Change proves positive for France

Plus ça change, plus ça même. France took to the field with just five of the players who had started in the impressive opening victory over the Czech Republic and altered their winning formation yet still ran out convincing winners against Greece to effectively ensure their place in the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship after scoring twice in quick succession late in the first half, just as they had done in their opening match.

More changes
Expect more changes for the final group game against Belgium on Tuesday. French coach Raymond Domenech has now used 19 players in two matches. However, speaking after the 3-1 win over Greece, he said: "I want to win with 22 players."

'Long-term strategy'
Injury played a part in Domench's decision to retain just five of the starting eleven that so impressed against the Czechs, with livewire striker Sidney Govou ruled out with a leg injury. But the wholesale changes were also part of a grand plan. Domenech said: "I had a long-term strategy. I knew that the game against Belgium would be decisive so I wanted to have eleven players fresh for the match against Belgium. "

'Fresh players'
"I don't know whether I will make so many changes for the final match. I will probably have fresh players in attack but I don't know yet. I have to watch the video of the Belgian match today yet before I decide."

'Could have played better'
Domenech added that he had not been overly impressed by his side's display despite the comfortable victory. He added: "I was not very happy with the performance. We could have played better. We showed a certain lack of aggression. In the second half in particular we were not aggressive enough in attack."

Govou to return?
Domenech, who was confirmed as French under-21 coach until 2004 on Friday last, did reveal that Olympique Lyonnais forward Govou would "probably play" in the match against Belgium.

'Play as a team'
Certainly, the changes did not affect the French players unduly. Midfielder Sylvain Armand, who admitted that his goal that opened the scoring was "an accident", said: "We are a group and we play as a team."

'Still alive'
Meanwhile, Greek coach Andreas Michaelopoulos insisted that his side still had a chance of reaching the last four despite a second successive defeat. "We're still alive after the result in the other match, " he said, referring to the Czech Republic's 1-0 win over Belgium.

'We were unlucky'
"The French team is a very good side. We were not so good in this game - we can play better than that, " he added. "We were unlucky with the first goal and then conceded one straight away."

'No hope'
Asked why his side had not performed as well as they could, Michaelopoulos responded: "I'm looking for that answer too. I will be trying to find out. But I know if we play as badly in the third game then we have no hope."