The good news for France was that they had already progressed to the round of 16. The less comforting news was that his much-desired team seemed to lack the depth many believed it to possess.
In France’s loss to Tunisia, the reigning champions changed nine of their 11 players from the previous match, aligning themselves with the most upset squad of the tournament so far. In itself, it’s an understandable move by manager Didier Deschamps; With his team already ranked as group winners, why not rest his key players before the tournament turns into a knockout competition and he needs to rely on them for a potential four games in 14 days?
However, what would have worried him is that this revamped team barely resembled the world champions.
The reigning World Cup champions are not favorites
Before a ball was kicked in Qatar, many spectators looked enviously at the French team. His squad was brimming with talent across the pitch and his front line alone held up long enough to cause concern even in the tightest of defences. On top of that, they knew how to win, both the team and the coach collecting the biggest prize in the sport.
But then injuries came, and not just among the fringe players. Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté, the creativity and force in midfield, were soon discarded. Raphaël Varane was forced to leave the field while on duty at Manchester United and his position is not guaranteed. His potential centre-back partner, Presnel Kimpembe, was also ruled out. Breakthrough striker Christopher Nkunku was injured in training, Karim Benzema was forced to withdraw and the first match saw them lose their only established left-back, Lucas Hernandez.
Suddenly, the reserves had to become starters. A new and untested midfield pairing of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot was recruited. Olivier Giroud, a would-be third-choice center forward, became the first choice, a second-string defense started in his first game and the usually pragmatic Deschamps was forced to ditch his safety first approach and acknowledge where the strength your team and start with four attacking players out and out from the start.
In the first two games this tactic worked well. After an initial first test match against Australia where some players were slow to adjust, they soon found their rhythm and went on to win 4–1. The next game, against a Denmark team that had already beaten them twice this year, an inspired Kylian Mbappé led them to a 2-1 victory.
France is not as strong as thought
Sitting at the top of the pack and comfortably in the last 16, Deschamps can be forgiven for changing things up a bit. But perhaps what he inadvertently did by selecting such a changed XI was showing the rest of the world that France’s B-team is nowhere near as close to the A-team as they had feared.
The drop in quality was quite alarming to see. Players such as Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga played out of position, there was a lack of pace throughout the team and a forcefulness in their attack that saw them comfortably outplayed against the 30th-ranked team in the world.
In each tournament a team will have a day off. A match when things, for one reason or another, just don’t add up. At least for France, in this case, they can point to the reason. Now it’s up to them to make sure their first XI doesn’t lose its form because if the game against Tunisia is any evidence, their second XI isn’t up to defending their title.
World Cup 2022 Guide
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