Didier Deschamps belongs to the class of coaches who never gave importance to dominating games by having possession. The France with which he won the 2018 World Cup had 48% possession, a far cry from the 65% of Spain in 2010 and the 60% of Germany in 2014. That France was a counter-attacking team that gratefully handed control of games to its rivals. Six years later, because of the intimidation generated in the opponents by his excellent list of attacking players, Deschamps has had no choice but to accept that the blue They must be the ones to dominate. “We are up against teams that close down and have more possession. The Belgians defended a lot, even though on paper Belgium was an attacking team,” boasted Deschamps, who sat comfortably in the press room at the Spritz Arena in Düsseldorf.
The French coach was clearly victorious in his duel with Domenico Tedesco. Both ordered the team to minimise risks. The fact that Deschamps only made one change, Kolo Muani for a blurred Marcus Thuram, showed that he did not want to alter his structure too much. “We did everything to score and we were careful not to leave them the space they wanted. Above all, when it came to defending their counterattacks. We are better with the ball, forcing the opponent to defend,” said Deschamps.
The result of France’s increased ball control at this European Championship is that they have the ball more than ever (56%) and play worse than ever. The predictability and slowness of their attacks is evident in the lack of brilliance shown by their main attackers. Mbappé, Griezmann, Dembélé and Thuram have not broken into action or scored goals. The percentage of goals per game, three in four games (0.75), is the worst of the three World Cups and the three European Championships with Deschamps at the helm. If the two own goals by the Austrian Wöber and the one by the Belgian Vertonghen were discounted, the percentage would drop to 0.25. A pyrrhic record for so many offensive luminaries on the roster.
France’s best performance so far in this tournament is their defensive strength. Maignan has only conceded one goal and, in the six major tournaments under Deschamps, it is at this Euro that he has had the fewest total shots (7.25) and the fewest on target (3). The concrete trio of Kanté, Tchouameni and Rabiot in the centre of the field is a dam and goalkeeper Maignan has established himself in the few times he has been called upon as a reliable substitute for Hugo Lloris, who retired from the national team after Qatar 2022.
Despite qualifying for the quarter-finals, the team’s poor performance hangs over the heads of Deschamps and his players. In the mixed zone, Griezmann was uncomfortable when questioned about France’s lack of goals and the feeling that it is beginning to consolidate itself as a team that wins games with short results. “Don’t mess around with a short result because we are in the quarter-finals. The team played a great game defensively. You can’t go far without a great defence,” said Griezmann, as the praetorian that he is for Didier Deschamps.
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