Euro 2012: Samir Nasri Finds Deliverance for France Against Bosnia

It's funny what a free kick can do for a player's reputation.

In 2001, England were mired in a decisive World Cup qualifier against Greece. The score stood 2-1 in favor of the visiting Greeks with less than a minute remaining in the match.

A draw was all the Three Lions needed to secure passage to the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. Yet with the full-time whistle mere moments away, the likelihood of a miracle seemed to dwindle with each passing second.

Then England were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out, dead square in front of goal. You could have heard a pin drop in Old Trafford.

What happened next will forever live on as one of the most iconic moments in English footballing history.

Beckham had turned national villain three years prior to that fateful November day when, during the 1998 World Cup finals, his petulant kick-out at Diego Simeone earned him a straight red card.

Simeone had bowled into the then-Manchester United star, but it was Beckham's ill-fated decision that ruled the day.

England would go on to lose the match and be knocked out of the tournament, and Michael Owen's superb goal was largely forgotten in the wake of Beckham's antics. He was reviled for having let his side down. In a situation in which they had needed him most, he lost his head for a precious few moments and cost his team the win.

Suffice it to say that the free kick against Greece smacked of potential catharsis. It seemed no one else but Beckham had any right to take that kick.

When he struck the ball, it seemed as if time stopped and then started again in slow motion. The technique was immaculate—the ball launched into the air, and looked predestined for the upper left-hand corner.

Greek keeper Antonis Nikopolidis could do little more than stare at what was, to be fair, one of the more sweetly-struck free kicks in all of history, as it swung into the net.

2-2. England were through.

Old Trafford turned into bedlam. Beckham dashed furiously for the endline and proceeded to launch his arms into the air in celebration, punching away years of painful memory.

A weight had been lifted from his back—the burden he'd carried for three years was alleviated by one stroke of his genius right foot. (Becks would exact an even larger measure of revenge in the '02 finals against Argentina, when he converted the penalty kick that proved to be the decider in a 1-0 England victory).

While English-to-French comparisons are always something of a tricky issue as there is too much history between the two nations, Samir Nasri could prove an accurate addendum to Beckham's own story.

The French No. 11, Nasri has never been regarded in the same manner as Becks was post-1998, but the current Manchester City midfielder has long held a reputation as an enfant terrible, particularly within the French national team camp.

His well-documented bust-ups (Ole Ole) with former Arsenal teammate William Gallas were the talk of 2008, and despite his excellent 2009-2010 season with the Gunners, then-French manager Raymond Domenech elected to leave him out of the 23-man squad that flew to South Africa.

Many felt at the time that despite his significant skill, his attitude had him pegged to journey upon a path along the fringes of national team duty.

Then came Laurent Blanc and a fresh start.

Since the former Bordeaux manager took the reigns after the disastrous World Cup, Nasri has been a regular starter in the new-look Les Bleus side.

Blanc has slotted him in the attacking midfield role of his 4-2-3-1 formation, a position that Nasri seldom occupies with his club sides (both Arsenal and City), but can play brilliantly when tasked with it.

While there was some bristling last year when Yoann Gourcuff was fit as to whom was the better choice to fill that position of attacking roamer for France, the Lyon midfielder's current ankle predicament has allowed Nasri to shine ever more brightly in his prolonged absence.

It was Nasri, after all, who completed 116 passes against Albania last Friday in a 3-0 Les Bleus win, the sort of Xavi-esque dominance rarely seen from a French playmaker in recent years.

That splendid match would prove a fitting preview to Tuesday's showdown against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

France only needed one point at home against the visiting Bosnians to gain direct entry into next summer's European Championships, but once again, when the situation demanded a sterling performance, Les Bleus looked wholly incapable of providing one.

From kickoff, Bosnia repeated what Ireland had done nearly two years before in another highly-charged fixture. Back then it was a two-leg playoff for the '10 World Cup, and in the return leg in France, Ireland had been miles ahead of the French, tactically superior and far more exuberant.

The Bosnians took a page out of that history and memorized it by heart.

They bossed the French around with a physical, swirling brand of play, negating the France midfield. Bosnia kept their foot pressed down hard on their opponents, earning a 1-0 lead at intermission while showing the kind of determination requisite of a top team.

If that scoreline held, France would be destined for a tricky playoff (to prove it, Bosnia learned Thursday they will face Portugal in their upcoming two-leg tie).

With those ignominious memories from Ireland at the Stade de France still very fresh in French minds, a direct passage to Poland and Ukraine always seemed like the only option, lest supporters' hearts be crushed at their team's inability to conjure grand performances under the brightest of lights.

Whatever the intents and purposes of Blanc's halftime team talk, it worked. Nasri, who had cut an isolated figure in the first half when he had often been forced to drop deep to get any touches on the ball, looked reborn.

He sent a free kick curling for the upper left corner (remember Beckham?) in what would have been a mirror image of the England No. 7's 2001 free kick. Nasri's was parried against the crossbar by keeper Asmir Begovic, however, leaving France to continue to fight for their equalizer.

Undeterred, it was Nasri's superb turn of Bosnian defender Emir Spahic that resulted in a 78th-minute penalty. The City man stepped up to the spot, intent on converting the free kick he had earned.

Anticipation dripped from the stadium. French hearts were in mouths as Nasri weighed his options—if he missed, would France get another chance?

Finally, he began his run-up and, cool as you like, sent Begovic the wrong way before drilling his shot low into the left corner.

Goal. 1-1. France had proved their merit.

The ensuing celebration was plastered upon the next day's L'Equipe front page. Nasri screaming, overwhelmed by joyous emotion.

He has never been the French icon many had hoped for when, as a Marseille youngster, he had earned (like so many others) favorable comparisons to Zinedine Zidane. Yet, here was his entry into French footballing lore.

Zidane didn't truly become Zidane until he was 26, gracing the Stade de France podium after heading France past Brazil in the final. At 24, Nasri still has some time to work out his kinks. 

L'Equipe called the celebratory image "La Deliverance" (The Deliverance), a fitting title for what has been an incredibly trying couple of years not just for Nasri, but for the entire French national team.

Many felt they didn't deserve to even make the trip to South Africa, so ashamed were they of the manner in which France had sealed their passage at Ireland's expense.

Thanks to Nasri, there was no question about the merit of their inclusion into Euro 2012.

Like Beckham a decade earlier, one swift stroke of his right foot earned Nasri, and his side, redemption. It was the mark of a leader to convert that penalty in such pressure-soaked conditions.

You couldn't write a more fitting story than that.