Group C Preview- France

Les Bleus in the first major tournament in 12 years without Zinedine Zidane probably possess the best squad in the tournament. As it is commonly used in football nowadays manager Raymond Domenech employs a 4-2-3-1 formation with Vieira and Makelele playing the two holding midfield roles. They are both in their 30s but still are two of the best in the business if not the best. The main dilemma Domenech is facing is how to fit Lyon wondekid Karim Benzema in the starting line up with Thierry Henry expected to play the sole striker role. Ribery has been in wonderful form with bayern muncih and will be expected to orchestrate the frech build-up play. Domenech has caused some distress by leaving out the likes of Trezeguet and Ludovic Guly especially Trezeguet who is a 'fox in the box' kind of centre forward as well as a proven striker with an excellent goal ratio. Still with youngsters such as Nasri, Ben Arfa, Gomis and a bench including Anelka, Frey, Toulalan and Diarra any starting eleven would bring no surprise to the footballing public.

PROS:
1)Great squad, quality everywhere
2)goals, goals ,goals with Anelka, Ribery, Henry, Benzema as well as a lot of creativity
3)Great midfield anchormen in Makelele, Vieira, Toulalan providing safety for their defence

CONS:
1)Bad qualifying campaign, problems in team cohesion and unity
2)Defence might be suspect with Thuram being in decline and Boumsong cannot provide decent cover
3)Henry had a bad season at barcelona and should be a worry as well as the overall age of the squad



Goalkeepers

1 Steve Mandanda
16 Sébastien Frey
23 Grégory Coupet

Defenders

2 Jean-Alain Boumsong
3 Eric Abidal
5 William Gallas
13 Patrice Evra
14 François Clerc
15 Lilian Thuram
17 Sébastien Squillaci
19 Willy Sagnol

Midfielders

4 Patrick Vieira
6 Claude Makelele
7 Florent Malouda
11 Samir Nasri
20 Jérémy Toulalan
21 Lassana Diarra
22 Franck Ribéry

Forwards

8 Nicolas Anelka
9 Karim Benzema
10 Sidney Govou
12 Thierry Henry
18 Bafetimbi Gomis