Euro 2008 - Day 11: France Collapses Against Italy
June 18th 2008 03:49
There were no saviors this time around for France. What you had instead was a questionable change in defense, an unlucky setback at the beginning of the game, and an epic collapse confirming the end of an era.
To qualify for the second round, one of the two World Cup finalists needed to defeat the other and hope that Romania would lose against the Netherlands. Both coaches brought changes to their formations which were both disappointing up to that point. Roberto Donadoni started Antonio Cassano up front alongside Luca Toni. Both strikers were supported by Simone Perotta who played in front of a midfield composed of Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo at Daniele De Rossi's sides. The backline stayed intact from the previous game with Grosso, Chiellini, Panucci, and Zambrotta operating in front of Buffon. Raymond Domenech opted to bring more youth to his starting eleven, taking out Sagnol and Thuram at the back as well as invisible man Florent Malouda in midfield. François Clerc started at right back while Eric Abidal was assigned at the center of defense alongside William Gallas – a questionable call since Abidal usually plays left back. The midfield was a four-man affair with Ribéry and Govou on the wings while Makelele and Toulalan did the dirty work. Finally, the attack was a mixture of young and old with Henry and Benzema playing side by side.
The French never could settle into the game as they were dealt a severe blow at the 7th minute when Ribéry suffered an injury after tackling Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta. Ribéry, who had some ankle problems after one of France's preparation games for the tournament, couldn't continue and Domenech was forced to use his first substitution ten minutes into the game, replacing the injured midfielder by newcomer Samir Nasri. Things went from bad to worse at the 24th minute when Eric Abidal clumsily tackled Luca Toni in the penalty box. It wasn't the first time that Toni had beaten the defender to get to the ball, but this time, Abidal payed a heavy price for his lack of man-marking skills as referee Lubos Michel sent him off with an automatic red card. Andrea Pirlo didn't have any trouble scoring from the penalty spot and France found themselves down one goal, down a man, and without their main playmaker. And this is where Domenech screwed up.
Thinking defense first, the French coach immediately looked to fill the void left by Abidal's expulsion. He decided to send in Jean-Alain Boumsong and one has to wonder why Boumsong didn't start the game in the first place since the Lyon defender is a real center back. He would've looked more comfortable than Abidal at this position. But instead of sacrificing one of his holding midfielders, Domenech took out Samir Nasri, effectively cutting out his forwards' supply line. The substitution didn't make sense as Domenech was then taking a defensive approach when he actually needed more offense to level the score. It was almost like he had already given up, leaving his forwards to fend off for themselves. As a result, the Italians took complete control of the midfield, further widening the gap between the French strikers and the rest of the team. With Italy having most of the possession, it's a wonder that they were only up by one goal at half time as Luca Toni missed countless chances to put his team further ahead.
The French deserve some credit for not giving up at the second half as they tried to find a solution to their lifeless play. Karim Benzema started to drop back more often in order to help his defense bring the ball up. His performance on the left wing where he often combined with Patrice Evra was very reminiscent of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney who has the tendency to drop back in his team's midfield in order to build offensive rushes. But France couldn't stop the inevitable. At the 62nd minute Daniele De Rossi scored on a free-kick that deflected off Thierry Henry's foot. At 2-0, a French comeback was looking less and less likely despite Nicolas Anelka's entrance in Govou's place four minutes after the goal.
So, Italy lives to fight another day while France goes home after scoring one goal in three matches in a very 2002-like performance. Italy will face Spain in the quaterfinals without Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso who both picked up their second yellow card in today's game. We'll see how the Squadra Azzurra reacts to this setback in the next round.
My man of the match: Daniele De Rossi. The midfielder was tireless throughout the game and took control once Pirlo was substituted.
To qualify for the second round, one of the two World Cup finalists needed to defeat the other and hope that Romania would lose against the Netherlands. Both coaches brought changes to their formations which were both disappointing up to that point. Roberto Donadoni started Antonio Cassano up front alongside Luca Toni. Both strikers were supported by Simone Perotta who played in front of a midfield composed of Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo at Daniele De Rossi's sides. The backline stayed intact from the previous game with Grosso, Chiellini, Panucci, and Zambrotta operating in front of Buffon. Raymond Domenech opted to bring more youth to his starting eleven, taking out Sagnol and Thuram at the back as well as invisible man Florent Malouda in midfield. François Clerc started at right back while Eric Abidal was assigned at the center of defense alongside William Gallas – a questionable call since Abidal usually plays left back. The midfield was a four-man affair with Ribéry and Govou on the wings while Makelele and Toulalan did the dirty work. Finally, the attack was a mixture of young and old with Henry and Benzema playing side by side.
The French never could settle into the game as they were dealt a severe blow at the 7th minute when Ribéry suffered an injury after tackling Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta. Ribéry, who had some ankle problems after one of France's preparation games for the tournament, couldn't continue and Domenech was forced to use his first substitution ten minutes into the game, replacing the injured midfielder by newcomer Samir Nasri. Things went from bad to worse at the 24th minute when Eric Abidal clumsily tackled Luca Toni in the penalty box. It wasn't the first time that Toni had beaten the defender to get to the ball, but this time, Abidal payed a heavy price for his lack of man-marking skills as referee Lubos Michel sent him off with an automatic red card. Andrea Pirlo didn't have any trouble scoring from the penalty spot and France found themselves down one goal, down a man, and without their main playmaker. And this is where Domenech screwed up.
Thinking defense first, the French coach immediately looked to fill the void left by Abidal's expulsion. He decided to send in Jean-Alain Boumsong and one has to wonder why Boumsong didn't start the game in the first place since the Lyon defender is a real center back. He would've looked more comfortable than Abidal at this position. But instead of sacrificing one of his holding midfielders, Domenech took out Samir Nasri, effectively cutting out his forwards' supply line. The substitution didn't make sense as Domenech was then taking a defensive approach when he actually needed more offense to level the score. It was almost like he had already given up, leaving his forwards to fend off for themselves. As a result, the Italians took complete control of the midfield, further widening the gap between the French strikers and the rest of the team. With Italy having most of the possession, it's a wonder that they were only up by one goal at half time as Luca Toni missed countless chances to put his team further ahead.
The French deserve some credit for not giving up at the second half as they tried to find a solution to their lifeless play. Karim Benzema started to drop back more often in order to help his defense bring the ball up. His performance on the left wing where he often combined with Patrice Evra was very reminiscent of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney who has the tendency to drop back in his team's midfield in order to build offensive rushes. But France couldn't stop the inevitable. At the 62nd minute Daniele De Rossi scored on a free-kick that deflected off Thierry Henry's foot. At 2-0, a French comeback was looking less and less likely despite Nicolas Anelka's entrance in Govou's place four minutes after the goal.
So, Italy lives to fight another day while France goes home after scoring one goal in three matches in a very 2002-like performance. Italy will face Spain in the quaterfinals without Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso who both picked up their second yellow card in today's game. We'll see how the Squadra Azzurra reacts to this setback in the next round.
My man of the match: Daniele De Rossi. The midfielder was tireless throughout the game and took control once Pirlo was substituted.
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