What did the Blues miss against Ukraine?
A little bit of everything.
Realism at first with many hiccups, especially during the first act, and a real lack in the last gesture at a time when the Ukrainians did not see the light of day.
On returning from the locker room, the Blues fell asleep, playing on a false rhythm, without peps, ideas or genius.
Unable to find solutions in the face of a compact defense and a low block.
In turn, Mbappé, Coman, Griezmann or Dembélé and Martial, who came into play to bring fresh blood, broke their teeth on the lock of the 24th world nation.
With a game too readable, without exceeding function and organizations marked by the hellish rates of the moment, the France team made, in the end, an indigestible copy.
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Indigest and very pale, the Blues disappoint against Ukraine
Who symbolizes the bad match of the world champions?
In such a situation, the gondola heads are the first targets.
And visible.
To say that Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud missed their outing on Wednesday night will not teach anyone anything.
On the left side of the Blues attack, the Parisian, hit in the ankle against Lyon three days earlier, underwent special treatment with two or three players on him as soon as he took the ball.
"We had imagined a plan that worked rather well," whispered the legendary and now Ukrainian coach Andrei Shevchenko, happy with his discovery.
Faced with a low block and omnipresent marking, the 22-year-old world champion foiled, unable to modulate his game, which had become too readable for once.
An evening without.
Same story, in a completely different style, for Olivier Giroud.
The 2nd top scorer in the history of the Blues, served twice, missed the boat in the first period before dying, weaned from balls.
Impossible for him to shine if he does not benefit from a center or offerings from his partners.
What was the mood after the meeting?
Between disappointment and the impression of not having done everything to win.
An observation perfectly summarized by Hugo Lloris shortly before midnight in the spans of the Stade de France.
“We lacked aggressiveness, determination, legs, admitted the captain of the Blues, lucid without needing to raise the tone.
We had to do better, offer more, it is insufficient and if there is no worry, disappointment prevails. ”
A few minutes before him, Didier Deschamps had said, in essence, the same things.
By insisting on the inability of the offensive players to find the solution, while not denying the lack of freshness of his troops.
“But that's no excuse, it's the same for everyone,” said the boss of the world champions.
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Is this worrying for the rest of the Blues campaign?
Not at all.
It's a real hitch, a quack, even an accident, even if "DD" denies it.
After, in an XXL calendar, matches every three days, this Covid-19 context which weighs in the heads and bodies, there are many reasons to explain this purge offered in the second period.
But in a relatively weak 2022 World Cup qualifying group (Ukraine, Bosnia, Finland, Kazakhstan), the Blues did not put their future in danger with this draw.
Despite everything, that forces them to be flawless in the next two matches.
And a more important requirement.
The joker has already been used.
What to expect on Sunday against Kazakhstan?
Changes and a completely different starting eleven brought to offer the first victory in these qualifiers of the World Cup 2022. On synthetic ground, a negative temperature in Noursoultan after a long trip and a jet lag, the Blues will not approach this meeting in the best possible conditions.
Once again, no excuse against the 122nd nation in the world, with a status of world champion to be respected.
Dembélé, Pogba, Ndombélé or even Digne and Martial could have a chance to come into play. Deschamps announced it, he will largely turn his workforce.
"It is not for nothing that I called 26 players", he agreed Wednesday evening before leaving the Stade de France.
We probably forget it, but there are also tickets to validate for the Euro at some Blues.
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The Blues' notes after France-Ukraine: Griezmann floats, ghostly Mbappé and Giroud