Two major nations in the game sent the two favorites for Euro 2024 this Saturday evening to their studies, their doubts and the necessary changes after such molasses. At Wembley, Brazil beat England (0-1) while in Lyon, Germany defeated France for the second time in seven months. Irony of history: these are two selections suffering and faltering which imposed themselves against the so-called leaders.
As far as we are concerned, the Blues lacked everything, impact and Antoine Griezmann in midfield, automatisms in defense and a central attacker who offers solutions to his two wingers in the passing game or by his calls. The weak tricolor dominated.
Result: at the start of each period (1st and 49th), at the very end of seven seconds, two passes and three players having touched the ball on the commitment, they conceded two humiliating goals which tell a little of the ridicule in which they found themselves. are wrapped up at Groupama Stadium.
It was an evening that didn’t necessarily have to be late, but that we could have cut short to really have fun afterwards. If we counted on Didier Deschamps’ men for this, they disappointed and did not respect the dress code of the friendly match: to excite, reassure, prepare for the Euro even if it is in June that we will have to “show the muscles” as Kylian Mbappé recalled the day before at a press conference. The captain of the Blues knows it after the last World Cup which took his partners to the final, the above does not always indicate much.
Mbappé unsuccessfully against the Barça goalkeeper
The perplexity today is due to what the Blues lacked, such as the sense of combat, offensive ideas, pressing and control of the game, all the ingredients that they are used to putting during an outing international. This time they seemed absent and above all absent to themselves as if Antoine Griezmann’s package had made them orphans in the game and in their state of mind.
There are a few like that who give their identity to the French team, like Mike Maignan, Dayot Upamecano, Adrien Rabiot, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé — not happy in Lyon and without success in his duels with Marc-André Ter Stegen before the PSG-Barcelona revenge in the Champions League — and without them, the blue life turns to the black screen.
The 150th selection of Didier Deschamps as boss of the Tricolores turned out to be a failure but we will not blame him for having tried, tested, tried – the very nature of friendly meetings. Since everything counts, the coach has little chance of renewing this amorphous and naive defense, pierced on the sides as well as in the center. Without playing, Ibrahima Konaté, Jonathan Clauss and Théo Hernandez scored points.
Up front, Marcus Thuram, replaced at the hour mark by Olivier Giroud demanded by the public many minutes before, does not yet have the depth to slip into the shoes of a number 9 alone on the attacking front while at Inter, he shares the task with a partner, mainly Lautaro Martinez. Against Germany, the Blues wore a new vintage jersey, a tribute to the epic of 1984, but they had left their gala outfits at home.