France are in serious danger of missing out on the World Cup finals for the first time in two decades after losing 2-0 to Ukraine in Kiev in their play-off first leg on Friday.
Roman Zozulia gave the home side a deserved lead in the 61st minute and Andriy Yarmolenko made it 2-0 from the penalty spot with eight minutes left after Laurent Koscielny had brought down Zozulia inside the area.
Arsenal defender Koscielny was then sent off following a clash with Oleksandr Kucher at the death, before the Ukrainian defender was also dismissed as tensions between the two teams spilled over.
Nevertheless, Ukraine were worthy of their win and, having denied France an away goal, can now consider themselves strong favourites to go through to their second World Cup finals.
France, meanwhile, run the very real risk of missing a major tournament finals for the first time since the 1994 World Cup in the United States unless they can turn the tie around at home next Tuesday. It was a hostile environment for France, in front of a boisterous home crowd at the 70,000-seat Olympic Stadium in Kiev and in temperatures as low as two degrees.
Ukraine 2-0 France (Extended Highlights) 15... by ourmatch
After a long rain delay, France took the initiative and went onto win the game comfortably.
Laurent Blanc made two changes. One was a straight swap, with Patrice Evra dropping out and Gael Clichy starting at left-back. Higher up, the introduction of Jeremy Menez at the expense of Florent Malouda meant Samir Nasri moved into a permanent central position, and France switched to a 4-2-3-1.
Oleg Blokhin had said before the tournament that he didn’t have a set first choice XI, and would switch from game to game, but afterUkraine’s famous 2-1 victory over Sweden on Monday, he stuck with the same side.
The first half was heavily affected by the rain delay – the teams returned to the pitch and played very slow football that lacked ambition. In the second half, the game was much more open and interesting.
Formation battle
France’s shift to 4-2-3-1 seemed to make them a better side, with a central orchestrator in Nasri, but also thrust from both flanks. That was very different from in the first game against England, where Nasri was moving inside from the right flank to play that role anyway, but leaving the right flank bare, and making Malouda’s job unclear.
Nasri was marked by Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, who had done a similar job on a very different player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, against Sweden. Whereas Ibrahimovic tried to escape Tymoshchuk by moving forward to become a second striker, Nasri naturally dropped deeper into midfield, into a position where Tymoshchuk was scared to follow.
Meanwhile, Serhiy Nazarenko was given the job of tracking Yohan Cabaye, who started in a deeper role but increasingly moved forward and influenced the game in the final third. To complete the clash of midfield triangles, Andriy Voronin dropped onto Diarra, making sure Ukraine weren’t overrun in the middle.
Strategies
Ukraine tried to play a high line against France, a surprising move considering they don’t have great pace at the back, and France’s three attackers all threaten by getting in behind the defence. That high line was clear even in the four minutes before the rain delay, but Blokin persisted with it throughout the first half.
Ukraine’s strategy was basically to play on the break, although they struggled to get the two (very) wide players involved in the game – the two French full-backs won both those battles. They started playing longer balls to the strikers, and while Voronin was often too concerned with his defensive duties to find space, Andriy Shevchenko worked the channel next to Adil Rami and created a couple of half-chances after diagonal balls.
France looked most likely to score when Benzema moved to the left and linked with Franck Ribery, a combination which had looked promising throughout France’s pre-tournament friendlies. Ribery’s burst of pace combined with Benzema’s simple wall passes got France into good positions, and these moves usually ended with a chance for Menez, who was making runs in behind the defence.
Ribery v Husiev
But the key battle here was Ribery against Oleg Husiev. Put simply, Ribery didn’t want to track back and help defend (which is even more dangerous in a 4-2-3-1 than in a 4-3-3), while Husiev continually made forward runs and then was out of position when Ukraine lost the ball.
This was a little like Cristiano Ronaldo against Lars Jacobsen on Wednesday, and the opening goal – whichever way it went – seemed destined to come from this area of the pitch.
Ukraine switch
But first, the game needed to become more open, and Blokhin’s decision to replace Voronin with Marko Devic was a big surprise. Devic is more of a natural striker, and while Voronin wasn’t contributing much going forward, his defensive job on Diarra was nullifying France’s midfield advantage. Besides, Ukraine should have been happy with 0-0 – there was no need to gamble.
Devic didn’t drop onto Diarra so quickly, and the game became much more frantic. Ukraine were more confident about their chances going forward, and Shevchenko went close shortly after half-time. France were able to break more swiftly through the centre of the pitch, and down the left.
Ribery comes out on top
That Ribery v Husiev clash was still key – and it could have gone either way. Husiev often overlapped Andriy Yarmolenko energetically, only to not receive a pass when totally unmarked. Had Ukraine been cleverer in the final third, Husiev’s bravery would have won the day.
But the key battle here was Ribery against Oleg Husiev. Put simply, Ribery didn’t want to track back and help defend (which is even more dangerous in a 4-2-3-1 than in a 4-3-3), while Husiev continually made forward runs and then was out of position when Ukraine lost the ball.
This was a little like Cristiano Ronaldo against Lars Jacobsen on Wednesday, and the opening goal – whichever way it went – seemed destined to come from this area of the pitch.
Ukraine switch
But first, the game needed to become more open, and Blokhin’s decision to replace Voronin with Marko Devic was a big surprise. Devic is more of a natural striker, and while Voronin wasn’t contributing much going forward, his defensive job on Diarra was nullifying France’s midfield advantage. Besides, Ukraine should have been happy with 0-0 – there was no need to gamble.
Devic didn’t drop onto Diarra so quickly, and the game became much more frantic. Ukraine were more confident about their chances going forward, and Shevchenko went close shortly after half-time. France were able to break more swiftly through the centre of the pitch, and down the left.
Ribery comes out on top
That Ribery v Husiev clash was still key – and it could have gone either way. Husiev often overlapped Andriy Yarmolenko energetically, only to not receive a pass when totally unmarked. Had Ukraine been cleverer in the final third, Husiev’s bravery would have won the day.
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