World Cup Diary | World Cup diary: Mathieu Valbuena has last laugh over bullies Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery
Absence of pair, who tormented their teammate over his height at Marseille, might be one reason for improved team spirit in Les Bleus camp
One aspect of France’s impressive 5-2 thrashing of Switzerland that many noted was the evident camaraderie among the players.
The match was played exactly four years after Les Bleus' last World Cup squad disgraced itself by going on strike; their squads in general have often been characterised by infighting.
Eyebrows were raised in England when Manchester City’s Samir Nasri was not included, manager Didier Deschamps deciding he was more trouble than he was worth. And France’s hopes seemed to have taken a further blow when Franck Ribery pulled out just before the tournament after refusing to take a cortisone injection to play.
But perhaps what France might have lost in midfield creativity they have gained in team harmony with the absence of two of the prime movers in the South Africa strike.
The 29-year-old winger, who scored against Switzerland, is 166 cm (5ft 4in) according to fifa.com and has, let’s not mince words, something of the little person about him, especially when comically foreshortened in photos like this: