Lithuania vs France Highlights: World Cup Qualifiers Highlights

Posted on March 28, 2009
Filed Under Internationals, World Cup 2010

Franck Ribery bought new lease of life into France’s stuttering World Cup qualifying campaign with a second-half winner against Lithuania in Kaunas tonight.

The Bayern Munich winger’s swerving left-foot shot in the 67th minute earned Les Bleus a much deserved three points that keeps them in the hunt for top spot in Group Seven.

The French remain in third place but narrow the gap to the second-placed Lithuanians to just couple of points.

Serbia’s 3-2 win over Romania earlier tonight keeps them at the summit, three points above Lithuania onto the top of the table, but France have a game in hand over the pair above them.

On an uneven pitch and in cold conditions, France were in control throughout but it looked like they were going to fail to turn their chances into goals before Ribery struck.

The result will take some of the heat off under-pressure Les Bleus coach Raymond Domenech and he will now be eying another victory over Lithuania on Wednesday at the Stade de France.

In the past, home and away matches against Lithuania would have been looked at by the French as an easy opportunity to pick up some qualification points.

But Les Bleus may have viewed the double-header with some trepidation given their current form, their already-perilous position in the group and the Lithuanians’ steady improvement in recent years.

Buoyed by three wins from their opening four pool matches, the hosts came into the match in buoyant mood knowing the poor standard of the pitch was something of a leveler, in their favour. But the visitors held their nerve and dominated the tie to secure three points.

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One Response to “Lithuania vs France Highlights: World Cup Qualifiers Highlights”

Jeqq on March 28th, 2009 10:42 pm

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