Wednesday, May 28, 2008

France beats Ecuador 2-0 on Gomis debut



GRENOBLE, France (AP) - Bafetimbi Gomis scored twice in his international debut to help France beat Ecuador 2-0 in a friendly match on Tuesday.

The Saint-Etienne striker entered as a second-half substitute and his two goals gave him a claim for a place in France's European Championship squad when coach Raymond Domenech announced his squad Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Gomis scored his first in the 58th, collecting the ball with his back to goal, turning his marker and hitting a powerful shot into the top left corner from just inside the penalty area.

The second he converted from Nicolas Anelka's cross from the left with a powerful volley in the 85th.

Domenech used the match to evaluate several fringe players before selecting his final squad for the June 7-29 European Championship in Austria and Switzerland.

"I will learn things from what I've seen and I will give my answer. There are some plus and some minus points," Domenech said. "I don't think I'll sleep very well tonight. I think of the seven that will be left out."

Domenech must drop seven of the provisional 30-man squad - and Gomis' strikes may complicate Domenech's decision.

"He's not here by chance. He has qualities, like the other strikers have," Domenech said. "I hope he has a long career in the French team because he has the ability."

Anelka and Djibril Cisse wasted first-half scoring chances, while Carlos Tenorio and Segundo Castillo went close for Ecuador.

"They have some players of a high quality," Domenech said. "It's logical that they caused us some problems. It's better that way. We can learn from it."

Domenech chose an attack-minded team, with Hatem Ben Arfa and Samir Nasri playing behind the strikers.

Still, France had to wait until the 28th minute before Nasri's 30-meter shot tested goalkeeper Marcelo Elizaga.

A minute later, Cisse headed Anelka's cross just over.

Ecuador exploited a French midfield lapse in the 38th when Luis Antonio Valencia found space to release Carlos Tenorio toward the goal.

Tenorio rounded goalkeeper Sebastien Frey but his shot was blocked on the line by defender Lilian Thuram, who fell as he thwarted a second shot after the ball rebounded back to Tenorio.

Les Bleus, wearing red jerseys for only the second in history, threatened a minute later when the unmarked Cisse headed Ben Arfa's pinpoint cross straight at Elizaga.

Anelka headed high Nasri's cross from the right in the 42nd, and Frey saved a shot by Castillo in the 44th.

Fans in Grenoble's Stade des Alpes jeered the French team as it left the field at halftime.

Gomis almost scored within seven minutes of entering to start the second half, but dragged his shot wide off Mathieu Flamini's pass.

Ben Arfa then almost scored in the 77th, eluding two players and hitting a powerful shot from the edge of the area that forced a low stop from Elizaga.

France plays Paraguay in Toulouse on Saturday and faces Colombia at Stade de France on June 3. It opens its Euro campaign in Group C against Romania on June 9, followed by Netherlands on June 13 and Italy on June 17.

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