Oslo, Norway: Laurent Blanc's first match as France coach ended in defeat when his inexperienced team lost 2-1 at Norway in a friendly on Wednesday following Erik Huseklepp's two goals.
All 23 players of France's World Cup squad were banned for the match following their strike in South Africa and initially it looked like their youthful replacements would do the job when substitute Hatem Ben Arfa scored from long range in the 48th.
But Huseklepp equalized three minutes later, sending the ball past goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier after a free kick from John Arne Riise.
And Huseklepp's 71st-minute winner came after France's Lassana Diarra had given away the ball. Huseklepp cut through between defenders, went past Ruffier and slid the ball into an open net.
"I'm most disappointed that we couldn't hold on to the lead after the first goal. I can't be satisfied when the defense conceded two goals," said Blanc, blaming the three days spent with the team as "far too little practice time."
Still, Blanc said he was "pleased with very many" of the players, though he remained unsure over how many will make his squad on a regular basis.
France captain Philippe Mexes praised the team's new-found sense of camaraderie in the wake of the internal strife that marred former coach Raymond Domenech's tenure.
"It's more open now. Everyone talks to everyone else. There's a lot more contact with the coaches and staff," Mexes said. "We've only known each other for three days but we feel like we know each other well."
Ben Arfa said that while the French performance was "encouraging for the future, it's a bit frustrating to have this result."
Blanc's decision to snub the World Cup players for his first game in charge has been widely seen as a statement that he isn't going to tolerate bad behavior in his team.
While the match's slow tempo in the first half appeared to slightly favour France, Norway largely controlled play following the break in a reaction to Ben Arfa's goal.
"We're very satisfied, of course," Huseklepp said. "We believed in a good result and we had a good deal of confidence in the team.
"We believed we could win. It's very nice to have beaten France... despite a lot of players home after the World Cup, there are a lot of great players on the team."
Comments
0 comment