Luxembourg, though semi-pro, played a 6-3-1.... A 6-3-1 for Christ's sake! I don't even think they had more than 2 minutes' possession in France's half of the field.... Most of the time their formation looked more like a 10-0-0, with the entire team packed into 20 yards in front of goal.... Two goals, even two shots in the normal run of play, were difficult to come by
You can't fault France for not scoring more goals, the Lux keeper did well, and they created alot of good chances. I would be glad to finally be rid of manager drama and have Laurent Blanc on board if I was a France supporter. Good win and a step in the right direction for France
I don't understand all the complaints about expecting a huge victory.... Yes Luxembourg are hardly a professional team.... But they came out and played professional defence.... They packed it in, chased down Malouda and Diaby in the midfield, cleared the ball when they won possession in defence and kept all ten outfield players behind the ball for 99% of the game.... They were playing for the tie and nothing else.... That is hard to play around for any team, let alone France.... Be happy we managed two goals (although both from set pieces) and didn't sustain any injuries, and we're sitting top of the group.... What more can you ask for?
Well, at least some one is being fair. If football games were about landslide victories, it'd be pretty boring ain't it? France did play well. But human observers tend to believe otherwise if it's not a 4-0 or 5-0.
I think Laurent Blanc can achieve great things with France. The system of the game seems to have changed somehow. It's alot more attacking football and less reliance on a single player these days. Perhaps the Zidane Era is well and truly over?
The players are creating plenty but not scoring enough. It's a problem which Blanc shouldn't allow to score, especially when France meet the better ranked teams. Well played by everyone. We'd like to see more goals. But still well played. Nasri, Payet, Benzema, Gourcuff and Mexes all played brilliantly. France still have depth and talent without most of the world cup team
Well I think it's kind of Blanc signature, the fact to create beautiful game but not having a lot of goals, idk why, the problem was exactly the same when he was coaching Bordeaux, we were winning, playing good game, but how many opportunities missed when in the red zone? I think that by wanting to create beautiful indeed but complicated stuffs, you lose on efficiency