Faroes v France preview – Malouda and Anelka to play

This looks like a veritable David v Goliath tie, but judging on recent form it perhaps won’t be such a pushover for France. Given the lack of match fitness all round, and the fact that Franck Ribery, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira are all not playing, it is possible we could see yet another disappointing display from the misfiring French team. The Arsenal pair Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri are also absent through injury.

Chelsea fans are used to seeing Anelka and Malouda missing easy chances, and now the tiny Faroe Islands can get their chance to see it first-hand!

The ex-Northern Ireland manager Brian Kerr is now in charge of the Faroes, and it looks like his organizational abilities are making the team harder to beat. Certainly the days when they were whipped by five goals or more every game are consigned to history for the moment.

They may only have one point from their five qualifying matches so far, but the draw with Austria was a milestone, and an even greater achievement when you realise that the Austrians beat France 3-1 less than a year ago.

The Faroes have conceded just seven goals in their five games and are gaining a reputation for being hard to beat, whereas France’s standing in the world is looking shaky. They have lost friendlies against Nigeria and Argentina, and the other three (of their last five games) have ended in 1-0 wins.

I have a feeling that this game could also be closer than expected and am hoping that the Faroes can again restrict their opponents to two goals or less and continue their fine form.