France: Cautious Optimism Ahead of Showdown Against Bosnia and Herzegovina

A fresh spate of injuries has dampened the mood in the French camp at Clairefontaine, where Les Bleus are training before their final two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

France possess a gilt-edged chance to emerge on top of Group D after those final matches. They are currently atop the standings with 17 points, one ahead of Bosnia.

Despite dispatching Bosnia 2-0 in the away leg last year, flailing form against Belarus (a home loss and an away draw) and an inability to defeat Romania in Bucharest last month have seen France's first-place lead dwindle to its current point.

Bosnia, who possess in-form Premier League and Manchester City star Edin Dzeko, will be no easy feat, particularly in light of the injuries which have sent a shiver down the spines of French supporters.

Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema, Eric Abidal, Kevin Gameiro and Bacary Sagna have all been ruled out due to injury ahead of the key fixtures—each of whom have played considerable roles during the qualifying campaign. It is far from an optimal scenario at this late stage.

Despite these absences, manager Laurent Blanc invites in-form Olympique Lyonnais striker Bafetimi Gomis back into the fold. Gomis, who had stormed onto the international scene with a two-goal debut for the senior national team back in 2008, has not featured for the side since October 2009.

Yet the former Saint-Etienne man has displayed a goal-scorer's sense in recent weeks, which have seen him emerge with six goals in Ligue 1 play.

France will be looking to avoid a second-place finish and the subsequent playoff path necessary to gain entry into next summer's championships, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, at all costs.

The last time France were forced into a playoff before a major tournament was November 2009, when a highly contentious two-leg tie against Ireland began with a nasty post-match scuffle between midfielder Lassana Diarra and a host of Irish players in Dublin before finishing with Thierry Henry's...well, you know.

All indications point to France sealing their qualification, with Albania looking like nothing more than a tune-up ahead of the main event with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Yet Les Bleus would do well not to take the Albanians lightly. They only managed a narrow 2-1 victory in Tirana last month, and French memories have not forgotten the highly embarrassing loss suffered to Belarus at the Stade de France on the first match day of European qualifying a little more than a year ago. The boos that rained down that night, normally reserved for president Nicolas Sarkozy, were deafening.

All eyes will turn to Stade Rennais star Yann M'Vila to lead the side from his post in central midfield.

One of Laurent Blanc's most noteworthy introductions to the French side (he had narrowly missed out on World Cup 2010, making Raymond Domenech's initial list of 30 before being cut when the group was narrowed to 23), the 21-year-old holding midfielder has attracted a host of high-profile suitors, with a move to the Premier League on the imminent horizon.

His tackling is sure, and his vision and distribution are highly impressive. All three of those attributes will need to be on display this weekend.

France's backline, subject to consistent turnover due to injuries and form, will need to be on its best behavior during these two matches—particularly on Tuesday in the finale against Bosnia.

Phillipe Mexes, Blanc's first choice at center back throughout qualifying, misses out due to a lengthy injury bout (he should resurface with club team AC Milan after this international break), leaving the impetus to Tottenham's Younes Kaboul, who will likely pair with Valencia strong-man Adil Rami.

How Lyon back Anthony Reveillere fares at right back in the place of Sagna will also be a major talking point, but Blanc will call upon oft-used international veteran Gael Clichy at left back.

After forgettable displays in Euro 2008 and (especially) World Cup 2010, France will be looking to enter next summer's championships by making a statement of intent. A strong showing in the next two matches would go a long way toward instilling hope in this burgeoning side.