The France traditionally have a slow start to the World Cup, but the loss puts Le Blues on the brink. Their fate is virtually out of their control as they need run up the scoreboard against South Africa and hope Mexico stifles the Uruguay attack.
El Tricolor pulled no punches as Giovani Dos Santos and Carlos Vela made relentless runs at the French defense until the ladder ended his participation due to injury. Dos Santos, on loan to Galatasaray from Tottenham, reminded world why Barcelona initially showed faith in his talent. The youngster tormented Eric Abidal, leaving the Frenchman flailing for a response.
Like the Battle of Waterloo, one could sense the French never really took Mexico seriously. After going down 2-0, Thierry Henry and Dribril Cisse were left on the bench. One could point to Franc Ribery or Jean Pierre Gignac but neither really gave their fans much to cheer about. After Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored an 80th minute penalty, it appeared France manager Raymond Domenech believed the match was a foregone conclusion.
At the final whistle two groups were left rejoicing- Mexico and Ireland. Seemingly joined only by the green in their flags and over their hearts, Mexico claimed a group-topping win while the Irish can rejoice in a French defeat. Tonight Irish eyes will be smiling as they silently claimed revenge for the infamous handball incident that kicked them out of World Cup qualification.
Goals:
Javier Hernandez (66th minute)
Cuauhtemoc Blanco (80th minute pen)
Lineups:
France: Hugo Lloris, Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Patrice Evra, Sidney Govou (Mathieu Valbuena, 69), Abou Diaby, Jeremy Toulalan, Florent Malouda, Franck Ribery, Nicolas Anelka (Andre-Pierre Gignac, 46).
Mexico: Oscar Perez, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Rafael Marquez, Ricardo Osorio, Gerardo Torrado, Guillermo Franco (Cuauhtemoc Blanco, 62), Carlos Vela (Pablo Barrera, 31), Hector Moreno, Efrain Juarez (Javier Hernandez, 55), Giovani Dos Santos.
