Was it France-Italy or Argentina-Brazil? The match was played at the pace Barcelona usually attacks for most of the time. I loved the game, not the least because many of the Euro 2008 qualifying has been one sided to put it mildly (13-0 drubbing of San Marino any one?). A whole debate has resurfaced regarding qualifying matches. I have had some interesting talkathons on the topic and continue having them. I do agree with most of what Alan Hansen has already said though.

Coming back to the match - players are always guarded in the world cup finals and big matches as they don’t want to be the one who commits the error which costs their country the big tournament. Yesterday, all the inhibitions were gone and it seemed like France will run away with it after an early 2-0 lead. The Gilardino goal in the 20th minute made you get on the edge of the seat a bit more as Italy weren’t going to take it lying down. In the end, France won it 3-1 and despite the players not being as fast on the reflexes as they were during the world cup final, it was exciting and a match in which you couldn’t take your eyes off the tv screen.

France didn’t deserve to win

France did play better football but if we dissect the match, Italy were very unlucky. The first goal France score in the couple of minutes was the result of the perfect cross from Gallas. Govou then made no mistake in converting that pass into 1-0 from a very narrow angle. However, Gallas was probably off side when he received his pass. I cannot say for certain though as they never showed it from a 90 degree angle in the television replays. Even if we forget that, Italy had two situations in the match when they should have been awarded penalties. No, I am not an Italian supporter and I did want France to win the game. Many more Italians would have been complaining had this been the world cup final.

Impressive - Govou, Coupet and Pirlo

Coupet showed quick reflexes in the little chance he got. He has been over shadowed by Barthez all his career and it is pleasing to see him get some more international football finally. Pirlo was accurate as ever with his passes. The player who impressed me most was Sidney Govou. Coming into the first XI in the place of Saha, Govou was fast on his legs and seemed strong as well. What was most noticeable was him being in the right place at the right time - an easy thing to say but very difficult to achieve during a game. We should be hearing a lot more of Govou for many years in international football.

Was it a revenge?

Not really. In 1983, India defeated West Indies in the cricket world cup finals in one of the biggest upsets. Soon after, West Indies toured India and clean sweeped them. It lead to the glorious world cup winning captain, Kapil Dev, sacked from captaincy. How many people remember West Indies clean sweeping India? People still talk about India defeating West Indies in the world cup final. A revenge can only occur if it is done at the same stage when the same trophy or a bigger trophy is at stake. So if France defeats Italy in the 2010 world cup final, only then can we call it a revenge.

Italy digging itself a hole

Italy’s situation is precarious in the group now lying second from the bottom. Ukraine is also in the same group and Scotland is topping it. Italy’s real battle was to be with Ukraine but with Scotland threating to come into the equation, it can all get very tricky. There are a lot of matches still to go but a good start saves a lot of heart wrenching moments. Will history repeat itself? (Italy hey didn’t qualify for the subsequent Euro after winning the world cup in 1982). Maybe most matches are boring but this is definitely the group to keep track of!

[BBC report]

My thoughts after the 2006 France-Italy world cup final can be read here.

South Korea vs Togo 2-1

Till Abolo was sent off in the 53rd minute, Togo competed well versus South Korea. They had even scored one courtesy Mohammed Kader in the first half. It looked like Togo might sneak a famous victory. Then, there was the red card. Moments later, South Korea equalled via Chun-Soo Lee. From there, South Korea dominated. Togo looked tired and slow in the second half regardless of the 10 men factor. The South Koreans weren’t impressive in the match though. There were many shots way off target and the team could very well struggle against Switzerland.

Switzerland vs France 0-0

The goal jinx for France continues. They had several chances but failed to score. Even Switzerland had chances and they could have easily won with a little luck. For France, the big question is - are they missing Cisse? I failed to understand why Giully should not be in the French squad having seen him closely over the last two years. France shouldn’t have problems qualifying for round 2 but you never know!

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The brief statement from the Man U website reads:

He will be out for six weeks.

Well, told you it was brief! To spell it out, 6 weeks is 42 days. The World Cup is 40 days, 12 hours away. Also, 42 days will be an estimate. No one can say for sure how many exact days it will take. We can say, though, that it is a serious injury noticing the days given.

Also, if he is out for 42 days, how would he be able to just come pick up and play excellent football right from the word go.

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