Les Bleus' recent history would have them give away control of Group D now that their Saturday win over Romania has vaulted them top of the group, but with Luxembourg at the Stade Saint-Symphorien on Tuesday, not even France will be able to forgo this opportunity. And in truth, these sentiments may apply to a France mentality that has passed, with Laurent Blanc's stewardship of the troubled squad yielding early indications that talent may be ready to win out over turmoil. While their qualifying started with a shock home loss to Belarus, France's follow-up wins at Bosnia and Herzegovina and versus Romania hint Les Bleus are back.
Euro 2012 Qualifying, Group D Preview: France Looks To Distance Themselves From The Pack
If that’s the case, Group D’s fight will be for second place. That’s where Tuesday’s match in Belarus comes in.
Matches
Belarus versus Albania, 1:30 p.m. Eastern, Stadyen Spartak, Minsk - Both teams are undefeated, drawn on five points in Group D’s second place, though all is not well with the upstarts. Belarus will be without their greatest goalscoring threat after Sergei Kornilenko picked up a red card against Luxembourg on Friday. Aleksandr Hleb is also a doubt, leaving younger brother Vyacheslav the team’s last legitimate goal scoring threat. Albania will also be without a star, with captain Lorik Cana scheduled to miss the match. They will also be without coach Josip Kuze, at home recovering from a stroke.
France versus Luxembourg, 3:00 p.m. Eastern, Stade Saint-Symphorien, Metz - Do I need to go into the details here? France is playing as well as they have at any point in the last four years while Luxembourg is coming off a home draw where they couldn’t score against a 10-man Belarus. France will be fine.
Picks
- Belarus 0, Albania 0
- France 4, Luxembourg 0
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