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Domenech left with decisions to make

8 March 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com

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France coach Raymond Domenech might have seen fit to qualify Les Bleus' friendly defeat by Slovakia as "neither serious nor concerning" but the fact remains that that the fifth best team in the world, according to the FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings, suffered a 2-1 loss at home to the side ranked 44th.

Go to the France team page

Toothless in attack
If nothing else the Slovakia defeat illuminated a recurrent problem dogging the France team, namely their struggle to score. Why the French strikers are having such difficulty finding the back of the net is a mystery to football fans the world over. Nobody can doubt the abilities of David Trezeguet, so prolific for Juventus, and Thierry Henry, Arsenal's alll-time record goalscorer. Yet even though they were hardly starved of service against Slovakia – with France having some 20 shots on goal – it was obviously not enough.

During the qualifiers for Germany 2006, the problem was just as preval‎ent. Les Bleus racked up three goalless draws against Israel, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland, then repeated the feat against Poland in a friendly. Tallying 14 goals in their ten group matches, France had the dubious honour of finishing with the worst strike figures of any of the European teams who qualified. Interestingly, their top scorer with four goals, Djibril Cisse, was not picked for the Slovakia match due to his current lack of playing time with Liverpool.

This same impotence in front of goal was what led to their disappointing first-round elimination at Korea/Japan 2002. France failed to register a single goal in three games, despite being able to call on the services of the previous season's top scorers from three different countries in Henry, Trezeguet and Cisse.

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Four years on and the problem remains. Domenech can still count on the same three up front and has other strikers pressing for a place in the squad. Louis Saha is enjoying a renaissance with Manchester United, Nicolas Anelka is doing likewise at Fenerbahce and Sylvain Wiltord has rediscovered his scoring touch and shown his adaptability at Lyon.

"We're definitely not short of attacking options, but the fact that we can't find the back of the net is a worry", admitted Domenech, who himself seems at a loss to explain his team's lack of goals. However, the coach can take solace in the knowledge that France are not alone – both Brazil and Spain experienced goal droughts in qualifying. Perhaps the root of the problem is psychological rather than related to the talent France have on board.

Midfield options
In midfield, Domenech must address the situation concerning Zidane, who will be playing out his last FIFA World Cup. The coach appeared to be trying out two options against Slovakia. In the first half, France lined up in a 4-3-1-2 formation tailor-made for 'Zizou', who has always preferred playing 'in the hole' behind the two strikers, particularly since he has been excused all defensive duties since making his international comeback.

After the break, when Zidane, Anelka and Trezeguet were substituted, France adopted a 4-3-3 formation, with Florent Malouda and Sylvain Wiltord as wide men and Henry on his own as an out-and-out striker. Vikash Dhorasoo played as a more attacking midfielder, while Patrick Vieira and Alou Diarra handled the ball-winning duties.

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This last option left France without any clear defensive midfielders. In the first half, Dhorasoo tracked back as much as he went forward, but in the second half, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder left the spadework to Diarra and Vieira. Both systems have their merits but still only one goal was scored - and a penalty at that.

Meanwhile, the French failed to control the centre of the park, which partly explains how Slovakia were gifted so many clear-cut chances and how they won the decisive free-kick that led to their second goal. In one way, the match raised more questions than answers and Domenech still seems undecided as to which formation should be employed

Case for the defence
With William Gallas missing the Slovakia game through injury, Domenech had the opportunity to run the rule over some different options in defence also. While Lilian Thuram, Willy Sagnol, Jean-Alain Boumsong and even Eric Abidal look to be certain to make the squad for Germany, other candidates are queuing up.

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Mikael Silvestre looked impressive against Slovakia, while Philippe Mexes, who was in the squad but did not play, is enjoying an excellent season with Roma. Meanwhile Sebastien Squillaci, Gael Givet, Anthony Reveillere and Jonathan Zebina have all shown that they are worthy of consideration, thus increasing further the competition for places. In general, the back four of Sagnol, Thuram, Boumsong and Abidal looked solid against Slovakia but still there were a few nervous moments. Like the attack, the defence is another area giving Domenech the proverbial managerial headache.

Barthez or Coupet?
Finally to the goalkeeper debate which is currently one of France's hottest topics. Domenech has regularly rotated his keepers, and against Slovakia, it was Fabien Barthez's turn. The Marseille custodian could not be blamed for either of the two goals conceded and indeed pulled off a string of decent saves, yet the unforgiving crowd were constantly on his back. It was a sign that they would rather see Gregory Coupet in goal, whose form with both Lyon and Les Bleus has been impeccable.

With 15 May set as the date for all squad lists to be submitted, Domenech has limited time to whittle all of his options down to a 23-man list. "Over the next few weeks, the potential players will all be under the microscope. I've got a pretty good idea of the squad, but nothing's cast in stone yet," he explained. Whoever enters the list, there will doubtless be some murmurs of dissent from the general public.

Since he took up the post, Domenech has called on a total of 45 players for his 18 matches in charge, 26 alone since the beginning of this season. He claims to have "a list in mind – but nothing definite as of the moment". In a couple of months' time, when the deadline for naming his squad arrives, you sense a significant weight will finally be taken off his mind.

[1vin]

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