For the duration of Euro 2024, France were one of the teams that disappointed their fans and neutrals alike. There was no other way of putting it; they were boring, unimaginative, and, least of all, creative and vibrant.
Despite reaching the semi-finals, Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus were not a must-see. It seemed as if the enthralling and exhilarating French team that we all saw in the 2022 World Cup were now defunct.
So, what exactly happened to them?
Too cautious
France were a treat to watch back when they won the 2018 World Cup, and even when they bowed out to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in a heart-breaking final in 2022.
When they won the Nations League in 2021, Deschamps’ side was scintillating in the way they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Belgium and Spain.
You could dominate possession or have more shots and create more opportunities, but with France’s individual talent coupled with Deschamps’ tactics, Les Bleus will find a path to win one way or another.
To everyone’s dismay, France’s stay in Germany turned sour, leaving them without the flair and attacking instincts that had served them well in the past.
The display they put out was absolutely not on SBOTOP football fans’ bingo cards; there was not a game where the two-time World Cup and European champions scored more than one goal.
In fact, they only registered one open-play goal throughout their Euro campaign. The goals they scored in victories against Austria and Belgium were all courtesy of own goals—their squad’s leading scorer.
The blame game is an atrocious one to play. But as it stands, a lot of fingers are pointing towards Didier Deschamps’ lack of freedom, if you will, in allowing his team to move forward and be the threat they were known to be.
All the games they played were dictated by a tight-knit reliance on defence and possession, coupled with no real intent to finish their opponents off when need be.
It’s as if the tactics were to lull their opponents—along with their supporters—to sleep.
Against eventual champions Spain, France looked the part early on as they scored first when Randal Kolo Muani headed in Kylian Mbappe’s cross in the early proceedings of the match.
But that’s all they could muster. When Spain scored in quick succession to take the lead, France were unable to get anything by to equalise or take the bull by its horns and win.
But if you have been watching them since day one of the Euros, then it shouldn’t be much of a surprise already.
Doomed to fail
Spain are appropriate comparison to the way France approached this tournament. La Roja were fantastic from the onset, and their 17-year-old wonder kid was the centre of attention throughout the tournament.
The Spanish have also scored 15 goals—the most in the entire Euros—whilst France have only managed four.
Spain’s approach and play style were the antithesis to how France conducted themselves. The former were the life of the party, the latter a sore to the eyes.
But perhaps people have just failed to realise that this French team weren’t really supposed to go all the way. Yes, Mbappe’s injury was unfortunate—it was apparent that he was struggling with the mask, and he even spoke about it publicly.
But their lack of Euro 2024 highlights weren’t just down to Mbappe struggling; it was a collective ordeal.
Their midfield trio of N’golo Kante, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Adrien Rabiot all lack the creativity know-how to aid an offence dying and pleading to see the ball at the back of the net.
Sure, they were solid at the back, with Deschamps comfortable letting his squad play out that way.
And with William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Kounde, and Theo Hernandez playing their parts, along with goalie Mike Maignan showing he is indeed a worthy successor of Hugo Lloris, they proved to be difficult to solve defence-wise.
But with Antoine Griezmann having one of his worst international tournaments with Les Bleus, Mbappe missing the mark, and overall missing players with the ability to turn things up a notch like Paul Pogba, it was always going to be a difficult Euro 2024 for the French.
Being favoured by Euro 2024 odds as one of the likely teams to win the trophy was built on past success and on paper.
On the pitch was a much different issue. Simply put, they never got off the right foot.
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