Team Talk / Ben Lyttleton / 16 June 2008 / Leave a comment

When the Euro 2008 draw was made last December, Group C was the stand-out group and the fixture that leapt out was a repeat of the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy.

Both teams played down talk of the encounter before the tournament, saying that they hoped (ie, assumed) they would already be qualified by the time the match came round. Nothing could be further from the truth and, if Romania beat Holland in the other match, both teams will be going home early.

In Italy, there was muted talk of conspiracy theories after their defeat by Holland, as Ruud van Nistelrooy¹s first goal was scored in controversial circumstances. Those mutterings have turned into a full-blown outcry after Luca Toni had a decent goal ruled out for offside against Romania, before Gigi Buffon kept them in it with a miraculous save from a debatable penalty decision.

In France, there have been no complaints about the referees, but plenty about coach Raymond Domenech, his selections, and the attitude of his players. But one man who is still hopeful that les Bleus can get out of the group is former France international David Ginola, who was at the 4-1 defeat to Holland in Berne.

"It¹s a very French thing to write off the team before it's all over, but we need to hold our fire until it's mathematically impossible for them to get through," Ginola said. "For the time being, we have to keep faith."

Ginola urged his compatriots to play on the front foot against Italy. After all, France have a fantastic record against the world champions: they have not lost to them over 90 minutes for 30 years, and beat them 3-1 in their Euro home qualifier. How France start the game could be key to their chances.

"The first half hour against Holland was extremely disappointing, in that they started the game so slowly and they allowed Holland to keep possession and knock the ball around in midfield," said Ginola, who accepted that Marco van Basten¹s side gave a master-class in counter-attacking. "The Dutch played really well, they have some great players, but the French were too passive and were standing back and watching. I was amazed they weren¹t getting more amongst them."

The knives are being sharpened for coach Domenech, although you wouldn't have guessed it from his sunny disposition (he has been much more obliging since the Holland game, perhaps aware that his time in charge could be coming to an end), and more changes are expected in the France team. Eric Abidal might come in to replace Lilian Thuram at centre-back, while Willy Sagnol might also be dropped for the more energetic Lassana Diarra.

A lot will depend on the fitness of captain Patrick Vieira, who has missed, and been missed in, France¹s previous games. "They need more snap in midfield," said Ginola, "and they also miss Vieira's height in defence as there¹s not much height there. Pat gets forward and scores goals and plays a key part in linking the midfield and the attack, whereas Jeremy Toulalan and Claude Makelele both play the anchor-man role in a three-man midfield for their clubs."

The biggest talking-point after the Holland defeat was why Karim Benzema, the great hope of French football, was left on the bench as Bafetimbi Gomis and Nicolas Anelka came on. Benzema is France¹s Player of the Year and a striker that the highly-respected France Football magazine declared was "undroppable from the team".

There have been reports that Benzema has clashed in training with Makelele but there is a sense that, with Domenech and his team in the last-chance saloon, Benzema has to be given a chance. "I have been very impressed by him this season and I¹d like to see him play more of a role,"added Ginola.

France's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals could depend on it.

Tags: David Ginola, Euro 2008 bets, Euro 2008 football