Yoann Gourcuff beats the first man, at least, but the ball sails harmlessly over all his team-mates too and ends up flying straight into the hands of Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera. Uruguay start with Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez up front in what will basically be a 5-2-1-2 formation. "France boss Raymond Domenech springs a surprise by bringing in Arsenal's Abou Diaby for Florent Malouda from the side that lost to China in their final World Cup warm-up match. But after the initial flurry, the Uruguayan defense frustrated France playmaker Franck Ribery and the rest of Les Bleus (who were wearing their road white uniforms). Your schools. Luis Suarez flicks on a throw-in inside the box and Diego Forlan shapes to smash home a first-time shot... that fizzes inches wide. Deep into added time, Yoann Gourcuff bends in another free-kick from deep... but Fernando Muslera leaps above a crowd of players to punch clear. France's holding midfielder Jeremy Toulalan was reduced to trying his luck from more than 35 yards, while Uruguay's Diego Lugano mystified his team-mates by shooting at goal from deep inside his own half. 34 min: Forlan drops deep, picks up the ball, turns and charges towards the edge of the France penalty area. Uruguay have not created much in this game so far but they've just had a golden opportunity to take the lead. 0-0
On the six previous occasions that La Celeste reached the last eight at the World Cup, only once did they fail to progress. "ITV set the bar very high during the opening match with their cut-away shot to to celebrations in a 'tiny village in Kwazulu Natal that has only just got electricity'. France are taking far too long to transition the ball from defence to attack while Nicolas Anelka looks all at sea in this lone striker system. The group consisted of host nation South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France . A scoreless tie. He's wearing his Alf Ramsey tracksuit top, looking tanned and relaxed. I don't think the French were too pleased with Maximiliano Pereira's dive. Uruguay: Muslera, Victorino, Lugano, Godin, Pereira, Maxi Pereira, Perez, Arevalo Rios, Gonzalez, Forlan, Suarez. The match in Cape Town never really got going; instead of sparking into life, it deteriorated into a largely forgettable contest only briefly illuminated by the occasional moment of trickery and skill. As my colleague Chalkboard Bobby Smyth pointed out in ">this informative article, their progress in this tournament will almost certainly determined by strikers Diego Forlan and Luis Suaraz, who have scored 70-odd goals between them this season. Thursday, 17th June 2010. There were rumours of all sorts of in-fighting in the French camp before the match - the players don't like the manager, the players don't want Sidney Govou or Yohann Gourcuff in the team and were refusing to pass the ball to them, Thierry Henry was de facto manager ... etc. BBC Sport's Phil McNulty reports that the whole squad is taking part, including James Milner, who's missed the last couple of sessions with a fever. Their television coverage isn't much better, with loud, irritating, droning about vuvuzelas and lame jokes about the Republic of Ireland not being in South Afrcia appearing to be the order of the day. Just a thought - other than being caught offside a few times, we've not seen much of Luis Suarez so far, have we? Truth be told, he could have got a red card for that tackle alone - on the stretch and with studs up, he caught Sagna right on his instep. Managed by Oscar Tabarez, Uruguay booked the last berth in this summer's South African jamboree with a nervy play-off win over Costa Rica after finishing fifth in South American qualifying. We have to praise our opponents.". "I'm going to put my neck on the block and suggest that this match has not exactly been a classic so far. But they could not get the winner. Great defending by Abou Diaby, who is in the right place at the back post to head clear Diego Forlan's free-kick, with Diego Lugano lurking behind him. 2 min: France win a throw-in on the edge of the final third - Evra picks out Anelka, who dribbles it into the corner, where Mauricio Victorino relieves him off possession, ambles out of defence with the ball at his feet and hoofs it forward. From Jon in Bolton: "This game shows why England should not play Rooney up front on his own. "Hey presto, pure MBM commentary goodness! Get Larry White on a plane to South Africa vite!". The sentient naartjie is 70-years-old. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. The ball bounces up and hits Eguran on the hand - ironically, Thierry Henry of all people appeals wildly for a penalty. So far, in the first one-and-a-half games of the tournament, the referees' assistants have gotten them all right. Stupid, stupid yellow card picked up by France captain Patrice Evra. We tried to change our play and we managed to draw but it wasn't enough. Forlan landed on William Gallas after he had let fly, and it looked painful, but the French defender is able to continue after a bit of treatment. Lee Dixon is inside the Cape Town stadium and he reckons the pitch is in magnificent condition. It'll be up on the site this side of midnight, I'm reliably informed. ", "I feel pride and honour and a huge responsibility but I have my team-mates behind me. Jeremy Toulalan is in the referees book too after a wild challenge that angers the Uruguayans. So, can Florent Malouda make an instant impact? "Surely a bright sound engineer at the BBC can invent a device to cancel out the noise in real time." Another France change. No Florent Malouda in the France team - Abou Diaby gets the nod instead. TV BBC1. If this match is to leave its mark for the right reasons than a moment of brilliance is required.". 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