble past a defender? ... he has bulked up and lost the agility and changed into a different player.

adit i mostly agree with adit but benzema wont do any back tracking, matuidi will. Valbuena and Benzema will play in free form behind Giroud. he wont be a winger per say. we will see...

I really hope Griezmann plays. This is the opportunity to find out if Benzema can lead a team in big games. I dont want to hear any excuses and want perfect conditions for Benzema.

the reason giroud would start in the first place is that DD is not that convinced that Benzema can carry the team with goals. Whereas Giroud is a more reliable scorer. he has a great thing going with valbuena

Mr Nick09 wrote:the reason giroud would start in the first place is that DD is not that convinced that Benzema can carry the team with goals. Whereas Giroud is a more reliable scorer. he has a great thing going with valbuena

oh please...he doesnt score because of CR. With France he doesnt score errr because of CRribbery..now that both are not here he can take control of the team and show us that he is an alpha.

Ummm.... no.  That's not why.  Griezmann has just looked somewhat average in the first two preparation games.  He does nice things once in a while; but he's a bit timid out there.  DD doesn't like guys who play timid.  So he's trying other options just to see... he started Remy on the left last game and now Benz.

Nobody has won the left flank spot yet.  He's giving everyone a tryout.  In the end, i felt that Griezmann has performed the best so far there.  We'll see after tomorrow.

@Adit.  In the last 4 games in WCQ for NT (3 starts, 1 sub), Giroud has zero goals and zero assists.  In the last 4 WCQ games, Benz has two goals... in 2 starts and 2 subs.  There is absolutely zero question who starts at CF.  The issue is LW...  DD wants to see if Benz offers the best solution at LW.

Anyonw who thinks that DD doesn't prefer or trust Benz doesn't know at all what he's talking about. As soon as Benz picked up even the slightest form, he benched Giroud. And since the switch to a 433, Benz has started every single game at CF and done very well.

sportsczy wrote:Interesting twist...  DD is going to line up Benz on the left side in the "Ronaldo" role and stick Giroud at CF to start the game tomorrow.  Valbuena will be on the right.

Which means perhaps DD does not share this forum's confidence in Griezmann!

sportsczy wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:I remember reading a story about Benz refusing to play left wing.  I think under domenech.

That was BS.  Domenech would leak false stories out there so that his bad decisions would always seem like the fault of someone else.  He got called out on it after the 2010 WC by everyone, including the French Federation press liaison that acted as his leak guy on NT lol.  

Fate should be thanked that France did not win WC 2006 because if Domenech's name appeared in the list of world cup winning coaches it would be an eternal embarrassment for football. There's rarely been a worse piece of crap managing a top national team and he got to stay for six long years.

Well... Benz-Giroud looked good Hard to really take a lot out of a game like this though. But i have a feeling that DD will give it a go against Honduras.

And i'll be quite honest... Sissoko is a BEAST with NT. I almost want him to start over Pogba. Actually, i think he deserves it. Maybe he does.