Bojan Krkic is set to debut for Spain tonight.

Bojan Krkic will soon be so popular that football fans will not know his last name, a paradoxical consequence of already being referred to as merely Bojan.  When you are seventeen years old, already scoring goals for Barcelona and threatening to break into the European champion national team, more than two syllables to identify you is superfluous.  If new Spain head coach Vincente Del Bosque has his way, the Bojan phenomenon will take another step forward in World Cup qualifying.

That’s because Del Bosque plans on getting Bojan some time today when the Spaniards face Armenia in qualifying tonight.  It’s no secret (not even to the Armenians) that Spain is likely to win this qualifiers, and although it may be a bit assumptive to plan ahead after Spain only beat Bosnia 1-0 this weekend, Del Bosque will have Bojan on the bench, ready to play, should Spain perform as expected.

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Frank Ribery has yet to appear for Bayern Munich this season.

In more injury news, Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery, yet to appear for his club this season, has said he hope to make his return next week against Steaua Bucharest when München open Champions League play.

The German Footballer of the Year has been out all season recovering from an ankle injury suffered while playing for France in Euro 2008.  If he were to return next week, the three month recovery time would be very close to the short-end of the projection made when he had surgery at the beginning of summer.  The most pessimistic of original prognosis had the 25-year-old attacking midfielder out until November.  If Ribery’s hopes come true, he will have returned having missed only three Bundesliga matches and no Champions League play.

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France international Samir Nasri has been ruled out of today’s World Cup Qualifier against Serbia.  France, coming off a shocking 3-1 loss in their first qualifying match (against Austria), was to start Nasri in central midfield, but the Arsenal star has had a recurrence to the knee injury which kept him out of last month’s international friendlies.

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On Wednesday, France head coach Raymond Domenech will be under a pressure from which England’s Fabio Capello will be free.

FIFA.com has an article about Wednesday’s World Cup Qualifiers for England and France.  The headline:  Ghosts of past haunt France and England.  The headline hints at England’s troubles with Croatia - understandable, given how England was eliminated from Euro 2008 qualification - but what ghosts are haunting France.  The article does not make it clear, making the title little more than a gimmick, but it still hints at similar importance for the countries’ Wednesday qualifiers.  That, too, would be a strangely placed claim, as England’s visit to Zagreb and France hosting Serbia could not be any difference in terms of effect on the countries and their chances for South Africa.

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Group 7

It’s less of a surprise that Lithuania won this match (though that’s still mildly surprising) than how they won this match. Romania was playing without Adrian Mutu, Cristian Chivu and Razvan Rat, but those losses would not portend to a three goal defeat. The Romanians were understandably disappointed afterwards, with Cosmin Contra going as far as to call the performance “shameful.” Lithuania’s goals came from Marius Stankevicius (31′), Saulius Mikoliunas (69′) and Mindaugas Kalonas (86′), putting them on top of Group 7 after one round.

In a match that Serbia should have controlled, they needed an own goal in the 30th minute to take the lead. The Serbs did not score again until the 88th minute, when Nikola Zigic finally put the match out of reach. Although a win is a win, the Serbs looked less than impressive in a group which, after Saturday’s results, looks very deep.

The revamped France side posted a terrible result. The pressure must be accumulating on France coach Raymond Domenech, who many did not want back after Euro 2008. Austria jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first half off two goals which, from set pieces, exploited William Gallas and Phillipe Mexes in France’s center defense. Each could have been scored an own goal. Sidney Govou, one of France’s few bright spots snce the European Championships, pulled one back in the second half before France gave up a penalty which led to Austria’s third goal. For a team with the talent of France, there is little reason why they should be losing like this to Austria.

Group Standings

Where They Stand

This is the most wide-open of the nine groups. Whereas it was thought France and Romania the strongest sides before competition began, Saturday turned the group on its head. Lithuania looked the strongest and, in hosting Austria on Wednesday, will get a chance to start qualifying with two wins. Romania should get points when they visit the Faroe Islands, but France hosts Serbia. After their display in Vienna, it’s unclear where this French team is heading. I like France to win, but I’m not putting any money on it.

Now everything makes sense. It took us three weeks, but that Ligue 1 I grew to love last year is back. The top three in the table are Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. I exhale in relief.

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t too concerned about the state of Ligue 1 without the typically successful clubs at the top. In fact, I wasn’t phased at all, but I am eager for the start of what looks to be a three team championship race. There yet isn’t sufficient distance between Bordeaux (third, as of now) and the rest of the table, but with the three at the top looking at another relatively easy week this weekend, that distance may be coming.

