France wins group? Not so fast, my friends!
While I was working, I happened to catch a glimpse of the group pairings for the World Cup. Of course, I did DVR it and it will ruin it when I want to watch it later on.
Still, I was quite happy to see France make it to Group A. While Les Bleus were not seeded, being put in Group A was the next best thing. But after looking at the other teams in the group, I pulled a Lee Corso “not so fast, my friends” moment.
While France is paired up with host South Africa, which should be an easy win, they will also be playing against CONMEBOL side Uruguay and CONCACAF side Mexico.
France’s first game will be on July 11th in Cape Town against Uruguay, which also qualified through a playoff, by defeating Costa Rica. The South American side has a number of players evenly spread around South American and European clubs. The side is led by Fenerbahçe defender Diego Lugano. Other players of note are Ajax’s Luis Suarez, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Forlan, Villarreal’s Sebastián Eguren and Diego Godín, and veteran Sebastián Abreu, who currently plays in Greece.
Most notably for Ligue 1 fans is Monaco midfielder Diego Perez. Perez said that he is happy to play France, a team he knows well.
“That’s good. We know them, “said Perez, according to football365.fr. “We have already played against them in 2002. We’ll see how it goes. It will be very interesting. But in the World Cup, every game is difficult.”
Still, Uruguay barely made it into the World Cup, and their level of play isn’t as high as the French team. Still, how Les Bleus are playing this year, anything is possible.
France’s second game will be against Mexico. The match will be held on June 17th in Polokwane. As many Americans know, Mexico’s form is about as predictable as Raymond Domenech’s line up. One game they can beat the US National Team 5-0. The next game, they can lose to that same team 2-1. Mexico has to be one of the teams, along with Spain, that disappoint year after year. Yes, they seem to make it to the Round of 16 every time, but fall flat on their faces at that point.
Unlike Uruguay, many of the Mexican players are in Mexico’s Primera Division, with a few players from Europe sprinkled here and their. And, as they have been in the past, they will be a force to reckon with in the group stage. They always advance. Therefore, having the mighty Mexican side in the second game might give France a big advantage. If they can keep the standings close going into the last game against South Africa, France advancing to the Round of 16 looks highly likely.
The third matchup is to be played against host South Africa on June 22nd at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. This stadium holds 45,000 fans.
South Africa is said to be one of, if not the, weakest team in all of the World Cup. Even 45,000 screaming supporters might not be enough for their side to beat the likes of Henry, Ribery and Lloris. Still, it will be a match with an electric atmosphere.
While most of the South African players play domestically, there are a few players that do play abroad, including South Africa’s leading international scorer Benni McCarthy, who plays for Blackburn Rovers in the EPL.
Even though the group might look like an easy one at first, there are chances for a number of upsets against the French side. The Mexico-France game can go either way, while Uruguay can possibly pull off a victory. If France does lose or draw the first game, the might have a hard road to the Round of 16. Still, anything is possible.
Filed under: French National Team Tagged: | French National Team, Mexico National Team, South African National Team, Uruguay National Team, World Cup 2010
