Who will join the French?
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ByEurosport
Published 07/06/2006 at 13:21 GMT
France have been largely written off whenever discussions provoke the question: who is going to win the World Cup? Switzerland have revolutionised their selection policy, South Korea will be keen to prove they can perform on another continent and Togo cou
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Raymond Domenech's France side had to be dragged through qualifying by returning stars Lilian Thuram, Claude Makelele and Zinedine Zidane. The record of five draws in ten games does not make for attractive reading of course.
But a team containing Zizou and Thierry Henry in tandem with Makelele and Patrick Vieira protecting the midfield cannot be disregarded easily.
Domenech has come in for a lot of criticism since taking the reins after Euro 2004. Indeed, he seems short of tact when dealing with his players and has also been condemned for a lack of match tactics.
The recent spat with Gregory Coupet - when the goalkeeper briefly walked out when told he had been overlooked in favour of Fabian Barthez - is a case in point.
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FOOTBALL 2005-2006 France - Thuram, Coupet et Makelele
Image credit: Imago
His players are ageing - this will be the last major tournament for some of them, while many others such as Henry and Trezeguet are at their peak - and Euro 2008 will probably see a far different side to that today.
However, it would be dangerous to write them off. They have learned two hard lessons in the last two tournaments and will not fancy receiving a third. In any case, they should qualify easily from the group.
FOREIGN INJECTION
Their first game pits them against Alpine neighbours Switzerland . The Swiss are a much more potent force these days after the 'foreign injection' of current coach Kobi Kuhn.
Kuhn went against the grain in including several players who could have represented other nations, such as Arsenal's Philippe Senderos.
Alexander Frei provides goals in an unadventurous team that relies heavily on discipline. Unadventurous maybe, but effective: they drew twice with France in qualifying and did not lose a single match until the final controversy-laden play-off in Turkey.
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FOOTBALL 2006 Switzerland - Alexander Frei
Image credit: Imago
Switzerland can take second place ahead of South Korea if they can get the best from their rigid game plan.
SOMETHING TO PROVE
South Korea enjoyed a glorious run to the semi-finals as hosts four years ago under Dutch coach Guus Hiddink. The Taeguk Warriors did not win a single World Cup finals game on foreign soil in five previous tournaments.
That abysmal statistic will surely come to an end in Germany following the emergence of stars in the European leagues.
Half of the team is based abroad, half domestically; this could be key to proving to the 2002 detractors - South Korea were lucky with refereeing decisions and enjoyed fanatical home support - that they have caught up and are ready to compete on the World Stage.
Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung stars in the midfield and has valuable experience, as does Lee Young-Pyo at left back.
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FOOTBALL 2005-2006 Premiership Manchester United Park
Image credit: Reuters
Much of the 2002 squad remains and there is a renewed optimism in the country following the appointment of Dick Advocaat, who has vowed to continue the good work of his countryman Hiddink after lean spells under Humberto Cuelho and Jo Bonfrere.
WHIPPING BOYS
Togo will be competing in the finals for the first time and face a stern test.
They qualified impressively ahead of Senegal, the surprise team of 2002, but after a disastrous African Nations Cup sacked the coach who took them to Germany, Stephen Keshi.
The main problem in Egypt in February was Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor. In a highly-publicised dispute with Keshi he refused to play the opening game and Togo went on to lose all three matches, their noted team spirit in tatters.
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FOOTBALL 2005-2006 Togo - Adebayor
Image credit: Imago
Comparisons with the dreadful Zaire team who competed in the last German World Cup in 1974 abound in the world's sporting media, and with some justification: new coach Otto Pfister did not have a chance to see his new charges play before selecting his final squad.
Pfister has said he will rely on players who appear regularly for their clubs, but that will leave his team short on international experience.
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FOOTBALL World Cup 2006 Togo Pfister
Image credit: Imago
Captain Jean-Paul Yaovi Abalo is a solitary pillar at centre half, but he will find himself along such players as Eric Akoto, without a club since February, and Massamasso Tchangai, who plays in the Italian third division.
In short, Togo will not qualify for the second stage. France should do so comfortably, and it will be left to the Swiss and South Koreans to fight for second.
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