FRANCE 98 – Match preview n°6
More than a decade of torment for French football fans will end on Friday in the cauldron of Marseille’s Stade Velodrome as the host nation play their first World Cup match in 12 years.
They missed out on qualification for Italy in 1990 and again for USA 94 when Bulgaria cruelly robbed them of a place at the death in the qualifiers, leaving a deep psychological scar among the French. But under Aime Jacquet, they have steadily recovered to rank among the favourites on home soil.
For South Africa’s Bafana Bafana (the Boys), there is the unmitigated joy of their first ever finals after spending so long in the international wilderness because of apartheid. Yet precisely for that reason, Philippe Troussier’s men have nowhere near the same amount of pressure weighing on their shoulders as the host country.
Whatever the real or assumed advantage of playing at home, the downside is the sky-high expectations of the fans, and France could well find it difficult to live up to them. Already there is no shortage of doubts in the hosts’ camp as they search for a proven striker who has yet to emerge following two years of endless friendlies.
Jacquet has an abundance of talent in midfield, which is led by the brilliant Zinedine Zidane of Juventus and also boasts clubmate Didier Deschamps as well as Arsenal’s double-winner Emmanuel Petit. But who is going to fire all the bullets upfront is less evident.
Monaco’s David Trezeguet, whose goal dumped Manchester United out of the Champions Cup, is a brilliant prospect at 20, and he scored his first goal for his country in last week’s 1-0 win over Finland in Helsinki. But the fact remains that France have been averaging just over a goal per game in the past year-and most of those were by midfielders, unless one counts Youri Djorkaeff with his 17 goals in 38 starts as an out and out striker. Trezeguet and fellow Monaco man Thierry Henry will almost certainly start on the bench.
Stephane Guivarc’h is the man in form at domestic level, but Zidane and Deschamps prefer to play behind close friend Christophe Dugarry of Marseille. Dugarry, despite a return of just two goals in 20 games, is likely to keep his place even though Guivarc’h scored against the South Africans on his debut last autumn. ” We have to work on the interlinking between the strikers and the midfield, “ admits Dugarry, ” but I’m here to create goals well as score them. “
That’s possibly just as well, although the signs Wednesday were that Jacquet would opt to play both men-Dugarry on the left supported by Djorkaeff and Zidane with Guivarc’h the lone man up front. Jacquet, who refuses to let the pre-match build up pray ostensibly on his nerves, said he was looking forward to his team’s opening test. ” It’s a fabulous challenge which awaits us and it’s vital to get a good result in the first match and set the tempo for a successful tournament. “
Troussier, a Frenchman whose 10 years’ experience in Africa have earned him the nickname ‘the white witchdoctor’, has already upped the ante by claiming that his side has a ” 100 per cent chance ” of causing an upset. ” It can be difficult to play when there’s too much pressure and that could be a handicap for the French, “ the 43-year-old said. ” We will be able to play quite relaxed, with nothing to lose. Every year at the World Cup there are upsets and when we are standing there at 9 p.m. in the Stade Veldodrome anything can happen.” I’m not going to go in there worrying about the French-there are two tickets up for grabs for the next round. “
Although they are World Cup novices, the South Africans do have a considerable experience in their squad. Foremost among them is skipper Lucas Radebe of Leeds, a key man in the side that won the African Nations Cup two years ago and finished runners-up in Burkina Faso this year. Bolton Wanderers’ stopper Mark Fish is another who has matured five years down the line from making his debut at 19. He says the team have come of age to the extent that they should change their ‘boys’ nick name to ‘The Men’. If Radebe can’t shake off a bruised heel, Fish will probably take over the captain’s armband.
Although rank outsiders, South Africa do possess the one ingredient the French have been missing-someone with an eye for goal. Striking sensation Benni McCarthy of Ajax blasted seven goals at the African Nations Cup and the 20-year-old is desperate to succeed for the sake of all those watching back in the townships from which he hails.
” If you can score maybe two or three or four goals and you come from such an area it motivates a lot of people, “ he said. ” Maybe some of the violence would stop because they’d see it’s not impossible to achieve your dreams. “