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France’s Blanc confident despite Romania draw
Posted Wednesday, September 07, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

France coach Laurent Blanc admitted his disappointment at his side's display in drawing 0-0 with Romania here on Tuesday but is confident that Les Bleus will seal their place at the Euro 2012 finals in their remaining qualifying games.

"We prepare for every match with the aim of winning so when you fail to do so it is disappointing," he said after an encounter in which clear chances were few and far between.

"It is even more disappointing given the way the game panned out. We created the better chances and a point was the least we deserved."

Following on the back of a less than convincing display in Tirana on Friday, when France beat Albania 2-1, the two-time former European champions now know that four points from their remaining qualifiers at home to the Albanians and Bosnia and Herzegovina in October will see them finish top of qualifying group D.

"We always thought that the final two home games would prove to be decisive. We have a slight advantage because we come into them with a one-point lead at the top over Bosnia," Blanc continued.

"It is usually easier to win at home than on the road and we have seen tonight (Tuesday) just how difficult it can be to win away.

"We wanted six points from these last two games, but it's never easy away from home, especially when you have to play in front of 55,000 Romanians in a brand-new stadium."

The impressive National Arena was packed to the rafters but the state of the playing surface made it almost impossible for the two teams to produce a game worthy of the occasion, and Blanc insisted that his side were affected more as the turf cut up horribly in the first half.

"The pitch did not play in our favour. I wouldn't say that it was entirely to blame for our display but I do think that at certain moments it caused us more problems than it did the Romanians."

Blanc also revealed why he chose to make five changes to his starting line-up, with Chelsea's Florent Malouda and Manchester City's Samir Nasri among those dropped after the Albania game.

"It is the job of the coach to send out what he thinks is the best possible team. We wanted to give others a chance and there were players here who proved that they are worthy of a place in the France team," he said.

"It was difficult to make the choices that I made but that is what I am here to do and we must be prepared to make these difficult decisions if we are to achieve what we really want for France."

Standings
    Rank Team W/D/L Pts

    Cities & Stadiums

    The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments

    Year Winners Runner-up Third place
    2008SpainGermanyRussia / Turkey
    2004GreecePortugalNetherlands / Czech Republic
    2000FranceItalyNetherlands / Portugal
    1996GermanyCzech RepublicFrance / England
    1992DenmarkGermanyNetherlands / Sweden
    1988NetherlandsSoviet UnionItaly / West Germany
    1984FranceSpainDenmark / Portugal
    1980West GermanyBelgiumCzechoslovakia
    1976CzechoslovakiaWest GermanyNetherlands
    1972West GermanySoviet UnionBelgium
    1968ItalyYugoslaviaEngland
    1964SpainSoviet UnionHungary
    1960Soviet UnionYugoslaviaCzechoslovakia