GROUP SEVEN France 5 Faroe Islands 0:ERIC ABIDAL has called on France to beat Austria on Wednesday to set their stall out ahead of a World Cup qualifying play-off. Saturday's 5-0 win over the Faroe Islands secured second place and a play-off place for Les Bleus in Group Seven behind Serbia, who beat Romania 5-0 to seal their ticket to South Africa.
Wednesday’s match represents a far stiffer test than the one presented by perennial qualifying minnows the Faroes, but Abidal feels his side can take confidence from their goalscoring exploits.
The Barcelona full-back said: “Certainly, when you have matches where you have a lot of chances and can score some goals, that is good for the team and the attackers. It gives them confidence. We worked on things in training and it paid off, and we hope it will pay off again on Wednesday. The public were behind us, which helped us feel motivated.”
Despite having second spot already in the bag, Abidal is determined to clinch all three points to keep morale high going into the play-off. “The match against Austria, we have to win it,” he said. “The ultimate objective is to qualify but this match will serve as a reference point for our level of quality. Austria are stronger than the Faroes and it will be a useful test for us for the future. The objective is to get to the World Cup.”
Striker Andre-Pierre Gignac opened the scoring from close range on 34 minutes and doubled the advantage with a superb angled shot from just inside the box five minutes later.
Defender William Gallas made it 3-0 with a headed goal early in the second half before striker Nicolas Anelka and substitute forward Karim Benzema wrapped it up with late efforts.
Les Bleus dominated throughout, and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was simply a spectator.
France have 18 points from nine games, four more than third-placed Austria, who beat Lithuania 2-1. “You couldn’t ask for much more,” France coach Raymond Domenech told reporters afterwards. His side had been booed by their own fans in previous outings but the atmosphere was good on Saturday. “The team showed that it deserved to be supported,” Domenech added. “There is quality in that team and we will need to confirm that in a month. It’s never easy to qualify and whatever opponents we face the play-off will be tough but this team is growing and showing it has style.”
The home side dominated throughout the match, creating a string of chances and hitting the woodwork twice before opening the scoring.
Polish referee Robert Malek had to be replaced by fourth official Pawel Gil because of a calf muscle injury with 13 minutes left.
The emphatic result will do a lot to improve the mood in the France camp which has reached breaking point of late following reports last month of a bust-up between Domenech and his players. Benzema’s goal will do much to boost his reputation following his surprise admission he had not really felt like playing against Serbia and had struggled to give his all.
France dominated throughout, and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was simply a spectator.
France knew three points would be enough to book a place in the play-offs – and they almost got off to the best possible start as Jakup Mikkelsen was forced into a fingertip save to keep out Anelka’s rasping shot from just outside the area. Anelka came close to giving them the lead in the 10th minute when he sent a free-kick straight into Mikkelsen’s hands.
France should have had a penalty in the 19th minute when Gignac’s shot struck Atli Gregersen’s elbow, but the referee waved away their appeals. Gignac opened the scoring shortly after that.
