For every French football fan, tonight’s return leg against Ukraine cannot come quick enough, as they are desperate to try and put right their shock 2-0 defeat in Kiev last Friday. France’s World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread as they must overturn a 2-0 first leg defeat, something which has never been done in the history of the play-offs. The odds are stacked against the 1998 World champions and the 2006 runners-up, and it will be the biggest 90 minutes of football for most of these players, and the most challenging test which Didier Deschamps has had to face in his short management career. The whole nation will be glued to their television screens this evening, praying that they will not be watching next summer’s World Cup without a team to support.
It was the clash between Portugal and Sweden which grabbed the headlines and was the pick of the play-offs, leaving football fans across the globe devastated that either Cristiano Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic would not take part in a World Cup whilst they are in their prime. Nobody thought however that the likes of Frank Ribery, Hugo Lloris, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri could also miss out on next summer’s major tournament. A World Cup in Brazil is the pinnacle of any player’s career, and to miss out on this would be truly heart-breaking for some of the talented stars in France’s squad.
The hopes of a nation have seemed to be resting on Frank Ribery over the last few years, and this pressure on his shoulders seemed to weigh him down in the first leg against Ukraine. He showed glimpses of the world class player that he is, but was rarely given the opportunity to penetrate Ukraine’s solid back four. France’s best chance of the game fell to Samir Nasri who had the chance to equalise and put France in a much healthier position, however he lacked composure and planted his one on one straight into the grateful arms of the Ukrainian goalkeeper. France were made to look like an average side, with only Blaise Matuidi and Paul Pogba standing out in the centre of midfield. Other than this France lacked creativity going forward and were very vulnerable at the back, leaving themselves very open particularly during the last 10 minutes, giving Ukraine chances to have increased their lead and put the tie beyond France.
The general consensus amongst French fans is that Didier Deschamps is the wrong man to take France forward, with 84% believing that France will fail to qualify for Brazil 2014 after last Friday’s result. Many felt that he made errors in both his team selection and his tactics in the first leg, with fans losing patience with their one time World Cup winning captain. Many criticised his selection of Patrice Evra at left back, whilst others felt that Mathieu Valbuena, who has more often than not performed well in a French shirt, should have started ahead of either Samir Nasri or Loic Remy. There are also the arguments over whether Frank Ribery should be used as a wide player or given a costless role as a number 10, whilst others disagreed with Deschamps’ centre back partnership. Former France defender and now French TV pundit Frank Lebouef supported his former team-mate however, saying that one thing he did not lack was the ability to motivate his players, and that the starting 11 that are picked for tonight’s game will not be playing without passion. There has been a lot of criticism in recent years as to whether French players can motivate themselves to perform well for their national team, but Lebouef claimed that Deschamps’ men would be well up for the task ahead of them tonight.
Les Bleus stand on the brink of national humiliation as it would be the first time they have failed to reach a major tournament in 20 years. One of world football’s greatest nations run the risk of not travelling to the main event of 2014, but most neutrals will be supporting them tonight, hoping that some of the world’s best players will be on display in Brazil next summer. Although it may look like an impossible task, France have a habit of qualifying the hard way, as I’m sure all of you will remember ‘that goal’ by Thierry Henry, breaking Irish hearts in 2009. With Arsenal’s frontman Olivier Giroud stating this weekend that him and his teammates are “ready to die on the pitch” against Ukraine tonight, this game will certainly not be lacking in passion and desire and it is set to be an exhilarating second leg tie, in front of a hopeful Stade de France crowd.