Former champions France face the distinct possibility of missing out on next year’s World Cup finals and must improve quickly, French media agreed on Sunday, questioning the team’s capabilities following their 1-1 draw with Romania.
The French were “ineffective, [they showed] a lack of vigilance and the off-the-cuff coaching of the man in charge [Raymond Domenech] has let them down. Pathetic,” wrote regional daily Ouest-France in a dismissive commentary.
“Now, ‘Les Bleus’ no longer have their fate in their own hands. They will certainly have to negotiate a perilous playoff if they are to embark on a journey to the Cape,” wrote another regional paper, Var Matin, as hopes faded of automatic qualification for the finals in South Africa.
“How is it possible?” asked sports newspaper L’Equipe. “It is just inconceivable that ‘Les Bleus’ did not win this match. Qualification is fading into the distance and the playoffs are looming.”
Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui was also aghast at the draw.
“The World Cup is a long way off for ‘Les Bleus,’” said the paper, which questioned “the true potential of a team which relies too much on its individualities.”
“What a mess,” said Lyon-based Le Progres after Julien Escude put through his own net to cancel out the lead veteran captain Thierry Henry had given them early in the second half.
Domenech, who has been under pressure since a poor Euro 2008 campaign — though he did lead the French to the 2006 World Cup final, insisted overnight that “top spot is still up for grabs.”
“I repeat, it would have been better to win, but we just have to regroup and focus on Wednesday. We have to show character,” he said.
The Journal du Dimanche worried, however, that the current team would not get the chance to emulate their 2006 counterparts.
“[The team] has not found a style, cohesion ... It has no soul either. Things are getting serious,” it wrote.
Depeche du Midi wrote: “There is something not quite right when it comes to managing the players in the French team. Every weekend they play for top European sides and are often stars, yet when it comes to donning the blue shirt [of the national team] they produce stumbling football.”
Ouest-France pointed an unequivocal finger at Domenech.
“He bears heavy responsibility for this fiasco,” the paper wrote.
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