While many think that France will be a train wreck (For many reasons, just ask the Irish) at the 2010 World Cup, in their first match of the tournament, they weren't as bad as predicted. Uruguay on the other hand are being touted to exit the group, but they were relatively disorganized and disappointing their first match.
It started with excitement, Sidney Govou barely missing a tap-in in the beginning minutes of the match raised the tension of the match. Soon after, Diego Forlan's curving shot from the edge of the area was well saved by Lloris, but sadly the tempo of the match lowered noticeably after the first two chances. While France tried to conjure something with a very disappointing Ribery, Uruguay were only held up by Forlan, and his strike partner Luis Suarez seemed to be crumbling under the pressure with his repetitive offsides. While France's 4-3-3 was relatively standard and organized with Anelka doing well to remain the center point of the attack, Uruguay's 3-4-1-2 was a messy situation. The midfield was stretched too far, allowing Diaby and Gourcuff to rise up and join the attack as France dominated possession.
It was 9 minutes from the end when Lodeiro was sent off for accumulation of yellows because of two reckless challenges, this allowed France to pile the pressure on the back three defenders of Uruguay. Gignac was brought on for Govou in the last five minutes, and it became time to see how disorganized France's attack could get. Although they kept possession, Uruguay were able to fend off any attacks with all eleven men in the box, eventually the final whistle sounded relieving the Uruguayan players from their defensive duties.
It was a tight match full of interesting things from the tactical perspective, but I hope that there are few more like this one. All of the teams in group A are tied with one point, if you're interested in the match report of the South Africa vs Mexico game, click here.
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