FIFA World Cup 2014 - 1st Quarter Final: France lacked ambition and ammunition
Once France saw off Nigeria’ stubborn resistance to win 2-0 and Germany held on for a 2-1 win against Algeria, football fans from all over the world would have anticipated the culture of European football leagues to be on show in this Quarterfinal clash. But what transpired was way below ordinary, and you couldn’t help but ponder whether two European super heavyweights were on show to make it to the last four of the FIFA World cup.
France, albeit they don’t have the flair and personnel in comparison to their German counterparts, still boast the likes of Benzema, Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye, Patrice Evra – all of whom play for massive clubs in the European football leagues. But I just couldn’t comprehend why France were so laid back, and lacked the fundamental hunger in a match of this magnitude. From the first minute of the match, France never gave you the impression that they were here to challenge the Germans, who were vying for a place in the semifinal of a World cup for a fourth consecutive time, and in the process give themselves an outside chance of causing an upset.
France didn’t have someone like Mesut Ozil or Toni Kroos to orchestrate the midfield, and pick out those incisive passes. Mathieu Valbuena, despite his efforts, couldn’t produce the final ball throughout the game. Benzema, who largely played as the target man in France’ lineup, tried his very best to hold up the ball and link the play, but France just didn’t seem motivated and ready for the big occasion.
And mind you, it was not a case of France being completely tied down and deprived of any decent chances. In the 7th minute of the game, Valbuena drifted in from the left-hand side to pick out Benzema in the 6-yard area, but the Los Blancos hitman couldn’t quite get the purchase he would have preferred, as he failed to capitalize on what you could call a half chance that went a begging.
And then in the 34th minute of the game, France possibly had their best chance of the afternoon. Antoine Griezmann picked out a cross for Valbeuna, whose left-footed volley was saved by Manuel Neuer again. The Bayern Munich stopper parried the shot away but the rebound fell in the path of Benzema, whose side-footed shot was blocked by the goal scorer Mats Hummels, and France had squandered yet another clear chance to attain parity. Over the course of the game, France had furthermore opportunities to claw their way back into the game. Raphael Varane’ strong header off Cabaye’ cross from the right flank in the 60th minute was once again saved by Neuer, who had a terrific game all around. Albeit France shifted gears and went for it a lot more in the second half of the game, they came up short of making a game out of it.
Paul Pogba, who had a terrific game against Nigeria, couldn’t quite stamp his authority and make the play. He drifted away from the game for long periods, and France lacked drive from the midfield. Matuidi, too, had a mediocre game, and there was no one in the Les Bleus’ side to play the role of a game changer. In hindsight, Didier Deschamps might have missed someone like Samir Nasri to make those runs into the box, and render some kind of an innovation.
Overall, France vs Germany was an insipid game of football – and that too in the quarterfinal of a FIFA World cup. It begs to wonder what might have been had France went for it hammer and tongs, and put forward a challenge to the Germans. But as the headline reads it was more down to the absence of ambition and ammunition from the Les Bleus that saw them ousted out of the showpiece event.