Dueling Disappointment

A lot can change in four years. Think back to where you were, what you looked like, your life philosophy,etc. I for one, wore clothing two sizes too small, slept on a bed raised three feet below the ceiling, and had a poster of 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, and Suge Knight on my wall. Johan Santana was playing for the Twins, and Mark Prior was still playing. The Bears were in the Super Bowl and the Wisconsin Badgers were the number one team in college basketball for one week.
Seems like ages ago, right? That's because it was. Sometimes we forget that four years is a long time, especially when forecasting World Cup contenders. Four years ago couldn't have seemed farther away for Italy and France, the World Cup champion and runner up in 2006.
The elimination of both squads is not only surprising because of their FIFA world rankings (5th and 9th, respectively), but each team's past success. Italy has won four World Cups, including their 2006 match up with France. France won in 1998 as the host country, defeating Brazil.
Italy has earned the dubious distinction of being the biggest disappointment in the tournament, failing to advance in Group F, which figured to be the weakest group in the tournament. Group F featured New Zealand, the consensus worst team in the tournament, and and two middle of the pack teams in Paraguay and Slovakia. While FIFA World Rankings can and should be thrown out the window once the tournament starts, Italy had to feel pretty good about being the only team in their group ranked in the top 30.
Anything less than 7 points from the Italians would have been a disappointment, so perhaps the bar was set too high. They did have their fair share of nay-sayers, particularly concerned about their age. Age had nothing to do with their failures though. Their overall play was pitiful, especially against New Zealand, scoring only one goal despite outshooting them 7 shots on goal to 1 (23 to 3 overall), and controlling the ball for 57 percent of the match. Italy's failures do not solely rest on Buffon's injury. Aside from the last ten minutes of the Slovakia match, Italy struggled to muster quality offensive possessions.

France is the only team that can compare with Italy's disappointment, maybe even more so because of their complete collapse on and off the field. France was picked by almost everyone to be the top seed out of Group A, and expected to be a strong offensive team if their individual talent could come together. France looked completely lost on offense in their draw to Uruguay, continued that trend in their embarrassing loss to Mexico, and had given up by the time they were defeated by South Africa.
It can be said the only semblance of unity they showed the entire tournament was when they decided to go on strike. In a move that embarrassed them even more than their play, the entire French team went on strike for a day after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after a dispute with team manager Raymond Domenech. Anelka also reportedly got into a heated confrontation with the team's trainer during practice, leading to the trainer's resignation. These chances only come around every four years, and the French national team certainly picked the wrong time for a meltdown.
Come 2014, both teams are hoping a lot has changed.