International: mixed results for the Rennais

Three players from the Rennes squad have finally played with their national teams this Wednesday.

In a friendly against Morocco in Dakar, Kader Mangane and Senegal could not avoid defeat (0-2). The Morrocans made the difference very early in the game, with two goals score in the first half-hour. Starting in defence, the Rennes captain showed a bit too complacent on the first goal scored by Kharja (9’), but he had no chance on the second, scored by El Arabi (24’) on a powerful long shot in the goal’s top corner. With the Senegal national coach reviewing his squad thoroughly during this game, Mangane came off at half-time, replace by Saint-Etienne’s Bayal Sall.

Called with the Stallions of Burkina Faso by Paulo Duarte, Jonathan Pitroipa has finally not travelled to South Africa for a game largely dominated by the Bafana Bafana (0-3). The Rennes winger remained at home in Brittany, as most of his team-mates based in Europe did. For that reason, an inexperienced Burkinabe side didn’t stand a chance in Johannesburg.

In Europe, Norway managed a very good result by beating Czech Republic (3-0) with a brace by Mohammed Abdelloue and a goal for John Arne Riise. Included in the starting line-up, Alexander Tettey has played an excellent game at midfield, according to local observers and media. The midfielder has played all 90 minutes of this game.

Finally, Yann M’Vila also started the game with France, in a draw against Chili in Montpellier (1-1). The Rennais also played the complete game at his usual position, before the defence.
Although it looked like M’Vila played a solid game and justified the trust of Laurent Blanc, the press remains sceptical this Thursday. L’Équipe mentions that – before of the attacking profile of the two players lined-up in front of him (Nasri and Martin) – the young Rennais had a heavy workload on his hands, running constantly to close the spaces left to the Chileans. The newspaper also notes some imperfections in his passing. Same opinion for Aujourd’hui en France, who affirm that there were “good things and less good things” in M’Vila’s game, with occasional bad positioning and some late interventions.