South Africa
The World Cup 2010 being held in South Africa, from the 11th June untill the 11th July. The best football once every four years. Don't miss the great action!
Uruguay vs France
Match scheduled:
Date: 11-06-2010
Time: 18:30 until 20:30
Group A (Group Stage) :: Fifa World Cup South Africa 2010 :: Cape Town, South Africa
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Go to the Myp2p Forum World Cup 2010 Streams section to see all official broadcasters and online streams: Click here | Match also shown on ARD, BNT1, BHT1, Canvas, CT4, DR1, ETV, HRT2, IBA1, IribTV3, ITV1, LTV1, LTV7, M1, NED1, NET, ORF1, 1TV Ru, RaiUno, RTBF1, RTP1, RTS1, RTE2, SABC1, STV, SF2, Sport TV1, STV1, TeleCinco, TF1, TRT1, TSR2, TV4 SE, TVP2, TVR1, UlsterTV and many more!
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France hosted the 1938 FIFA World Cup and reached the quarter-finals before losing 3–1 to the defending champions Italy, who later went on to defend their title. Due to the development of World War II, national team play was put on hold, returned, then was put on hold for a second time before finally returning on a permanent basis following the conclusion of the war. The first suspension of play lasted from 29 January 1940 until 8 March 1942 when France returned to play losing 2–0 to Switzerland. France contested one more match before play was suspended again on 16 March 1942. After over two and a half years of dormancy, France returned to play on Christmas Eve 1944 defeating Belgium 3–1 in Paris.
The 1950s saw France handed its first Golden Generation composed of players such as Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa, Jean Vincent, Robert Jonquet, Maryan Wisnieski, Thadée Cisowski, and Armand Penverne. At the 1958 FIFA World Cup, France reached the semi-finals losing to Brazil, who won the match 5–2, courtesy of a hat trick from Pelé. In the third place match, France defeated West Germany 6–2 with Fontaine recording four goals, which brought his goal tally in the competition to 13, a World Cup record. The record still stands today. France hosted the inaugural UEFA European Football Championship in 1960 and, for the second straight international tournament, reached the semi-finals. In the round, France faced Yugoslavia and were shocked 5–4 despite being up 4–2 heading into the 75th minute. In the third place match, France were defeated 2–0 by the Czechoslovakians.
The 1960s and 70s saw France decline significantly playing under several different managers and failing to qualify for numerous international tournaments. Under Henri Guérin, France failed to qualify for the 1962 FIFA World Cup and the 1964 European Nations' Cup. The team did return to major international play following qualification for the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The team lost in the group stage portion of the tournament. Guérin was fired following the World Cup. He was replaced by José Arribas and Jean Snella, who worked as caretaker managers in dual roles. The two only lasted four matches and were replaced by former international Just Fontaine, who only lasted two. Louis Dugauguez succeeded Fontaine and, following his early struggles in qualification for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, was fired. Dugauguez was replaced by Georges Boulogne, who couldn't get the team to the World Cup. Boulogne was later fired following failure to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Boulogne also failed to get the team to UEFA Euro 1972. He was replaced by the Romanian Stefan Kovacs, who became the first and, to this day, only international manager to ever manage the national team. Kovács also turned out to be a disappointment failing to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1976. After two years in charge, he was sacked and replaced with Michel Hidalgo.
Under Hidalgo, France flourished, mainly due to the accolades of playmaker Michel Platini, who, alongside Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, and Luis Fernández formed the "carré magique" ("Magic Square"), which would haunt opposing defenses beginning at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where France reached the semi-finals setting up a showdown with their rivals, West Germany. The semi-final match-up is considered one of the greatest matches in World Cup history and was marred with controversy. France eventually lost the match on penalties 5–4.[3]
France earned their first major international honor two years later, winning UEFA Euro 1984, which they hosted. Under the leadership of Platini, who scored a tournament-high nine goals, France defeated Spain 2–0 with Platini and Bruno Bellone scoring the goals. Following the Euro triumph, Hidalgo departed the team and was replaced by former international Henri Michel. France later completed the hat trick when they won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics football tournament and, a year later, defeated Uruguay 2–0 to win the Artemio Franchi Trophy, an early precursor to the FIFA Confederations Cup. In a span of a year, France were holders of three of the four major international trophies. At the 1986 FIFA World Cup, France were favorites to win the competition, and, for the second consecutive World Cup, reached the semi-finals where they faced West Germany. Again, however, they lost. A 4–2 victory over Belgium gave France third place. A year later, Platini retired from both club and international football.
In 1988, the French Football Federation opened the Clairefontaine National Football Institute. Its opening ceremony was attended by then-President of France, François Mitterrand. Five months after Clairefontaine's opening, manager Henri Michel was fired and was replaced by Michel Platini, who failed to get the team to the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Platini did lead the team to UEFA Euro 1992 and, despite going on an impressive 19-match unbeaten streak prior to the competition, suffered elimination in the group stage. A week after the completion of the tournament, Platini stepped down as manager and was replaced by his assistant Gérard Houllier. Under Houllier, France and its supporters experienced a heartbreaking meltdown after having qualification to the 1994 FIFA World Cup all but secured with two matches to go, which were against last place Israel and Bulgaria. In the match against Israel, France were upset 3–2 and, in the Bulgaria match, suffered an astronomical 2–1 defeat following a monumental and costly mistake by midfielder David Ginola in the last minute of play. The public outcry, following the defeat, led to the firing of Houllier. His assistant Aimé Jacquet was given his post.
Under Jacquet, the national team experienced its triumphant years. The squad composed of Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc, Emmanuel Petit, Marcel Desailly, and Bixente Lizarazu that failed to reach the 1994 FIFA World Cup were joined by influential youngsters Lilian Thuram, Zinédine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Claude Makélélé, and David Trezeguet. The team started off well reaching the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 1996 where they lost 6–5 on penalties to the Czech Republic. After the competition, coach Jacquet adopted a very defensive strategy, which was often derided by supporters. The press also began to attack the team manager, calling his methods "Paleolithic," and claiming that the team had no hope in winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which would be hosted in their home country. However, despite the constant criticism, Jacquet and his strategy led the team to World Cup glory defeating Brazil 3–0 in the final at the Stade de France. Jacquet stepped down after the country's World Cup triumph and was succeeded by assistant Roger Lemerre who guided them through UEFA Euro 2000. Led by FIFA World Player of the Year Zidane, France defeated Italy 2–1 in the final. Trezeguet scored the golden goal in extra time after Sylvain Wiltord drew the match in the fifth minute of injury time. The victory gave the team the distinction of being the first national team to hold both the World Cup and Euro titles since West Germany did so in 1974, and it was also the first time that a reigning World Cup winner went on to capture the Euro. Following the result, France were inserted to the prestigious number one spot in the FIFA World Rankings.
France failed to maintain that pace in subsequent tournaments. Although, the team won the Confederations Cup in 2001, France suffered a stunning goalless first round elimination at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. One of the greatest shocks in World Cup history saw France condemned to a 1–0 defeat to debutantes Senegal in the opening game of the tournament. After France finished bottom of the group, Lemerre was dismissed and was replaced by Jacques Santini. A full strength team started out strongly in UEFA Euro 2004, but they were upset in the quarter-finals by the eventual winners Greece. Santini resigned as coach and Raymond Domenech was picked as his replacement.
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