adminRIBEIRAO PRETO. — If France beats Ecuador in tonight’s Group E match, it will be the first time they have won all three group games in a major competition since 1998 — the year they went on to win the World Cup soccer title. The match starts at 10pm. This kind of talk worries France coach Didier Deschamps, who captained the side in ’98 and who has been trying to play down the growing hype after his team’s 5-2 thumping of Switzerland last Friday.
French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet has joined Deschamps in trying to quell rising expectations back home, saying on Sunday that “things are going quicker than I’d imagined. I think a bit too quickly and there’s a little bit of excess.”
Anything but a win against Ecuador will be seen as disappointing, however, considering how France have started the tournament with such attacking intent — scoring eight goals in two games after opening with a 3-0 win over Honduras.
But Deschamps is wary of dismissing Ecuador, given how the World Cup is becoming such a wide-open tournament.
“Who would think that Costa Rica would have six points, in the group they’re in? No one,” he said, pointing to Costa Rica’s surprise wins against 2010 World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay and 2006 winners Italy. “I saw the match between Netherlands and the Australia and there really wasn’t much in it. Other teams have been doing well here, not just us.”
A draw is enough to guarantee top spot for France, and would also send Ecuador through to the next round if Switzerland fails to beat Honduras in the other match tonight.
Ecuador and Switzerland have three points each, but Ecuador have a better goal difference — although they are likely to face a far more severe test against a French attack featuring Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud, who both scored and created goals against the Swiss.
“The way to read it is that we’re going to have a lot of work,” Ecuador centre-half Frickson Erazo said.—AFP.
Online Reporter