Raymond Domenech Impressed By France After Friendly Win Over Costa Rica

Posted Thursday, May 27, 2010 by Goal.com

'Dom' was left satisfied with les Bleus' win over the Ticos, indicating that it can be used as a building block for future success...

France coach Raymond Domenech was pleased with the flair and imagination his side showed during their 2-1 victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday evening in Lens.

Often characterised by a dour approach to the game, Domenech’s decision to switch to a 4-3-3 formation seemed to pay dividends at the Stade Felix Bollaert as his side impressed, recovering from the concession of an early goal to pick up a 2-1 success, which was capped by a debut goal from Mathieu Valbuena.

“That’s what we always wanted to see,” he smiled to TF1 after the game. “At least they try things; they want to do something. This is what we want in every game. Now we must play. Everyone is letting go.

“There is a squad or 23. They know they're the ones who will have to do it together. They have confidence in each other; they relax, they play. But it's still only a preparatory game - the World Cup doesn’t start until June 11.”

Les Bleus posed the Ticos plenty of problems throughout the game but fell behind in the early stages of the match due to a goal from Carlos Hernandez. An unfortunate own-goal from Douglas Sequeira had France level, and Domenech’s side snatched the victory in the closing stages due to Valbuena’s skimming low shot from distance.