France's do-or-die match against Ireland is just around the corner, with the first match taking place on November 14th in Ireland and the second taking place on the 18th at the Stade de France (boo...). I don't know about you guys, but I'll be praying extra hard that France don't screw up against a tough Irish team.

On paper, this shouldn't even be much of a matchup. France has the players with the big names and the big money.

You know. The ones who get all the press.

Too bad you can't play a match on paper.

Gardiens de but
Shay Given (Manchester City, Ang)
Keiren Westwood (Conventry City, Ang)
Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United, Ang)

Défenseurs
John O'Shea (Manchester United, Ang)
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa, Ang)
Stephen Kelly (Fulham, Ang)
Kevin Kilbane (Hull City, Ang)
Eddie Nolan (Preston North End, Ang)
Sean St.

It's official. France's playoff opponent is Ireland.

And Raymond Domenech is kissing the boots of UEFA for deciding to seed the draw.

France, the 1998 world champions, 2000 European champions and beaten World Cup finalists in 2006, will have the advantage of playing the second leg on home soil against an Ireland side coached by Giovanni Trapattoni.

France are finding a bit of form.

And none too soon.

Domenech has pulled a rabbit out of the hat in Gignac.

Gignac put the match to rest with a sumptuous third.

Benzema got the start up front along with ever-presents Thierry Henry and Sidney Govou.

Stalwarts like Toulalan and L.

This is it! The final World Cup qualifier! Are you excited?

Yeah, neither is anybody else. Let's still hope for a good showing.

As Jeff discussed, Serbia's win over Romania means France has no chance to go top of the group. France's win over Faroe Islands means that France is guaranteed the second-place playoffs.

From FIFA:

"Serbia secured qualification in style, with Nikola Zigic, Marko Pantelic, Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Milan Javanovic (2) on target in a 5-0 win over Romania in Group 7."

Ouch.

We were bettered in the group, but we also won 5-0.

Goals from:

Gignac
Gignac
Gallas
Anelka
Benzema

5-0, and it was almost convincing.

LES ÉQUIPES PROBABLES

FRANCE: Mandanda - Sagna, Gallas, Abidal, Evra - Govou, L. Diarra, Toulalan, Henry (cap.) - Anelka, Gignac
ILES FÉROÉ: Mikkelsen - Danielsen, Gregersen, Eliasen, Davidsen - A. Olsen, S. Olsen, Benjaminsen, Loekin - Jakobsen - Hansen

I was willing to bet my house yesterday that we'd be playing two DMs, and guess what?

Could Serbian hooligans solve all our problems?

From Prost Amerika Soccer:

FIFA have already fined the Serb FA $40,000 for incidents in all their previous world cup matches against France, Austria and Romania, and now they have finally lost patience.

Once more, the authorities have stepped in ahead of a match with Romania.

Recommended reading from Met:

Here's a must-read from Amy Lawrence, especially for the comments that follow:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/oct/07/raymond-domenech-france-world-cup

And also:

Has anyone else noticed that Fox Soccer Channel is advertising that they're carrying both of France's upcoming matches?

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, I always say.

And thank goodness for Group 9, because the worst, if France can earn a point at home against the Faroe Islands, will be advancing to the playoffs.

Serbia's last two matches are against Romania and Lithuania, and there's certainly a possibility that they'll blow their chance of winning the group.

This is it. For all the marbles. The group of players that will (absolutely positively will) get us at least to the UEFA playoffs for a World Cup slot.

Only "nouveau" is Nicolas Douchez from Rennes. (And FOUR goalkeepers? Have Lloris and Mandanda not impressed Domenech enough to guarantee their spots for next summer?

I believe the Brits refer to the upcoming matches as "squeaky bum time."

(Oh, please. Don't blame me. I didn't create the expression.)

To get our minds off of how much these upcoming qualifiers really, truly matter, here are a couple of videos you might enjoy.

First, best video game video ever: Patrice Evra's career, as seen through old school video games.

Just got this in my email. Raymond Domenech critics, I think you will approve:

The national coach, after the draw in Serbia did not speak about the game in his interview but he spoke about his life and said : "I just want to thank all the people who are supporting us.

Not up for more detailed analysis, but I wanted to get the video posted. Lloris' red is at about the 20-ish second mark. Especially watch the reverse-angle. Then tell us what you think.

C'mon, Romania!!! Oh, and France, too.

If we can get a win today at Serbia, our fate is still in our own hands. Our guys can do that. Right?

According to Raymond when asked about the starting XI, « Tout est possible », but l'Equipe is expecting Domenech to go for continuity.