France need to change to overcome Ukranian muscle

Franck Ribey needs to be at his best if France are to have any chance of qualifying

The French penchant for drama and over-reaction is well-known, even if not very well received in most quarters of the world.

For once, though, the naysayers may well be right – we may well see a World Cup without the French for the first time since 1994, when Gerard Houllier was content to blame David Ginola for the team’s defeat to Bulgaria that condemned them to their fates.

In fact, the French public are already looking to the future, staunch in their opinion that this failure will act as a catalyst – as it did back then. Readers will remember that the subsequent years saw the French ascend to the very top of the footballing pyramid, inspired by some telling Zizou magic.

However, there is no time like the present. And even if the French press has branded this team as “the worst French team in history”, there is still enough in them to overhaul a Ukranian side that out-muscled, rather than outplayed, their French counterparts, in that first leg.

And so, let us look at what the French have to do to overcome a side that will come to Paris determined not to let this chance go by.

Reverting to a 4-4-2 formation

Manager Didier Deschamps has preferred the trending 4-2-3-1 lately, a formation that suits his team rather well.

Olivier Giroud’s evolution at Arsenal has made him the ideal candidate to be at the head of the formation, with an assortment of creative players at hand to feed off his intelligent play.

The talented duo of wonder-kid Paul Pogba and the hard-working Blaise Matuidi holds down the fort in the center, allowing the creative flux of the team, names that include Ribery, Nasri, Valbuena and Remy, to move around searching for an opening.

However, now is not the time for prudence. The French have to come out all guns blazing tonight; it is an all-or-nothing scenario that demands a high risk-high reward approach.

The good news for the French is that they are not entirely unfamiliar with the 4-4-2. A 6-0 win over Australia in a friendly last month saw the French take to the formation with a lot of flair.

Admittedly, the opposition did not inspire much confidence – but the chemistry we saw on the pitch that day was surreal.

More importantly, this formation addresses that which the French need desperately – goals.

You can have all the creativity you want, and play your passes in cute little triangles all night long. But against a team that will bury you into the ground in the face of the prize for World Cup qualification, a more direct approach, with two conventional strikers at hand to take advantage, seems to be the way to go.

Change in personnel

• Gael Clichy for Patrice Evra

To be fair to Evra, he put in a pretty good shift last time out against the Ukranians. But the opposition’s most potent attacking threat comes from winger Andriy Yarmolenko, whose pace and probing runs down the right flank will be crucial to his team’s play.

Ukraine will not sit back and invite French pressure all night long – they will know all too well the panic that could result from conceding just one goal.

Yarmolenko’s pace gives them a great option on the counter-attack, and they will only be too glad to see a visibly slower Evra line up against them.

Clichy offers a far more reliable option, simply because he can keep up with the Dynamo Kiev man. His attacking responsibilities will be restricted to feeding the ball to the excellent Franck Ribery ahead of him.

• Mamadou Sakho for Laurent Koscielny

The need for change is, of course, fairly straightforward. Koscielny had an especially poor game against Ukraine, and was at least partly guilty for both the goals France conceded on the night.

As such, it may just be a blessing for France that he is suspended for this clash.But the question mark on his replacement could go one of two ways – Sakho or Rafael Varane.

The Liverpool man has been in fine form for his club side, and, more importantly, has a strong presence and is a leader on the pitch.

Plus, his challenger for the spot alongside Abidal has not been very impressive lately – Real Madrid’s defensive woes, while not entirely Varane’s responsibility, have seen the youngster come to terms with reality after a rousing start to his career last season.

The French press had it right when they said that this team is not even remotely as good as the teams of the past – and as such, it is always better to go with form rather than perceived ability.

Sakho looks the favourite for this one, but he has the unenviable task of keepin in check a very intelligent Roman Zozulya, who was superb in the reverse fixture.

• Mathieu Valbuena for Yohan Cabaye

Cabaye has been in the limelight for his performances for club side Newcastle United, but few comprehend just how good a player Valbuena really is.

The Marseille playmaker is a man for the big occasion – his livewire displays in the Champions league against more fancied opponents has sparked a lot of interest in the little man.

Possessing a sharp turn and the ability to dribble his way past his man, Valbuena’s chemistry with Ribery and Nasri was on view for all to see in that big win over the Aussies.

He is also the kind who will track back and work hard off the ball – something France will need desperately on the night.

He will certainly not be short on inspiration if he makes the cut tonight.

Organization

Defensively, it is all pretty straightforward for the French, even if Koscielny won’t play a part in the fixture.

In the center of the park however, it should be Blaise Matuidi who lines up alongside Valbuena. The PSG man is a steady presence, and plays his game with a clear head. His distribution is neat and effective, while his rare forays forward always show purpose and direction.

Pogba may well be in excellent form of late, but he went missing in Kiev – and France cannot afford a similar show from the youngster.

The next one may well be the most crucial one yet – Samir Nasri on the right wing. The Manchester City man has never really looked comfortable in the center since that last season at Arsenal, but he has shown great verve and trickery when linking up with his mates out on the wing.

Consequently, it should be Remy starting alongside Giroud up front, with Benzema dropping to the bench.

As well as Benzema has been doing for Real Madrid of late, there he is practically being spoon-fed by the marauding duo of Ronaldo and Bale on either side.

France need a player who will offer plenty of movement and interplay – and Remy has always looked more comfortable with a striking partner at Newcastle. As was seen in the Magpies’s shock 2-0 win against Chelsea, with Remy getting on the score-sheet in the process.

France will, of course, look primarily to Ribery for inspiration – and I am not going to try and assess his contribution because they will want him to do a Zidane and stun the opposition into submission.

So here’s to the unexpected, and the sublime – what France has to do to board the plane to Brazil.