Well what a great weekend of action we’ve been treated too. As always though, we’re on hand to get you ready for the next day of madness. The first two teams we’re going to bring you up to speed on are France and Nigeria; read on to find out our thoughts on their clash!
France:
How they’ve done so far:
France 3 – 0 Honduras, France 5 – 2 Switzerland, France 0 – 0 Ecuador.
What they’ve done well so far:
Since they last won the tournament in 1998, France have held the tag of the World Cup’s yo-yo team. They either get to the final or get knocked out in the group stages; there is no middle ground. It’s too early to say so far but they didn’t just get out of the group; they absolutely annihilated everyone. Organised, powerful and skilful are three words synonymous with their performances for the most-part so far in this tournament.
Where they’ve struggled so far:
As you can probably see from the above scores, they haven’t really struggled. They conceded twice against Switzerland when they were already 5-0 up so you could argue that that’s a testament to what happens when complacency kicks in. Speaking of complacency, Deschamps will be ensuring his men don’t get carried away with their group performances as, with the greatest of respect to their opponents, it wasn’t the toughest group to escape from – they’re going to face much tougher opposition from the get-go in the knockout rounds so keeping a level head will be crucial.
Key Player:
This one is completely open to interpretation. One could point to Benzema for his goal-scoring contribution (three goals so far in this tournament), Matuidi for his tireless work in midfield, or Valbuena for being the side’s creative spark. I’m going to go for Benzema but rest assured if they advance further in this contest then it won’t just be down to him!
Will they progress?:
After their brilliant group form many will just jump to say yes, but hang on a minute. We haven’t seen a team go against France yet that can match them for pace across the pitch and Nigeria can definitely do that. Had they been a bit more clinical the Africans would have probably got the better of Argentina, or at least have got a draw out of it. We’ll see how it goes. I think France will have just a bit too much for the Nigerians but it should be a good end-to-end encounter.
Nigeria:
How they’ve done so far:
Nigeria 0 – 0 Iran, Nigeria 1 – 0 Bosnia, Nigeria 2 – 3 Argentina.
What they’ve done well:
Critics look at Holland and praise them for their adaptability, tactics-wise. Nigeria haven’t really been like that! There’ve been little tweaks here and there but essentially it’s just been the same story in every game with Nigeria looking to use their pace to score from counter-attacks or to get down the flanks and cause some problems from there. You can criticise their rigidity but I’d commend it; sticking to their strengths has worked for them so far!
Where they’ve struggled:
They’ve had over 30 shots on target so far in this tournament, yet they’ve only scored three goals. This group wasn’t exactly flush with top quality defences either; yes Iran kept them out but they did set out to do that and nothing else. We haven’t seen much of the French defence so far this tournament but I doubt they’d give Nigeria any more than a handful of chances; the Africans then will need to be much more clinical if they’re to advance.
Key Player:
If you subscribe to the idea that they haven’t taken their chances, then Emmanual Emenike is going to be a crucial part of changing that. We picked him out pre-tournament as someone to keep an eye on and to be fair he’s had two assists so far; Nigeria need him to start getting goals though and this could be his last chance at this tournament to manage that feat.
Will they progress?:
As I said above, they have the tools to cause France problems; a bit more composure in front of goal and who knows, they could do it! They need everyone to turn up and produce the goods but stranger things have happened. One thing that’ll definitely count against them is their lack of strength in depth compared to the French; if this fixture isn’t resolved in regular time, its France’s for the taking you’d think.