Somehow or other France managed to lose their opening qualifier 3-1 in Vienna. (This to the very same Austria who then went to Lithuania and the Faroe Islands on tour with Megadeath. The Austrians came home with only one point, but they make great party and met lots of pretty blond girls.) France has since only dropped two points, the result of a hard fought draw in Romania. Some would say a point gained. A 2-1 home win over Serbia was followed by two dour 1-0 home and away wins against Lithuania. Last week, France won 1-0 in Tórshavn in a game that could have been mistaken for a new age spiritualist retreat. Readers may begin to see a pattern developing here. Extracting thirteen qualifiers from this UEFA lot is not pretty. Even the French have become ugly.
FIFA’s website tends to accentuate the positive with respect to the current French outfit, noting their “potential” while reminding readers that “France has always enjoyed a more cyclical relationship with success”. We too could wax lyrical on the great goalscoring record of Just Fontaine, the “magic diamond” of Tigana, Fernandez, Giresse and Platini, as well as the champion achievements of Blanc, Desailly, Deschamps, Djorkaeff, Thuram, Zidane and Co. Thankfully, there is a more compelling story than the failure of a flaky French coach to harness France’s nouvelle vague. It is the story of the players themselves.
[So to Group 7. Serbia seem sure to advance. France are well positioned also. The rest are reliant on France falling over themselves. The golden era of Faroe Islands football may have passed.]
It is often forgotten that Austria has some football pedigree. The inter-war years saw Central Europe develop a contrasting style of play to the hoof and charge of the British game. Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians and the other nationalities and ethnic groups who made those countries dynamic and interesting, had fused football into a game based on narrow exchanges, firm organization and superior technical ability. It was known as the Danubian School.
Italy was taking notes. Austrian coaches were demonstrating the finer details on chalkboards at clubs all over the country. The cappuccinos kept on coming. Train timetables were reorganized. And the best refs always arrived on time.
The former France defender was a member of France’s World Cup winning side in 1998, makes a bold prediction to Goal.com, suggesting the current crop of young players in the French national is even better than the generation of 1998.
The French are currently second in Group 7 of European qualifiers behind Serbia. Third-placed Lithuania is one point behind the French. Only the top two teams in a group qualify.
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