WC-MOTD9
Day 9:-
Switzerland vs. France:-
On display today: the perfect scenario which depicts how exactly ONE incident can SEVERELY alter the proceedings of a match in many, many ways.
Coach Didier Deschamps decided to ditch his formation and tactical outlay from last game and start with two out-and-out strikers. It was a rendition swaying between a 4-4-2 diamond set-up and a holding 4-3-3 line-up.
The game started brightly with France taking the initiative from the get-go, while the Swiss were sticking to their usual deep defensive tactics which has served them so well under Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld for more than half a decade.
THE deciding moment of the game came when Olivier Giroud flung his foot high into the face of Von Bergen for the Swiss defender to be immediately ruled out of contention for the match and substituted by Philippe Senderos. Surprisingly, more like UNSURPRISINGLY (given the extremely poor officiating quality so far at the WC), Giroud did not get any card from the referee and the game just went from bad to worse for Switzerland from that point on.
France’s ability to hold onto possession and switch play eventually saw them win a corner-kick which lead to their first goal courtesy of a somewhat spectacular Giroud header amid some poor marking from the Swiss defense.
Switzerland barely had time to kick-off and attempt to bounce back when Behrami’s wayward pass was intercepted by Benzema, who played Matuidi through in a quick counter-attack and the PSG midfielder made it 2-0.
The Swiss attempted to immediately press France high up the pitch but their fixation on playing on the wings and not attempting to slice through France’s midfield hindered their chances of ever coming back into this game. Meanwhile, France looked increasingly threatening every time they went forward!
The French were easily opening up spaces in Switzerland’s defense as the Swiss were more concerned about attack at the time and both teams were getting proper chances on goal which they failed to convert.
The first half came to an end with France embarking upon another ultra-quick counter-attack, following a Switzerland corner-kick, which saw Giroud square the ball to Valbuena who tapped it in for a 3-0 lead.
Absolute misery was piled on the Swiss after Von Bergen’s injury and subsequent substitution! The game might have taken a slightly different course had Switzerland converted one or two of their chances before France scored that killer second goal.
Obviously, France were very ruthless in front of goal in the first half and the Swiss lacked precision in their passing as well as a good degree of compactness ever since Senderos came on.
The second half saw Switzerland apply more pressure with their entire team playing in France’s own half; however, the French back-line was looking very solid and didn’t seem to be bothered about the Swiss’ oncoming high-press game.
Most of the second half was just a painful thing to watch from a Swiss point of view as the “Fat lady” kept singing and Swizterland conceded two more goals with Benzema bagging one and assisting Sissoko in the other.
They did, however, score two (somewhat brilliant) late consolation goals at a time when France’s defense were being a tad too relaxed due to the previous 5-0 score-line.
The final whistle couldn’t have come any sooner for the entire Swiss squad and staff as they endured a terrible evening; with a 2-5 final result, more or less, due to the loss of Von Bergen and the subsequent repercussions.
France took most of the chances that were presented to them but they did, at times, display some worrying wasteful play and, to be honest, Coach Didier Deschamps’ squad still has not faced a proper test yet.
Man of the match:-
This could have gone to any number of French attacking players; but, for the sake of abiding the “norm”, we’ll go with:-
Karim Benzema: An assist and a goal to his name, on top of a powerful and commanding performance, all suggest that he still has a lot to prove to the world this year!
Switzerland vs. France:-
On display today: the perfect scenario which depicts how exactly ONE incident can SEVERELY alter the proceedings of a match in many, many ways.
Coach Didier Deschamps decided to ditch his formation and tactical outlay from last game and start with two out-and-out strikers. It was a rendition swaying between a 4-4-2 diamond set-up and a holding 4-3-3 line-up.
The game started brightly with France taking the initiative from the get-go, while the Swiss were sticking to their usual deep defensive tactics which has served them so well under Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld for more than half a decade.
THE deciding moment of the game came when Olivier Giroud flung his foot high into the face of Von Bergen for the Swiss defender to be immediately ruled out of contention for the match and substituted by Philippe Senderos. Surprisingly, more like UNSURPRISINGLY (given the extremely poor officiating quality so far at the WC), Giroud did not get any card from the referee and the game just went from bad to worse for Switzerland from that point on.
France’s ability to hold onto possession and switch play eventually saw them win a corner-kick which lead to their first goal courtesy of a somewhat spectacular Giroud header amid some poor marking from the Swiss defense.
Switzerland barely had time to kick-off and attempt to bounce back when Behrami’s wayward pass was intercepted by Benzema, who played Matuidi through in a quick counter-attack and the PSG midfielder made it 2-0.
The Swiss attempted to immediately press France high up the pitch but their fixation on playing on the wings and not attempting to slice through France’s midfield hindered their chances of ever coming back into this game. Meanwhile, France looked increasingly threatening every time they went forward!
The French were easily opening up spaces in Switzerland’s defense as the Swiss were more concerned about attack at the time and both teams were getting proper chances on goal which they failed to convert.
The first half came to an end with France embarking upon another ultra-quick counter-attack, following a Switzerland corner-kick, which saw Giroud square the ball to Valbuena who tapped it in for a 3-0 lead.
Absolute misery was piled on the Swiss after Von Bergen’s injury and subsequent substitution! The game might have taken a slightly different course had Switzerland converted one or two of their chances before France scored that killer second goal.
Obviously, France were very ruthless in front of goal in the first half and the Swiss lacked precision in their passing as well as a good degree of compactness ever since Senderos came on.
The second half saw Switzerland apply more pressure with their entire team playing in France’s own half; however, the French back-line was looking very solid and didn’t seem to be bothered about the Swiss’ oncoming high-press game.
Most of the second half was just a painful thing to watch from a Swiss point of view as the “Fat lady” kept singing and Swizterland conceded two more goals with Benzema bagging one and assisting Sissoko in the other.
They did, however, score two (somewhat brilliant) late consolation goals at a time when France’s defense were being a tad too relaxed due to the previous 5-0 score-line.
The final whistle couldn’t have come any sooner for the entire Swiss squad and staff as they endured a terrible evening; with a 2-5 final result, more or less, due to the loss of Von Bergen and the subsequent repercussions.
France took most of the chances that were presented to them but they did, at times, display some worrying wasteful play and, to be honest, Coach Didier Deschamps’ squad still has not faced a proper test yet.
Man of the match:-
This could have gone to any number of French attacking players; but, for the sake of abiding the “norm”, we’ll go with:-
Karim Benzema: An assist and a goal to his name, on top of a powerful and commanding performance, all suggest that he still has a lot to prove to the world this year!
Ahmad Al-Omar - 21. Jun, 00:53
