france is in!

if the swiss dreww against ireland, les bleus had to win 4 - nil over cyprus, and following the example of zisou they did just that. wiltord, dharasoo and guily all scored in the first game that france really looked like france. with henry and trezeguet out there were those who thought they'd be unable to score, but how can people forget the presence of cisse, wiltord and dharasoo. when we've got those three we don't need anyone else. in fact, maybe we don't need henry and trezeguet at all. sometimes it's not the best players that make a team work, but the best combination, and after yesterday i think france has found it.

so after all the talk of france failing to qualify, they wind up winning their group. and i think their group has proven to be the toughest of all. with both israel and republic of ireland being eliminated -- only just barely -- no qualifying teams had it rougher than switzerland (who still have a second place playoff, which i am sure they'll win) and france. what's englad's excuse? oh yeah, they suck!

the other qualifier that made me smile was sweden's victory over iceland, which put them in second place behind croatia in group 8. it was enough to put the swedes in the same boat as poland: second place in their group, but qualifying directly on the strength of their points. for my money, sweden is the surprise team to watch come world cup time. they are getting better all the time, have the scary talented ibrihimovich, backed up by the passing and skill of ljungberg and the experience of larssen, and they've got a strong defense. of all the european teams i think they will be the most quietly dangerous.