France v Estonia
International Friendly
19:00 +00:00, June 5, 2012
MMArena
Alou Diarra will be given the opportunity to anchor France's midfield in their final European Championship warm-up game against Estonia as coach Laurent Blanc explores his options after recent injuries.
But Blanc would not confirm whether he will field the same line-up in the tournament opener against England next Monday.
Rennes' Yann M'Vila has been ruled out of tomorrow's game by an ankle injury and could also miss out in Donetsk, while a thigh problem will sideline Paris St Germain's Blaise Matuidi.
That opens the door for Diarra, who will be looking for a break from the struggles that engulfed his club Marseille's Ligue 1 season.
Blanc told reporters in France: "My worry is that the two injured players play in the same area of the field.
"But Alou Diarra is a born competitor, we know where we stand with him.
"He had an average season with Marseille but he is always there when you need him.''
Keeper Steve Mandanda is also struggling with a toe injury and will play no part against Estonia.
Mathieu Debuchy, Laurent Koscielny, Philippe Mexes and Gael Clichy are likely to form the back four in front of Hugo Lloris, having lined up together in a 10-a-side practice match at the end of today's training session.
Blanc is keen to see as many of his first-choice XI as possible in action together but admits things could still change in the week leading up to the competition.
He said: "Up to now, we have not suffered too badly with injuries so it is very difficult to confirm that the team which starts tomorrow will be the one for June 11.
"The idea is to approach it as closely as possible, to give the team and the players strength, but we must preserve them to have all our weapons available for June 11.''
Manchester City's Clichy has impressed Blanc with his progress but could still lose out to Manchester United's Patrice Evra for the left-back position.
"Clichy has crossed a plateau,'' said the coach. "In the second half of the season he showed a lot of maturity.
"He offers a lot going forwards but defensively he needs to improve. The back line must first of all defend.''
Estonia will perhaps not provide the most rigorous examination for a rapidly-improving team hoping to be among the contenders in Poland and Ukraine but Blanc insists they will not take the game lightly and will be pushing for a third victory in three warm-up games.
"I hope, firstly, to win and also to avoid injuries,'' he said.
"We must try to be more consistent in our play. Against Serbia, we performed for 70 minutes. I hope that will be the case again, and even more.''
Source: Soccernet.com
0 nhận xét:
Post a Comment