Match: Uruguay vs. France
When Both The Teams Canceled Out Each Other
Scores: Uruguay 0 – France 0
Group: Group A
Venue: Cape Town-Green Point Stadium
Review: After the exciting inaugural match between South Africa and Mexico, expectations soared high when France and Uruguay kicked off their FIFA World Cup 2010 campaign. But barring some flashes of skills by French winger Franck Ribery and Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan, the match ended up as a goalless dud. With the first match between the hosts and the Mexicans drawn, both teams lost on the opportunity to clinch three points and get an early lead in Group A. And incidentally these lost opportunities sometime become the decider for teams to either proceed to the next round or get eliminated from the World Cup.
Uruguay’s strategy was quite clear from the first minute itself. They adopted an ultra defensive tactics a la Italy with the duo of Forlan-Saurez up front seeking an opportunity to score on counter attacks. But the difference between Italy and Uruguay lies in the simple fact that the La Celeste doesn’t have the attacking capabilities of the Azzuri. On the other hand, though the 2006 runners up stuck to their attacking style of football, expectedly with Franck Ribery in the helm of affairs, there was no blood drawn. Just eight minutes into the game and Sidney Govou got hold of a sitter crossed from Ribery.
Both Teams Showed their Defensive Prowess
However, a weak right footed shot from Govou that went wide off the post, marred the chances of Les Blues getting an early lead. France maintained their supremacy throughout the match but couldn’t capitalize on any of the strikes. Nicholas Anelka missed out on scoring a cross from Yoann Gourcuff. There was a heart stopping moment for the Les Blues when a powerful right footer from Diego Forlan was saved by French custodian Hugo Lloris. Towards the half time both the teams recoiled a bit and the game became a bit dull.
Franck Ribery Showed Some Flashes Of His Class
However, post the half time, the match again picked up some pace. But frustration was quite reflected in the body languages of both the teams’ because of their inability to score. Though French coach Raymond Domenech introduced Thierry Henry and Florent Malouda about 20 minutes before the final whistle, it couldn’t really add the fillip to the attack that was required. Surprisingly the low point in the match came when substitute Nicolas Lodeiro who came in the 63rd minute was sent off after he was shown second yellow card for an ugly foul on Bacary Sagna in the 81st minute. But there was no advantage France and the match ended in a hopeless draw few minutes later.
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