France vs. Iceland: Observations from Sunday's 3-2 Victory

With France manager Laurent Blanc prepared to whittle his provisional 25-man roster (Loic Remy was forced to drop his name from contention after he was ruled out of the Euros with injury) on Monday or Tuesday, the friendly against Iceland on Sunday—the first of three that France will take part in ahead of their June 11 opening match against England—took on added importance.

One of the players fighting for one of those last spots on the French bus was Yoann Gourcuff, the erstwhile superstar.

Gourcuff played in only 13 Ligue 1 matches this season, but he has a famous relationship with Blanc from the two's time together at Bordeaux. Blanc trusts in his former protege's prowess, and granted him a starting role in central midfield alongside Yohan Cabaye against Iceland.

Gourcuff was under the brightest spotlight to start the encounter, but by the time 35 minutes had gone at the Stade du Hainaut, it was the defense that looked most worrisome.

Blanc had said in the run-up to the match that the idea was to get as many players out on the pitch who will start against England in less than three weeks' time. Was that a clue that Gourcuff will have a part to play at the Euros?

Based on the Lyon midfielder's performance in the match, perhaps not.

Gourcuff was visibly short of match sharpness, and while he showed glimpses of his talent—a couple excellent crosses into the area, some quick bits of technical wizardry—it was only after he made way for Franck Ribery in the 75th minute that France scored the two goals that would see them emerge victorious.

Blanc certainly has his work cut out for him where the midfield is concerned. He'd admitted that the lack of experience was worrisome going into the Euros, and Sunday will have done little to reassure him.

Here's some other observations from the night.

Jeremy Menez, starting opposite Hatem ben Arfa on the left wing, was terrific in the first half as he built upon the form that made him such a dynamic option in the Paris Saint-Germain attack this season. Menez made a habit of skipping past the Icelandic defense with ease. Ribery should be confident of a starting role at one of those wing positions for the Euros, but Menez certainly lent his name into the discussion for a spot in the first XI against England.

Karim Benzema, the man who had 32 goals and 15 assists for Real Madrid (all competitions) in 2011-12, didn't see much of the ball in the first half, but when he did, he looked a true game-changer. Benzema had a terrific slotted goal called back for offside, but the former Lyon hit man took part in some mesmerizing link-up play with ben Arfa and Samir Nasri on the periphery of the Icelandic penalty area.

Yohan Cabaye did his best in the defensive midfield position of Blanc's 4-3-3, but France's two conceded goals—both coming off well-worked counters from Iceland (and they could have had a third if not for a terrific save from Steve Mandanda in the second half) made it clear that Yann M'Vila's importance within this side as an additional defensive midfielder cannot be discounted. When Cabaye is allowed more freedom to roam alongside M'Vila, the France attack should open up even more.

Olivier Giroud and Mathieu Debuchy, both late comers to the national scene, made stirring cases to start against England. Debuchy grabbed France's first goal on the night from the right-back position, and Giroud was sensational in his brief time on the pitch. Coming on in the 59th minute, Giroud took some time to work himself into the match, but he ended up providing assists for Ribery and Adil Rami. As the astute David Wall gathered, Giroud had five passes in the match. They all came in the penalty area, and they were all successive. The leading scorer in Ligue 1 last season may just have convinced Blanc to play him as the front man in the 4-2-3-1, thereby moving Benzema to a roaming role behind him.

Blanc was seething that his side had conceded twice, saying that France "are a long way away" from being ready for their opening match. But the return of M'Vila to the lineup, likely for the next friendly against Serbia, should help matters—there was a glaring gap between the back four and midfield at times—as should Ribery getting a full 90 minutes under his belt.

France will play Serbia on May 31.