France World Cup 2010 Team Profile

April 6th, 2010 | by: Daryl |

Le_nouveau_logo_FFF France will be in Group A, along with South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico. All is not rosy, especially with coach Raymond Domenech, but this is still a team with talent galore to choose from and still the nation that only missed out on winning World Cup 2006 on penalty kicks. Or was it headbutts?

Either way, read on for the France team profile, and don’t be afraid to disagree in the comments.

Nickname: Les Bleus. (The Blues.)

FIFA World Ranking as of March 31st 2010: #8

Coach: Raymond Domenech. Possibly the least popular coach in international football right now. Most fans can’t believe he wasn’t fired after France’s Euro 2008 performance. Whether he’s selecting players based on astrology or proposing to his girlfriend on television after exiting a major tournament, it’s impossible to guess what DomDom will do next. The major source of frustration for France fans right now is Domenech’s insistence on playing two defensive midfielders and only one striker.

Key Players: Bordeaux’s Yoann Gourcuff is busy filling the Zinedine Zidane shaped hole in attacking midfield, left winger Florent Malouda is murdering right backs in the Premier League with Chelsea, while Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery is arguably the most talented of all France’s attacking options, and can play right, left or center. Going forward there’s Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, young Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and more to choose from, which seems almost unfair. Until you remember the madman France has entrusted with the choosing process, and the fact that he usually opts to play with just one striker.

Player with best YouTube video: I expected it to be Thierry Henry, but this Franck Ribery compilation wins hands down:

Honourable mentioned for this Henry video though, from his Arsenal days:

Player with best name: Steve Mandanda. Because it’s fun to say.

Player with best nickname: I love that Thierry Henry happily goes by “Titi”, but the award has to go to Lassana Diarra, who’s shirt at Real Madrid simply reads “Lass”.

Qualification: France made a poor start to UEFA Group 7, losing the opening game 3-1 to Austria, and eventually finished in second place, one point behind Serbia. This meant a playoff against Ireland, which has now gone down in football history thanks to Thierry Henry. If you don’t know about this infamous incident already, then Henry handballed (not one, but twice) to set up the goal for William Gallas that won the playoff for France and sent them to World Cup 2010.

Interesting: French singer (and former “adult” film actress) Catherine Ringer became an internet sensation last year with a song professing her attraction to Raymond Domenech: “Je Kiffe Raymond”.

National Anthem: “La Marseillaise” (”The Song of Marseille”)

More on the France national anthem (and other Group A anthems) here.

Kit: Blue shirt, white shorts, red socks. Like the flag.
france-home
Read our France jersey review here and/or buy your France jersey from our store.

World Cup History:
1930 – First Round
1934 – First Round
1938 – Quarter-Finals
1954 – First Round
1958 – Semi-Finals
1966 – First Round
1978 – First Round
1982 – Semi-Finals
1986 – Semi-Finals
1998 – Champions
2002 – First Round
2006 – Final

Expectations: I’d suggest anything less than quarter-finals would be considered a failure.

Squad: TBA

Blog: We have Sarah, Laurie, Jeff, Inara and new signing Jean-François covering Les Bleus on the France blog.

- More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

France World Cup Guide

International Football News – World Cup Blog RSS Feed

http://www.worldcupblog.org/ WCB Chris

Only missed out on winning World Cup 2006 by the width of the crossbar.
http://juventus.theoffside.com alessio

but this is still a team with talent galore to choose from and still the nation that only missed out on winning World Cup 2006 on penalty kicks.

