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France Vs. Uruguay World Cup 2010 Preview: Opening Match Will Set Tone For Les Bleus

Jun 11, 2010, 1:03 PM UTC

Group A: France Vs. Uruguay, 2 p.m. EDT, Friday

Leading up to South Africa 2010, there's been a polarization of opinion on France's chances to advance out of Group A. If nothing else, Friday's World Cup opener for Les Bleus will end that debate. Based on how Raymond Domenech's team fares in Cape Town, we will know whether he has prepared a team to play to it's potential - that of a team that can threaten a deep run in the tournament - or one which will go home after three matches.

There seems to be very little room between those extremes for the French national team. In 1998, they won the World Cup. Four years later, they exited in group phase only to rebound in 2006 with another finals appearance. While many will harp upon the fortune they had in qualifying for South Africa, France brings back a number of key players who where part of their team in Germany: Eric Abidal, William Gallas, Florent Malouda, Franck Ribery, Thierry Henry, Sidney Govou and Alou Diarra.

This is where you note the name not in that list: Zinedine Zidane. Some contend Les Bleus have never replaced Zizou's leadership, a contention that explains the French's disappointment at Euro 2008 and their lackluster qualifying form. Yoann Gourcuff will patrol the middle of the pitch, and Patrice Evra will wear the armband (inherited recently from Thierry Henry), but in this era where French leaders are notably absent under the stewardship of Domenech, we will have (at least) three matches to remind us that this is the first World Cup since USA 1994 where Zizou will not feature.

Despite that loss, France remains one of the most talented teams in the world and could “turn it on” at any time, but until they show otherwise, we have to assume their lackluster performances will continue. As France showed in qualifying, those performances can still beat some teams. The question is whether Uruguay allows itself to be one of those teams.

That distinction seems to be at the feet of Diego Forlán. More than leading La Celeste in goals through qualifying (seven), Forlán has shown himself capable of carrying a team. He did so for Atlético Madrid this year, scoring five goals over the last three rounds of the Colchoneros’ Europa League title run. He did so for the Atleti the year before, going on an end-of-season goal scoring binge that won him Spain’s Pichichi as he led Atlético to Champions League qualification.

This is not to say Forlán is Uruguay’s only hope. He is their best hope, but Luis Suárez is almost as dangerous. Big Sebastian Abreu is a wonderful weapon to bring on late, and the central defense pairing of captain Diego Lugano and Diego Godín is more than others have used to stifle Les Bleus.

France’s talent, potential have to be respected, but when you have Forlán, Suárez, and (eventually) Abreu attacking a central defense pairing of Abidal and Gallas (that has had trouble acclimating themselves to each other), you have to think goals will come. And if those goals come (for either team), it will go a long way to defining which team advances out of this group, with both France and Uruguay still having South Africa on their fixture list after one round’s points.