Blanc had access to a pretty powerful lineup of players. In each game he acted like Claudio Ranierii and tinkered with the lineup and we have seen the poor results. In qualifying they werent that great either and had a hard time seeing off Bosnia . Spurs fans will be hoping they dont get Blanc as a manager .
The problem with france is the fact that all their best players ....ribery,benzema,ben harfa,menez,nasri.....are not leader and despite being talented they are still pretty immature inside and outside the pitch..... . To be a powerful football nation again the french have to wait the coming of a new technical leader .....a new zidane or platini basicly.
Two 'attacking teams' and ONE shot on target they said just before the break. Spain have looked rather insipid.
Neither of Spain or Portugal had more shots on target than England against Italy. Need a more progressive approach.
There was a study a few years back that came to the conclusion that you should send your penalty takers up in order of worst to best. I can sort of understand that if you're going first, but if you're going second then you run a much greater risk, like tonight, of him not taking one.
Germany have made the same mistake as Spain, messing with their lineup. Not convinced by their balance or keeping Podolski in there.
germany change their midfield to track Pirlo! They allow Pirlo to ping in an accurate long pass which leads to the goal .
1-0 Italy Great buildup and Balotelli buries it. Podolski is a straight line player, in this 4-3-3- you need players like Reus who are flexible. Should also have been Lars Bender in place of Kroos.