THE BIG PICTURE
It’s every bride’s worse nightmare: the bridesmaid is more attractive than the woman in the big white dress tying the knot. South Africa and Mexico will be a wonderful show engulfed by the buzzing stadium and on the back of the opening ceremonies, but this is the ‘paper game’. France has some of the biggest names at the Cup and Uruguay has an attack that even South American nations dream of (Brazil and Argentina are perfectly pleased with the status quo, however).
Not quite the purists’ dream, it still has the potential to flow rock back and forth, particularly if Oscar Tabarez’s wingbacks plan to go kamikaze and open up space in the back, and goals could be had aplenty. It could be quite the show, with a bit more focus on the pitch.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Group A:
This seems to be the hardest group to project, with the hot Mexico (form, not culinary temperature) and hosts South Africa making this one of the true four horse races on paper, so though it’s an overused cliché: every game does count.
But it may just mean a bit more for the psychology of France, given the way the nature of qualification (notice how skillfully ‘the way they handled…’ was avoided), their friendly loss to the footballing colossus China and the general aura surrounding lame duck Raymond Domenech. A loss and they might be starting the Laurent Blanc early – real early.
SQUADS
 | Uruguay: GK: Muslera, Castillo, Silva; DF: Lugano, Godin, Scotti, Victorino, Caceres, Fucile, Pereira; MF: Eguren, A Pereira, Gargano, Perez, A Fernandez, Lodeiro, Rios, Gonzalez; FW: Suarez, Forlan, Abreu, Cavani, S Fernandez |
 | France: GK: Lloris, Mandanda, Carrasso; DF: Sagna, Evra, Gallas, Abidal, Squillaci, Planus, Clichy, Reveillere; MF: Diarra, Toulalan, Malouda, Gourcuff, Diaby (Arsenal); FW: Henry, Anelka, Gignac, Ribery, Govou, Cisse, Valbuena |
KEY MATCHUP
Half joking, half for serious it should probably be Hugo Lloris versus the Jabulani. France have had more trouble with adidas’ latest mad creation, with China’s physics-defying swerve felling Hugo in their final friendly and a bounce boggling Steve Mandanda against Costa Rica.
But the real matchup is just ahead of Llories where France have one of the best fullback pairings at the World Cup but have suffered in the center recently. In Gallas and Abidal, they have two high-quality defenders, but two who’ve seen their share of injuries this season – Gallas hasn’t played a competitive game in months. Next they’ll get to see their share of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, one of the best strike pairings in South Africa, who will exploit any space they’re afforded, or any needles Walter Gargano feels like threading. There are shades of a circumstantial mismatch here, made worse if Gallas fancies the opposition box as he’s apt to do.
OUR PREDICTION
The opening game of 2002 keeps knocking on the door, asking to come in, and we say let’s embrace her (blindly, too): France will shock the world again…by winning 3-1. Uruguay have yet to enjoy the friendly African soil, last playing May 26th in Montevideo, and though France were Jabulanied by China, it’s still some degree of match fitness. The game will be ugly and muddled in the first half, but France will take advantage of set pieces and get a late third to hammer the predictably rusty nail into the Uruguayan coffin.
[Bonus prediction: 'Jabulanied' lands in Merriam-Webster by 2011.]
No comments:
Post a Comment