And also finishing Euro2008 with 2 losses and a draw, and a -5 goal differential. Without Zidane, they are toast
http://www.worldcupblog.org Daryl

That’s maybe a bit extreme alessio. Obviously you’re correct that Euro 2008 sans Zidane is more recent and therefore more relevant, but basically I’m saying that even without Zidane there’s still enough talent in this France team for them to be formidable if thing somehow click.
http://seattle.theoffside.com laurie

Another issue with Domenech is that he doesn’t pick a squad based on current form. Malouda has been out of favor all year, and Domenech preferred to play Henry on the left wing in qualification. It’s still a big question mark whether or not Malouda will see playing time. Or even get called up.
http://www.worldcupblog.org Daryl

That’s insane, because Malouda’s had a great few months.
http://seattle.theoffside.com laurie

Exactly, but it’s what Domenech has become comfortable with. Because if you put Malouda on the left wing, where do you put Henry? Domenech seems to have decided he’s not comfortable with Henry as the lone striker, but Henry HAS to be on the field somewhere because when he’s healthy, he plays. So…what? Put him on right wing at the expense of Ribery?

Which brings us back yet again to the two DM/single striker issue. But with the trouble France is having finding healthy centerbacks who can work together, two DMs is not looking like such a horrible thing right now either…

I’m writing off 2010, but I’d be thrilled to be wrong. I have high hopes for 2014 under (crossing fingers) Laurent Blanc, though.
pencho15

I would love to see them defeated in their three matches just for the way they qualified, I really like fair play and the way France qualified was unfair. stil they are here and they are a strong team, I don’t really like to see them because i find their game since Domenech is on the team quite boring, if there is a way for France not to have all their potential is with Domenech in front, still they’ll probably advance with South Africa.
Robert

With Domenech, I see nothing but multiplied disaster. He is far too conservative and unimaginative to be considered a competent coach. Face it, the only period of success for him was when Zidane came out of retirement. Even with all the talent this team has, he never gets the best out of his players because they have no faith/confidence in him.

Though I love Les Bleus, even I can admit that I wanted Ireland to win the 2-leg playoff. If missing the World Cup is the only thing that gets Domenech fired, so be it. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if the FFF demanded that he coach them through to 2014. The only thing I look forward to with France matches these days, is La Marseillaise. Sad…
Foreverzidane

Talented individuals, emphasis on INDIVIDUALS, absolutely
no team cohesion, terrible coaching staff, despite it all would love to see them advance and meet Italy somewhere along the way to pay back for 2006.
It would be so ridiculous if Malouda doesn’t get called up. Two D.M. system is a total waste of resources, cause
these guys can light it up, just need a coach who is a calculated risk taker.
My dream is to attend the Euros in 2016 in France if they get awarded the games on May 28 2010.
http://Mexico Daniel

It’s difficult to predict France’s success at the world cup. They have talent but some players like Henry and Anelka are getting old and their best days are over. The team is not functioning well and had problems in qualifying. It will not be easier at the world cup. Mexico and Uruguay may be tough contenders, and South Africa will be playing home in front of their public. With regard to history, France is favourite, but it would not be a great surprise if it was eliminated.
Foreverzidane

Not a very pleasant day for me and the Gunners, but something interesting occurred when Wenger brought in Eboue and shifted Sagna along TV5 to play as central
defenders. Sagna would make a great central defender, always solid, seldom gives the ball away, and cool under pressure, he is taller than he appears on Television.
Clichy is getting back to his old form and I hope he gets the job over Abidal.
Foreverzidane

What a great contributor Arsenal is to the National team,
Only 5 more games to go and I hope that Nasri, Diaby, Sagna, Clichy would all stay healthy.
Nasri was not a factor today at all and Diaby showed glimpses of brilliance but Barcelona has great divers, and Academy Awards nominees!
Foreverzidane

If you live in North America World soccer shop has a great deal on the jersey with name and number under $100, for me a little extra for shipping charges to Canada and of course the customs charges.
The ebay thing is great for price but the quality is not that great.
Scott

Very much enjoyed the analysis. Also think “Foreverzidane” critique just about says it all. Unfortunately, I actually clicked on the Catherine Ringer link and listened to (as much as I could take of) the song. 30 seconds was about all I could manage though before cramps/nausea set in. Now how can I get this image out of my head?
SATour

The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is just days away and we’re so excited that the world is coming to South Africa. Come and Join the World Party, vote for your country and you could win a trip to South Africa! http://mzan.si/YwiF – France is in the lead at the moment, if you want your country to win, enter now!