France had not won a game outright for a long time entering their World Cup qualifying match against Finland, played earlier today in Lyon, France's third largest metropolitan area. Indeed, they had played five straight matches without a win, and some were beginning to wonder what was wrong with Les Bleus, a talented and accomplished team that just did not seem to be playing up to their capabilities recently.
Clearly, they needed to get back to their winning ways.
And they did, scoring a convincing win at home to defeat Finland, 2-0, and go ahead by seven points (at least for now, because second pace Ukraine has played one less game) in their World Cup qualifying group.
Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann got two strikes into the net, and had at least a couple of other opportunities that did not get converted, as he looked strong for France on offense. helping them get past Finland. He and Karim Benzema were very strong, and helped France not only get the crucial goals that were needed, but also kept the Finnish defense on their heels and honest, if you will. France seemed to control the ball for most of the second half that I watched, and it felt like they managed to dictate the tempo of the game.
It was not a fireworks display, yet it was a solid win for the French side, as they move closer to winning their group for the World Cup qualifier. The last time France won the World Cup, they automatically qualified, but FIFA got rid of that in 2002, which means that all of the defending champions now still have to earn the right to qualify for the World Cup and try to defend their title. France took a big step in that direction with this key win today, as they could not afford a letdown.
Allez les Bleus!
Not to be a stickler, but Lyon is actually the heart of the second largest metropolitan area in France. (Though without its suburbs, it is indeed the country's third largest city.)
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, you're right – Les Bleus could ill afford another disappointing result. I was able to catch most of it on TF1. The commentators jokingly took Antoine Griezmann to task for failing to find the back of the net when he had a golden opportunity to score a third goal, but you know things are going well when that's about the extent of what went wrong for France. I'm also glad to see him end his recent bout with poor form (by his standards, anyway).