Beside the plate, the Blues have sunk!
Weighed down by a nightmarish start to the match, with this goal conceded in the 7th second, the French team did not manage to get its head above water, conceding a logical defeat in a friendly match against Germany (0- 2), this Saturday at Groupama Stadium.
This is the second time in the space of 6 months that the Mannschaft has brought down the French team, after the defeat on September 12, still in a friendly (2-1).
A warning from which we will have to learn a few months before the Euro (June 14 - July 14) where they aim to play the leading roles.
More than the technical errors, Adrien Rabiot pointed out the state of mind at the end of the meeting.
“We weren't good in terms of intensity and state of mind, that's what it's all about,” the Juve midfielder told TF1.
Technically, we can compete with this team but when the state of mind is not good, it gives that.
»
Defense at bay
Didier Deschamps, whose 150th on the bench turned sour, took advantage of this match to experiment with certain things in the defensive sector.
In the hinge, in particular, bringing together the Pavard - Upamecano pair for the first time.
The result was inconclusive.
The Bayern defender, in a delicate period at the club, seemed orphaned by Ibrahima Konaté, back from injury and who will certainly play Tuesday at the Vélodrome, against Chile.
Read alsoFrance-Germany (0-2): Thuram transparent, Mbappé amorphous… The notes of the Blues
He was not helped either by the defensive generosity of full-backs Jules Koundé and Lucas Hernandez who were replaced on the hour mark, the first apparently suffering from an ankle injury.
Mike Maignan was missing in the French cage.
An absence which surely counted to calm his world, even if his substitute was not unworthy.
“Brice (Samba) had important saves to make in the second half, he was decisive.
It was good to see him again, his last match was against Gibraltar and it was difficult to judge a goalkeeper.
He was called upon, and his presence made it possible to avoid other goals,” recognized Didier Deschamps.
Orphan of Griezmann
In the midfield, made up of Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot and Warren Zaire-Emery, for whom it was only the second selection, the absence of one man largely counted: Antoine Griezmann.
Aligned in the last 84 matches, the Atlético de Madrid player had to give up due to injury at the start of the week, a void that the Tricolores were unable to fill.
“We know that Antoine is an exceptional player.
He manages to make the link between defense, midfield and attack.
Today we missed him even though Warren showed his qualities.
A player of Antoine's quality cannot be replaced so easily.
We hope he will come back quickly,” said Aurélien Tchouaméni in the mixed zone, supported by his teammate Benjamin Pavard.
“Antoine is very important.
We have very good players in this position, but Antoine is a leader, he is someone very important in the squad.
» His absence underlined the glaring lack of aggression and desire of the Blues to go and scratch the balls.
A voiceless attack
For Didier Deschamps, “this is not a sufficient excuse.
With Antoine and the deficit we had in our intentions, it would have been complicated all the same,” recalled the coach.
There was so much more missing, it's true, to shake up the host country of the next European Championship.
A scorer worthy of the name in particular.
While a good performance would have given him a little more credit up front, Marcus Thuram did not seize the opportunity given to him to dismiss the competition.
Transparent at the forefront of the attack, never in the right tempo, the Inter Milan player only shot once, well above, in the first period (20th).
Too little to convince, before being replaced by Giroud (61st).
“It was complicated for Marcus and for Olivier when he came home too.
We had periods without the ball, he participated in the game all the same... He could have played more, but it's always a thankless role to play as a center forward against a German team which defended well, with density, DD soberly defended it.
It's important that Marcus gets playing time. I'm not going to talk about rewards, but he has reached milestones.
He is capable of doing very good things with us, I am not going to judge him only on this match.
I know Marcus' ability to be decisive.
»
His attacking friends Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé were not more effective even if the first had, at least, the merit of starting a few offensives with his dribbles and hooks.
The Blues were not there.
A day without, like their captain who didn't have a glimpse of his last outings with PSG.
They will have to react together on Tuesday, against Chile, to show that it was just an accident and put an end to the debates.