In their first ever International meeting, France and Honduras square off on Sunday in their opening match of group E at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
France is a heavy favorite to beat Honduras, but for Les Bleus nation, this will be a bittersweet affair.
French superstar, Franck Ribery, recently voted the third best player in the world was left off the World Cup roster because of a back injury. Suddenly, with one bad back muscle, the hopes of France’s return to 1998 dominance have been dashed.
French Coach, Didier Deschamps, was on that 1998 team that hoisted the cup and knows without Ribery, his team is in for an uphill battle, “We’ve lost a world class player, who’s already played at World Cups. He’s a player who makes a difference but there are others too.” He told the media this week.
Those “others” he refers to, are the young and talented French upstarts, Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema, and Olivier Giroud . With Ribery on the squad in the past, Arsenal’s $16 Million dollar man, Giroud, played second fiddle to his long time rival, Benzema. But, with Ribery now out of the picture, it is likely that Deschamps will move Benzema to the left and field two strikers.
Manning the middle for Les Bleus will be Paul Pogba who was the star of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Champion team in 2013. Pogba is a superstar in the making and is player to watch for in this year’s tournament.
France is very good in the back with Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane, who I believe is one of the best players in the world at his position. They are lead in goal by Hugo Lloris, who is one of the top goalkeepers on the planet.
Honduras, is the David to France’s goliath, but has a few stars of their own that could keep them in the match. Honduras’s Coach, is Colombian born, Luis Fernando Suarez. Suarez believes that his team can make it into the second round:
“The players are well aware they are not here for a ride. They should aim for the qualification for the next round, that’s how you make history.” He said.
Honduras is lead in goal by captain, Noel Valladares, and up front by rising star, Jerry Bengston, whom helped take Honduras to the quarterfinals at the 2012 London Olympics and who’s late goal against Mexico in qualifying, buried El Tri, and sent Honduras to the World Cup.
Asked whether he was nervous for the world’s brightest stage, and their opening match against former champion France, Bengston said, “The desire to just get out there and play outweighs any nerves you might I feel. I think we’ll be able to handle the occasion without any problem.”
Los Catrachos will add to the mystery of the match, by refusing to reveal publicly what style of play they will put on the pitch a 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1.
Coming into the match, France is 1-8 in their past 9 games in group play and will desperately need to turn that around on Sunday if they want to advance.
The game is set to kick off at 3 p.m. EST at the Estadio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It can be seen on ABC and in Spanish on Univision. If you want to live stream the match, simply go to www.ESPN3.com and www.Univision.com for a live stream in Spanish.
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