The past
Winners of the very first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in
2005, France have long been considered one of the best exponents of
the game on the planet. That triumph came after they beat Portugal
1-0 on penalties at the end of their 3-3 draw in the Final, but
Eric Cantona's men lost out in the semi-finals the following
year, drawing 2-2 with the defensive titans of Uruguay before going
out 1-0 in the shootout. Their consolation came in the form of
third place, taken at the expense of Portugal in a 6-4 victory, yet
in 2007 they had to settle for fourth. Defeated 6-2 by Brazil in
the last four, Uruguay swung the match for third 1-0 on penalties
with the scores locked at 2-2.
The present
Playing at home, in front of the fervent Marseille crowd,
Les Bleus will be keen to leave a strong impression and
are aiming for nothing less than the global title itself. Having
been freed of the need to qualify, France have been on various
tours and contested a few friendly tournaments of late, using the
opportunity to inject fresh blood into a squad judged a little too
old.
The future
Receiving excellent advice from goalkeeping coach Claude
Barrabe, manager Eric Cantona and coach Henri Emile have been
focusing on exploiting the formidable reservoir of talent available
on Reunion Island. Following in the path of current captain Jeremy
Basquaise and Jean-Idriss Saidou, several youngsters from the
island should soon break their way into the first team, carrying a
message of hope for the future.
Facts
Former stars
Anthony Mendy, Sebastien Sansoni (2005), Noel Sciortino,
Jean-Marc Edouard (2005 and 2006)
Key players
Jean-Marie Aubry (goalkeeper), Sebastien Perez (defender),
Jeremy Basquaise (midfielder), Didier Samoun (striker)
The numbers game
1 - the number of defeats the French have suffered during
normal time in their 17 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup matches. That
sole loss came against Brazil (6-2) at the semi-final stage last
year.
