A few days after beating Sweden (0-1), on September 5, in Solna, on the first day of the League of Nations, the Blues of Didier Deschamps will return to the lawn of the Stade de France.
Tuesday September 8, in Saint-Denis, they face Croatia in a tantalizing "remake" of the final of the 2018 World Cup.
This second meeting is an opportunity for the France team to show a different face than that displayed against the Swedes.
With the exception of the indispensable N'Golo Kanté in full possession of his means, the Blues seemed to borrow physically and without imagination for their first match since November 17, 2019, the international calendar having been paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic.
A complicated comeback
Aware of the difficulties and special conditions imposed by the health crisis, including a summer truce and a resumption upset by the late end of some European championships and cups, observers were lenient with the French.
Because even without shining, they still imposed themselves on the outside against a strong opponent.
Even if the coach Didier Deschamps warned that he would make a lot of changes in order to avoid exhausting the physical bodies of his players, “it may go against cohesion and automatisms but I think I have no choice, "he said, the Blues, who will play on Tuesday, must be more ambitious and more creative in the game.
The goal of @KMbappe against Sweden!
🎯 #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/RZfvp8GiTe
- French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) September 7, 2020
In particular the players who will have the opportunity to take advantage of the absences of certain holders, such as Kylian Mbappé, author of the winning goal in Sweden.
Forwards Wissam Ben Yedder and Anthony Martial should have a significant amount of playing time to show off, just like left-back Ferland Mendy and central defender Clément Lenglet, or even the very young nugget of Stade Rennais Eduardo Camavinga.
The promising 17-year-old midfielder, on the radars of the biggest European clubs, could take advantage of this rotation to play his first minutes with the blue jersey on his back and take his marks in the big leagues.
Griezmann seeks the spark
For his part, Antoine Griezmann, transparent Saturday night, despite the adoption by Didier Deschamps of a tactical system tailor-made for him, will have to redeem himself, if he is retained in the eleven holder.
Blunt and not very influential throughout the game despite his involvement, he struggled to combine with his teammates at the forefront, and even missed two great opportunities to score, including a penalty in stoppage time. are hard for the French number 7: he only touched a ball in the Swedish area.
3 - Longest series of unprocessed penalties with the France team 🇫🇷 in the 21st century:
❌❌❌ Antoine Griezmann - 3 since 2019 (1 on a post, 1 stopped by the goalkeeper, 1 outside the frame)
❌❌ Karim Benzema - 2 in 2014 (1 stopped by the keeper, 1 on an amount)
Doubt?
pic.twitter.com/tNzToIJA4Q
- OptaJean (@OptaJean) September 6, 2020
The Barcelona, who comes out of a complicated season in Catalonia, remains one of the centerpieces of the Blues.
His sense of goal, his dedication and his fighting spirit are crucial for the rest of the team, of which he is the custodian of the game. With a crying lack of confidence, Antoine Griezmann must find the keys to regain his level, which had made him one of the best European players in recent years, whether under the banner of Atletico Madrid, his former club, or the French team (30 goals and 23 assists in 79 caps).
"He must find sensations that he no longer had in the club, pleaded Didier Deschamps in a press conference after the match against Sweden. And there, it had been 10 months since he had played for the France team ".
What if he found the spark against Croatia?
The vice-world champions, very fragile defensively and deprived of their two launch pads Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, were humiliated by Portugal (4-1) on Saturday night, while the Lusitanians evolved without Cristiano Ronaldo
The Croats will also be keen to show another face on Tuesday, and the opportunity to take revenge on their executioners of the World-2018.
Stakes in shambles, among the Blues and their opponents, which allows us to hope that this poster keeps its promises.
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