our internationals

[DaeHaMinGuk]

milan baros played 90' in the CZR's 1-1 nil with austria



"1-1 nil"... oops!

:D

[guignol]

my bad, for some reason i thought you could use nil as a synonym for draw, probably comes from it being called a match nul in french... :o

[blackjack]

I was at the Algeria-Brazil game, and Belhadj looked very, very good. He was quick to move out on the counterattack and also provided a lot of cover for whoever was playing LB, who had some big problems when Maicon overlapped.

[AfrcnHrbMan]

last and least, fabio grosso played the second half against hungary... the same second half where hungary scored 3 times in 15 minutes! :eek:

ROFL, at least I read that he played well.

[Inara]

I was at the Algeria-Brazil game, and Belhadj looked very, very good. He was quick to move out on the counterattack and also provided a lot of cover for whoever was playing LB, who had some big problems when Maicon overlapped.

I think Belhadj will be Lyon's breakout player this year. During the Peace Cup, that boy was on fire. Probably the best OL player in the entire tournament.

Not that I'm unhappy with Lyon's other transfers, but unlike with Bodmer, Keita, and Grosso, Belhadj's potential is still largely unknown, and we've only seen glimpses of what he can do. If he impressed while playing for Sedan, just think what he can accomplish at Lyon.

I think I am most happiest with his arrival. And at 3.5m, he has been the cheapest so far (not counting Roux, who was out of contract).

[guignol]

"only" four gones picked by raymond, but they all have a chance of seeing the pitch. clerc is almost a given to start, and though vieira was picked, he may not be 100% which leaves toulalan as the natural to pair up with makelele. govou is probably behind ribéry, but ray likes him and he did have a double last time we played italy... finally, anelka-henry is the expected pair up front, but if ray decides to go with form, benzema may be chosen over titi who is not at all up to speed.

[lefutur]

"only" four gones picked by raymond, but they all have a chance of seeing the pitch. clerc is almost a given to start, and though vieira was picked, he may not be 100% which leaves toulalan as the natural to pair up with makelele. govou is probably behind ribéry, but ray likes him and he did have a double last time we played italy... finally, anelka-henry is the expected pair up front, but if ray decides to go with form, benzema may be chosen over titi who is not at all up to speed.

benzema-anelka?

that would be pretty wild :cool:

[Inara]

What a great time for Govou to rediscover his scoring touch - right before Italy!

In addition to the four Lyon players called up by Domenech, Baros will be doing international duty for the Czech Republic, Kallstrom for Sweden, Belhadj for Algeria, Keita for the Ivory Coast.

Also, Grosso has been called up for Italy and may be facing his OL teammates, should he play.

Interesting that Grosso's international career has revived despite his so-so form at Lyon (until two weeks ago, his last game was for his NT was in September 2006).

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I think that Grosso getting a call-up has a bit more to do with the lack of healthy or active Italian defeners (Nesta retired, Materazzi injured) than it does anything else, though if I were manager of the Azzurri, I believe I'd pick him too due to versatility, if nothing else.

After all, Christian Panucci, who I saw at Real in the Champions League when I was in elementary school, got called up as well, which makes Grosso's call-up not a shock at all.

No offense to him, as I admired how he played in the World Cup, but at this point, I don't consider him to be a top international class guy anymore.

Especially in light of how extremely good (according to Spanish press) Eric Abidal has looked at Barca thus far, I think whoever said that Grosso would be better than Abidal (it was not you, Inara) has to rethink that a little bit.

[Inara]

I think whoever said that Grosso would be better than Abidal (it was not you, Inara) has to rethink that a little bit.

It was Aulas who said it. I wonder if he regrets it now. :rolleyes:

[Inara]

In the official photo for Les Bleus, Benzema got the number 9 jersey. I know it probably doesn't mean anything, but I think it's a sign. :)

http://www.fff.fr/common/bib_img/art/392700_3.jpg

[guignol]

he had n° 10 against slovakia, that's pretty strong language too. govou has it this time; do you think the intention is to just move it around and not really give it to anyone for a while?

[AfrcnHrbMan]

Yea that makes sense. I don't think anyone has soldified themselves as the true 10 shirt quite yet. Benezema looks great in the number nine. Much better then Cisse ever did :p

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Benzema will be in the #9 jersey for quite a while. Come to think of it, taking a look at the starting lineup in the U-17 Euro-winning team a few years ago, it's more than likely that many of these players will have a major impact. Comments in italics.

