Fielding an experimental line-up featuring not one member of the squad that failed to reach the second round in South Africa, France looked nervy in defence in Wednesday's 2-1 friendly defeat to Norway but showed plenty of enthusiasm and lively movement.
"We had a lot of things to do and little time to do it," said Blanc, who has taken over the coaching duties from the controversial Raymond Domenech with a mission to restore the 1998 World Cup winner's pride and reputation.
"We needed to put into place a playing system and a new philosophy and we needed to be competitive," said the former Bordeaux coach, who took plenty of risks by fielding six uncapped players in his starting line-up. "We nearly made it."
Wednesday's match, however, proved relevant for several players who could well feature in Blanc's future plans, notably playmaker Samir Nasri and midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, who capped a skillful display with a great goal.
"What I can tell you is some of the players you saw tonight will play on September 3 (against Belarus)," said Blanc, who also witnessed convincing performances from central defender Philippe Mexes, his new captain, and young midfielder Yann Mvila.
France, who made several costly mistakes in defence, looked naive at times and were clumsy in front of goal, have a long way to go to recapture their place among the world's elite.
"It was a different spirit, a different mentality," said Mexes, who had a difficult relationship with Domenech and was rarely picked. "We hardly knew each other and after three days, we had the impression that we had been together for two weeks."
"There is more dialogue with the coach, with the staff, with everybody," he said. "Everybody is talking."
"We had lots of fun," he said. "I'm both disappointed (by the result) and very happy."
