Porto Alegre:France begin their quest to wipe away the pain of an embarrassing showing at the World Cup in 2010 when they begin their campaign in Brazil against Honduras on Sunday. Winners in 1998, Les Bleus nearly suffered another disastrous exit in their playoff against Ukraine just to qualify as they had to overcome a 2-0 first leg deficit before advancing 3-2 on aggregate.
However, that comeback has marked a turning point in Didier Deschamps’ time in charge that has led to wave of optimism surrounding the country’s batch of young stars and that has been stoked by 4-0 and 8-0 thrashings of Norway and Jamaica respectively in pre-tournament friendlies. “We’ve gone through a rebuilding phase because people still associate the team with Knysna in South Africa (when the players went on strike) and the way in which we exited the tournament,” striker Olivier Giroud said.
“The French public hasn’t forgotten what happened and we’re going to show them that we can keep our flag flying high during the World Cup.” “The majority of players weren’t in that squad, and we’d rather look to the future rather than the past. What we’ve achieved over the past few months has been extremely encouraging. There’s been a groundswell of support for our team, which has obviously stemmed from our run of good results and our qualification versus Ukraine.”
Giroud will battle with Antoine Griezmann for a place in Deschamps’ starting line-up in place of Franck Ribery, who was ruled out of the tournament by an ongoing back injury.
“Franck has had back problems for weeks, and hadn’t trained very much with us. It wasn’t a huge surprise,” added Giroud. “We have to leave all that to one side; it’s already been difficult enough for him. It’s unfortunate that he won’t be with us, but we’ll do our best to ensure that he’s proud of our performances.”
Griezmann has followed up an impressive season with Real Sociedad in La Liga with three goals in four appearances since making his debut for the senior French side in March.
KEY PLAYERS
Karim Benzema (FRANCE): With the injured Franck Ribery out, Benzema is now the most experienced member of the France squad. The Real Madrid man has been successful at club level, but has not been able to replicate that form while turning out for Les Bleus. His current form is promising, as he scored a double in France’s 8-0 rout of Jamaica in a friendly.
Position: Striker; Caps: 66; Goals: 21
Andy Najar (Honduras): Despite his tender years, the Anderlecht winger has a fair amount of big-game experience, including featuring at the 2012 Olympic Games. What the pint-sized attacking midfielder lacks in height, he more than makes up for with his blistering pace.
Position: Midfielder; Caps: 18; Goals: 1
