France-Ukraine (1-1): the quack of the Blues that we did not expect

These Blues respect history, recalling that, for the France team, qualifying is sluggish.

For the opening of the 2022 World Cup eliminatory campaign, they are already losing two points that will have to be made up one day.

They are now forcing themselves to be flawless in the week of qualifying matches to come with the two trips to Kazakhstan this Sunday and to Bosnia on March 31.

Their draw also draws the border of a selection that has not yet returned to its game, its assurances, its superiority, while the men of Didier Deschamps aim and Qatar and the Euro, access and performance.

They have not prepared either, but it is above all a team that finds itself in the tournaments, sublimated by the immediate verdict of the competition.

. @ AntoGriezmann equals David Trezeguet with 34 goals!

4th top scorer in the history of the Blues behind Thierry Henry, Olivier Giroud and Michel Platini #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/ECN8xdGifd

- French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 24, 2021

They stomped in a match that never caused a fever, stingy with chills throughout, removed from boredom for ten good minutes of domination and construction, between a strike from Olivier Giroud (10th) deflected from the back until Antoine Griezmann's goal.

The suspense, it was not made the trunk, with this minimal advance of the Blues, without genius but almost without opponent.

Ukraine disappointed but it had a merit, believing in it until the end, even scoring on a shot off target ... deflected by an unlucky Kimpembe (1-1, 57th).

So she was right.

Hugo Lloris spent one of the calmest evenings of his 121 caps, without saves, without notable stops but he still took a goal.

READ ALSO>

Kylian Mbappé, an evening to forget

The coaching of the hour of play of Didier Deschamps moved the men, not the system, but he must have thought that his axial attack Griezmann - Mbappé suffered from many ailments not to insist more than a quarter of an hour in this configuration.

The Parisian gave way to Anthony Martial and the last ten minutes, spreading the idea of ​​an evening without, of any performance, far from the last outings of PSG.

It would have taken ten Kanté ...

Barcelona must be resigned: Griezmann does some freelancing in Catalonia, he helps out from time to time with 8 league goals, but his real club remains the France team.

The one where he feels at ease, drunk with his freedom, his movements, in the middle, in front, in number 10 in charge of global traffic.

He slammed another important goal, a pure strike from the left lodged a small right net from the Ukrainian goalkeeper, as distraught as his Croatian counterpart on October 14 when the Mâconnais had knocked under the bar in the League of Nations in Zagreb.

This is the only lightning in the night of Saint-Denis, deserted by the stars.

Kingsley Coman crashed into the back, but the animation in front, as in other sectors, was never able to take advantage of possession streaks that hurt, stun and end up putting the opponent's head underwater. , drowned by the offensive waves.

The Blues purred, only awakened by the volume of N'Golo Kanté, wherever he smelled danger, cutting, recovering, opposing.

We can not ask him to project himself to bring the surplus.

Yet it is he that we will find in the surface, on a rush, against, in the last ten minutes after a breathtaking acceleration.

It would have taken ten more like him to hope for better.

The match sheet

Half-time:

1-0.

Referee:

M. Stieler (All).

Goals.

France: Griezmann (18th).

Ukraine: Kimpembe (57th csc).

Warning.

France: Pavard (30th).

France:

Lloris (cap.) - Pavard, Varane, Kimpembe, Hernandez - Coman (Dembélé, 63rd), Kanté, Rabiot, Mbappé (Martial, 77th) - Griezmann, Giroud (Pogba, 63rd).

Entr.

:

Deschamps.

PSG express newsletter

Our information on the capital club

Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters

Ukraine:

Bushchan - Zabarny, Kryvtsov, Mykolenko - Karavayev, Sydorchuk (Kovalenko, 79th), Malinovsky, Zinchenko (cap.), Matvienko - Yaremchuk (Junior Moraes, 73rd), Shaparenko (Zubkov, 86th).

Entr.

:

Shevchenko.