* 1 Benoît Costil France have a lot of terrific GKs, and Costil is among them and is a winner.
* 3 Thomas Mangani Has been loaned out by Monaco, though does appear good.
* 4 Abdelkarim El Mourabet After a while, decided to play for Morroco.
* 5 Steven Thicot The relegation of Nantes has held him back, but was a leader in this team.
* 6 Pierre Ducasse Crowded midfield at Bordeaux, but has done well when he's gotten some action.
* 8 Ahmed Yahiaoui Kinda disappeared after a few years at OM, disappointing, though did look very good in this team
* 9 Jérémy Menez Has had some terrific games this season in a Monaco shirt. Is on Domenech's radar.
* 10 Samir Nasri Full international.
* 11 Hatem Ben Arfa Was the superstar of this team, though injured at the moment, but is looking to have a breakthrough season.
* 12 Ognadon Akakpo Has been on the bench at Auxerre. Looks good in "minor level" games, though, like CFA.[i]
* 14 Kévin Constant [i]He will likely get some action with Toulouse this season.

substitutes

* 2 Maxime Josse Starter at Sochaux, though like his team, hasn't been very good thus far, but is versatile.
* 7 Franck Songo'o Somewhere in England.
* 13 Irélé Apo ????
* 15 Stéphane Marseille ????
* 16 Rémy Riou Had a very good stretch when Lyon loaned him out to Lorient. Now challenging Olivier Sorin at Auxerre.
* 17 Jean-Christophe Cesto ????
* 18 Karim Benzema Full international.

Out of these, I think the guys in bold can one day make it on Les Bleus, if they haven't already. That's half the team, which isn't bad at all for a Bleuet selection. What's also amazing is some of the guys who were left off of this team, such as Dia, Gakpé and Payet.

[guignol]

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/207/41391.jpg Kim Källström came on at the 69th minute of Sweden-Denmark; though he scored last match he couldn't keep this one from finishing 0-0.

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/210/41962.jpg Even without Milan Baros, resting with back pain since last wednesday, the Czechs had no trouble beating San Marino 3-0. The CZR is second in group D and will play Ireland this wednesday 12/09.

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/213/42452.jpg Kader Keita and the Ivory Coast brought a 0-0 draw back from Gabon; a precious point that puts the Elephants on top of Group 1 and qualifies them for the CAN 2008.

[guignol]

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/211/42085.jpg No CAN however for Nadir Belhadj and Algeria. Starting on the left of the midfield, Nadir and his teammates fell to Gambia 2-1.

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/207/41392.jpg Jérémy Toulalan replaced Franck Ribéry in the 85th minute of France–Italy (0-0). Neither François Clerc, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou for France, nor Fabio Grosso for Italy, saw action.

[guignol]

couldn't decise whether to post this here or in the ladies' thread, so i'll do both. france's WNT didn't make it to china, but brazil is in the semis!

2 lyonnaises in WC semis

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration/g/178/35452.jpg
The Women's World Cup is being played right now in China By beating Australia 3-2, the Séléçao with Simone Gomes Jatoba et Katia Cilène earned their place in the final four. Simone subbed in for the final minutes.

The winner of tomorrow's match between Brazil and the USA will meet reigning champions Germany, who beat Narway today 3-0.

[guignol]

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/207/41392.jpg Jeremy Toulalan was the only gone to start against the plucky little Faraway Islands, but at the end Benzema and Ben arfa kept him noble company, netting 2 and 1 goals respectively. both these players have scored in their first selection.

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/207/41391.jpgchapter 2 of why don't you pick on somebody your own size, Kongo Kim came in for Freddie Ljungberg at 40' to help Källstrom and Sweden put Little Lichtenstein out of their misery 0-3 in Vaduz, and can do the same to Norn Iron wednesday in Solna, they're tied with Spain 6 points clear of 3rd in group F.

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/213/42453.jpgWhile Italy beating Georgia 2-0 may not be great news, Fabio Grosso's scoring the azzurri's second goal most certainly is! he played the whole match and since he recently played 90 minutes against rangers, donadoni would be a fool not to play him against Scotland in November.

[guignol]

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/207/41392.jpgLoïc Rémy started for les bleuets who unfortunately lost 4-2 in wales. he had several chances including two nice shots from outside the box but didn't manage to score.

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/211/42085.jpgNadir Belhadj scored the third goal in Algeria's 3-2 victory over Mali. the friendly was played in rouen.

[guignol]

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/213/42453.jpgFabio Grosso les is part of the group that will confront the Faroe Islands.

http://s.olweb.fr/ol/image/article/illustration_s/g/207/41391.jpgKim Källström and Sweden will host Latvia; a draw buy their ticket to Euro 2008.