France must wake up to survive
VEVEY, Switzerland: France needs to wake up from a dismal start to avoid being overrun by a confident Dutch side in its second Euro 2008 game on Friday in Berne.
While Netherlands opened its Group C campaign with a 3-0 demolition of world champion Italy, France had just one shot on target in a dull 0-0 draw with Romania.
The 2006 World Cup runner-up, which shares Italy's tactical, defensive approach, desperately needs a touch of flair to avoid suffering the same fate as its Latin rivals.
"Maybe we must change our playing style and opt for a quick passing game to destabilize our opponents," France defender William Gallas told reporters.
"It's important to defend well and not to concede any goals but we must accelerate a bit," he added. "We need points, we need to win and to do that we need to take more risks."
A draw would place France in an uncomfortable situation before facing Italy in its final group game while a defeat would leave it on the verge of an embarrassing early exit.
The Dutch, by contrast, just have to repeat their performance against Italy to make sure of a place in the quarterfinals.
"It was a great result and the fans may celebrate but we still have nothing," Wesley Sneijder, who scored a splendid goal against Italy, told reporters. "Our goal still is to reach and win the final and therefore we need to stay calm."
France is hoping to welcome back captain Patrick Vieira and striker Thierry Henry, who missed the match against Romania with thigh injuries.
Midfield inspiration Vieira and Henry, France's all-time top scorer with 44 goals from 100 internationals, played in a training match against a Swiss regional youth side on Wednesday and could be in the starting lineup.
Coach Marco van Basten has no reason to make any changes to a side which gave him an almost perfect performance against Italy.
The match with France comes too early for winger Arjen Robben, who is recovering from a groin injury, while defender Mario Melchiot is still struggling with his fitness.
Agencies
(China Daily 06/13/2008 page24)
