Blanc’s Norwegian Expedition Uncovers Some Unpolished Diamonds

For the French national team, Wednesday’s friendly against Norway, more-so than that of any other country, signalled the start of a campaign of redemption. Laurent Blanc, therefore, decided to suspend the entire squad of their disastrous World Cup for this friendly. However, this meant that the squad named by Blanc was incredibly experimental, and it’s very possible that a lot of these players won’t actually play for the national team again (I’m looking at you, Charles N’Zogbia).

Just to illustrate this point, here are the 11 players that started the match in a 4-4-2 diamond formation:

Of these players, six had never played for France before, including Stephane Ruffier, Adil Rami, Aly Cissokho, Yann M’Vila, Charles N’Zogbia and Guillaume Hoarau. By and large, the entire starting XI are, or were, unknown outside France, with the exceptions of Phillipe Mexes, N’Zogbia, Samir Nasri and, possibly, Loic Remy. That doesn’t mean that this French squad as a whole lacked talent, though, as substitutes Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema and Lassana Diarra prove.

Dependent upon how you see it, then, this was either a brave, assertive way for the new manager to deal with the situation, or a complete waste of time. I would side with the former – Blanc must take some credit for omitting players with sizeable reputations, whom he deems either not good enough for the national side, at the moment, such as Sebastian Frey and Bafetimbi Gomis, or not in his future interests, as with David Trezeguet and Mickael Landreau.

Norway 2-1 France: What Happened?

Ben Arfa's performance belied his club woes.

The first thing to mention here is that despite the scoreline, France put in a credible display. In the first half, they were dominant, but didn’t manage to score a goal. Blanc therefore switched the formation to a 4-2-3-1 at half-time, bringing on Jeremy Menez and Hatem Ben Arfa, as well as Lassana Diarra.

And how it worked!  Ben Arfa, in particular, was lethal down the right flank, scoring a 30-yard scorcher in the 47th minute. Menez looked threatening, as well, on his debut.

Unfortunately, that’s when it started to fall apart for the French. Shortly after Menez was introduced, Stephane Ruffier did his best Robert Green impression, allowing Erik Huseklepp to start the Scandinavian comeback, and ensuring that Hugo Lloris keeps his place in the side. A lapse of concentration by Lassana Diarra then allowed Huseklepp to run through and convert his second, in spite of pressure from two French defenders.

The Winners And The Losers

The big winner in this match was someone who, in my view, should have been on the plane to South Africa. With a new line-up in place, Blanc opted for a new formation, deploying the previously illustrated 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Samir Nasri at its tip. The Arsenal man was clearly the one who benefitted most from the tactical switch, going past defenders easily, passing smartly, and generally providing the creative spark with which France constructed their attacking moves.

For all of his club-level problems, Hatem Ben Arfa was one of the most impressive players on show, after coming on at half-time. He consistently caused problems for the Norwegians, running at the defence, was involved in everything good about the French play, and scored a peach of a goal just after half-time.

Blanc used the Norway trip to take the temperature of several new players. Prognosis: Despite the defeat, France seems strong enough to recover from the South African fiasco

Yann M’Vila was eyeing up a permanent spot in the French midfield, and will also be one to watch after this display. He passed efficiently and broke up Norwegian attacks effectively, whenever it was required.

Aly Cissokho, the Lyon left-back, impressed defensively, and although his passing left something to be desired, he put in a good shift.

The loser was undoubtedly Lassana Diarra, who underperformed badly after coming on in the second half. The midfielder was at fault for the second Norwegian goal, and almost gifted them another when he allowed a near-post flick-on to go unchallenged after a 75th minute corner.

Overall, there were positives to take from a match in which the French fielded a much-weakened team, yet dominated against a decent European side. The French media billed the contest as the return of Generation 1987, so-called because it is the year in which Benzema,  Nasri and Ben Arfa were all born.  Although, the three youngsters were all dropped from the World Cup squad by former manager, Raymond Domenech, French supporters are hoping that the trio will be at the core of a renaissance du bleue.  There’s a lot of tinkering still to be done but the potential warrants the promise.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by3CQC5Nq0Q

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