Judging June rallies is never easy for coaches when they have to deal with exhausted players from a long season. The June 2022 match is even more special because it has four matches in eleven days. This is due to the World Cup-2022 being held in winter, which disrupts the calendar.
The bodies creak, naturally. Monday saw Split’s Monegasque Aurelien Tchouameni, and Marseillais Matteo Guendouzi play their 60th match in all competitions… There are many in the France group, with more than 50 matches in socks.
These end-of-season situations can be difficult for many players. There are many injuries. These players have less freshness,” noted Didier Deschamps. He was deprived of Paul Pogba (forfeits) and Raphael Varane (injuries), but had to spare some other affected players (Kylian Mobappe and N’Golo Kante).
Deschamps was forced to make “constrained, forced changes” due to the form’s precariousness and the tunnel of matches. Ten players lined up between Saint-Denis & Split at kick-off. Tchouameni was the only survivor. This was a remarkable reshuffle since 2012, when the coach was enthroned. 17 selections were averaged and there were few benchmarks (in defense or midfield or attack).
“It’s no excuse, but there are necessarily less automatisms,” recognized “DD”, insisting upon the lack of “lived experience” among the players of his plan A. Deschamps resorted to his favorite system of four players (two central and two side), with these cards in hand. It was as if Deschamps had doubted the use of the three central players all season.
France had two players in Saint-Denis, and Split. They were both punished at the end of each game for the same mistakes. Mateo Guendouzi, a midfielder, stated that “We need to improve our endgame.” The Blues failed to “frame” the opposing ball carrier sufficiently, which allowed the danger to get closer to the surface. They also sinned in their defensive alignment. Deschamps stated that there are areas where we can improve and it doesn’t depend on the number of defenders.
Jonathan Clauss in Split and Antoine Griezmann in Split were not able to stabilize the team. The team collapsed after the game against Denmark (winning goal by Cornelius at the 88th) as well as Croatia (equalization in the 83rd). After having won the League of Nations Final 4 match against Spain and Belgium, the Blues were defeated in June.
Deschamps admitted that with one point in two games, “we’re not in the best place”. The League of Nations title defense is now in the hands of Denmark, who hold a five point lead over the Habs without ever having played a home game.
Friday, 8:45 p.m. in Vienna against Austria. The executives of the attack (Benzema and Mbappe) are hoped to be there at kick-off. A defeat would almost remove the Blues from “Final 4”, particularly if Denmark wins a third consecutive victory against the Croats.
It would be imperative to fight for the last place. This would mean a relegation in the second division, which would spell doom for world champions Qatar.