As for the pretenders from last week, Grenoble never threatened Lyon, losing 2-0 after going down six minutes into the match, and Monaco’s lacking attack could not get three points at him from Caen. This week, Grenoble and Monaco face each other, meaning at last one will have trouble keeping up, while two other teams on the heals of the top three (Nice and Valenciennes) are also matched-up. This might be the week that gap starts to form.

But for all this talk about how the top of the table is shaping up, the match of the week involved two teams who currently rank no higher than tenth. Rennes put in two injury time goes to take three points over Lille, the first win for either club, in one of those matches that leaves a neutral slack jawed. Did that just happen?

With Week 2 done and gone, French clubs shifted focus to the continent, where Marseille finished qualifying for Champions League only to see them slotting into the group that got Atletico Madrid from Pot 4. That meant they would be in the deepest group, joined by Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven, in a quartet that gives them a chance to move on. Lyon and Bordeaux each get tougher groups, and some think Lyon’s to be as deep as Marseille’s.

In UEFA Cup qualifying, Rennes was able to overcome a one goal deficit after their first leg against Norway’s Stabaek. The join Paris St. Germain, Nancy, and St. Etienne in awaiting tomorrow’s UEFA Cup draw for the first round. With none of those four playing that well at the season’s start, they will be hoping to avoid some of the draw’s giants: AC Milan, Schalke 04, Benfica, Valencia, Galatasaray, and Manchester City.

Just kidding about City.

Karim Benzema has already risen to the top of the league in goals, the only player to reach three. Without being the best player in any individual week, he has been the league’s overall best player thus far and continue to raise his international profile. With a goal in France’s friendly last week against Sweden, Benzema already has four total goals this season. This week at St. Etienne, he will have his work cut out, though Les Verts have been allowing a goal a match through three.

And in Ligue 1, the sack race is over. Nantes fired Michel der Zakarian earlier this week after the promoted club found themselves at the bottom of the table after three games. Given the timing, Nantes seems to have had to beat Bordeaux, at Bordeaux, last weekend to keep his job. Clearly, getting the club promoted last season was not enough, and I wish whoever replaces him the best of luck. Your goal, apparently, is not staying up. It’s catching Marseille.

WFP Ligue 1 Club Rankings

	Rank	Last Week	Club
	1	1	Marseille A workmanlike win on the road at Le Havre saw them held under four goals for the first time this season. The team has played two Champions Legaue qualifiers during this opening stretch and will be happy to get Sochaux this week and then the international break. Their reward: a tough but winnable Champions League group.
	2	2	Lyon Popped the Grenoble bobble and assumed their place atop the league. They might also want to Marseille return to “form” a bit, as right now it looks like Claude Puel will have a fight in Le Championnat. That fight has been compounded by a tough Champions League group, getting Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest, and Fiorentina.
	3	3	Bordeaux Got back to their winning ways this week following a shock loss the week before to PSG. They got, for them, a horrible Champions League draw, a solid third best team behind Chelsea and AS Roma. Good luck with that, Laurent Blanc.
	4	9	Valenciennes This is will be a team that I’m biased towards all year on the back of a preseason prediction, but a strong home result versus Lorient this weekend justifies my faith. For now.
	5	6	Le Mans There were a series of clubs I was down on coming into the season, and Le Mans was one, but their last two weeks - particularly this week’s win over St. Etienne - has opened my eyes. They have no truly bad results on their resume and have won two in a row. They’ve been strong
	6	4	Caen Another club I was unsure about at season’s start. I’m not as high on them as I am Le Mans, and their ranking here reflects a general uncertainty with those below them.
	7	12	Monaco Have drawn two in a row after beating PSG to open the season. They have only three goals in three matches and lack dynamism in their attack.
	8	7	Paris St. Germain A lot of this ranking is based on their win two weeks ago over Bordeaux, the only loss any of the top three have been given. Their result against Sochaux was disappointing, but when penalty kicks are involved, I give extra consideration.
	9	5	Lorient Only Nancy has scored fewer goals than Lorient, but with a win at Le Mans and a draw versus Lyon, they could be ranked higher. Once they find some goals, I’ll move them up.
	10	13	St. Etienne I can’t shake the feeling that this team should be better. They should be scoring more goals, but they were shut out in each of their road appearances: at Valenviennes, at Le Mans. According to these rankings, that’s a bit of a tough schedule, and having taken care of business in their one home fixture, they get ranked in the middle of the table.
	11	8	Grenoble Lyon made it clear they had no business at the top of the table, but it was good while it lasted. They still have a ways to go to be back in a relegation battle, but for a team that was barely promoted, it’s a smashing start.
	12	10	Rennes This team hass been all over the place. They got that miracle draw in Week 1 against Marseille - the only points the leaders have failed to get - and then lost to Grenoble. They beat Lille this weak, but as they have been in the UEFA Cup, their Ligue 1 performances have been all over the place.
	13	11	Toulouse A 0-0 draw at Nancy could prove a strong result come April and May, and for a team that will struggle to stay up, it’s a great point.
	14	14	Le Havre Good on them to hold Marseille to one goal, the first time this year a team has contained them. The team also drew over 16,000 tot he match, a fine turnout.
	15	17	Nice This is the team with the greatest disparity between actual table ranking and WSP rankings. They have two wins, but they are against Nancy and Auxerre. They have allowed Nancy’s only goal. As of now, I don’t see it.
	16	19	Lille A tough loss to Rennes this week as Stade came back with two goals very late, doing their best Liverpool impressive, to take all the points. They are ranked a couple of spots higher here than they sit in the table, but I feel like I might be being generous.
	17	15	Auxerre Auxerre gets ranked behind two teams who have not won a match because their win was two weeks ago and they have looked terrible since. Playing Marseill and Nice might have something to do with that, but with their only win coming against Nantes, there is not telling. They have given up the most goals in the league.
	18	20	Sochaux Got a draw agaist Paris St.-Germain after a very disppointing start to the season, but their only goal came from the penalty spot. Had they not gotten that call, they would be without a point for the season. They did show some life on Saturday, though, and Michel Flaubert was mad to work for PSG’s point. If they can carry that over into next week and find another goal scorer besides Mevlut Erding, they can still turn this around.
	19	18	Nancy One goal in three matches and their best results being draws against Toulouse and Lille gives them nothing attractive for their resume. Until they can show an ability to score goals, it is hard to take them seriously. Replicating last year’s surprise result is a long way away.
	20	16	Nantes Amongst the teams at the bottom the table, they have done the least to recommend themselves. Part of that is uninspired play. Part of that is the schedule. No matter. Three games was too few to just their coach, and it serves them right that Alain Perrin has no interest in this ship.

