France Report Card

Well, since I follow France and am a France supporter, I will a report card on my favorite team and their players. So, here I go....

Overall Preformance: B+ - Yeah, the team did great overall. Many people would give them an A. But they did look weak in the first stages. They also should have won the final game versus Italy. That is why I feel they fell short of an A.

Offense: B- - The offense had the chance to score a lot more goals than they did. France couldn't get any finishing touches on their opportunities. There were a few times that France should have put the ball in the back of the net, but they didn't.

Defense: A - Honestly, the best defensive performance I have seen by a national team in a long time. They just took the ball away from the opposing players with little effort. They didn't have to do a lot of nasty tackles. They just played their defense with skill. I was extremely impressed.

Coaching: B - I want to give Domenech a lower grade, but I just can't. He got France this far in the World Cup, so it is hard to say bad about him. While I feel he made some good 'coaching' decision, like formations (which at some times baffled me, but in the end it worked out). On the other hand, I think he did a horrible job with personal. Coupet, Silvestre and Trezeguet should have been starters. I feel that Trezeguet could have made that penalty kick if he actually had one time on the field.

Players
Fabien Barthez - C
Eric Abidal - B
William Gallas - B+
Willy Sagnol - B+ (who I think should replace Zidane as team captain)
Lilian Thuram - A
Mikael Silvestre - B-
Vikash Dhorasoo - A
Alou Diarra - C
Claude Makelele - B (kind of quiet this World Cup)
Florent Malouda - A+
Patrick Vieira - A-
Zinedine Zidane - A+
Sidney Govou - C
Thierry Henry - B+
Franck Ribery - Group Stage D, Knockout Stage A+, Overall B+
Louis Saha - C-
David Trezeguet - C
Sylvain Wiltord - B

Best Player: Florent Malouda and Zinedine Zidane (yeah, it is a draw)

Most Disappointing Player: Thierry Henry. Thought he would finish more of his opportunities.

Most Improved Player: Franck Ribery. He really grew between the first game with the Swiss and the last game against Italy. I have never seen a player mature THAT fast!

Most Overrate Player: Claude Makelele. Didn't really do anything. Kind of in limbo.

Most Underrated Player: Florent Malouda

Best Moment: Henry's goal against Brazil. Great pass from Zidane and great finish (one of his only great finishes).

Worse Moment: Zidane's red card.