FC Nantes finished last season second behind Le Havre in France’s Ligue 2 but seem to have lofty expectations for return engagement in Ligue 1. At least, their owner does. That’s the best explanation as to why coach Michel Der Zakarian was fired today, only three matches into the season. Though they are not being used, there are a couple of better reasons why Der Zakarian could have been fired.

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Arsenal spent Saturday’s visit to Craven Cottage showing why so many were reluctant to pick their talented side to improve upon last year’s third place finish, because although they were playing without their best player (Cesc Fabregas), they still had by far the most talented side on the field when they took on Fulham in one of their London derbyies.  Yet Arsenal were rendered impotent by what is expected to be a relegation-embattled club, rarely challenging Fulham goalie Mark Schwarzer and allowing a team that spent last week recovering from wounds inflicted by a promoted club to beat a team what is supposed to be one of the best and deepest sides in the world.  If that sounds melodramatic, it is nowhere near as theatrical as these three words:  Fulham beat Arsenal.

It was their second win over Arsenal in the forty-three years.

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With Mikael Silvestre now second in line at Arsenal’s left back position, 18-year-old Armand Traoré has been loaned out to Portsmouth, where he will be Hermann Hreidarsson’s understudy.

With Portsmouth being a four competition team this year, Hreidarsson’s age (34), and Harry Redknapp probably eager to evaluation Traoré for a permanent move, the French teenager will get ample playing time.  With all of Arsenal’s injuries last season, Traoré got 12 all-competition appearances.  He should get around that many this season should Hreidarsson not be injured.  That would be around ten more appearances than he would have got at Arsenal.

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Raymond Domenech’s honeymoon period after being affirmed as manager of the France national team is over with a thud. One day after a 3-2 win over Sweden in which Les Blues finally started incorporating some of their younger talent, one of the players that should be a cornerstone of their next World Cup has quit over selection issues.

Whether Sebastien Frey should as upset about Steve Mandanda starting the Sweden match is questionable, but he is not the first French star to be done with the national team over Domenech. The goalkeeper that was so important to Fiorentina’s Serie A and UEFA Cup runs was not even selected, with Domenech electing to pick Lyon younger Hugo Lloris as Mandanda’s back-up. Frey, who had a strong claim to playing time over Gregory Coupet in Euro 2008, is now done with Domenech and France, telling the team that he will be devoting himself to Fiorentina full time.

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