Camavinga, Nzonzi and Aouar were lined up in a diamond-shaped environment against Ukraine.

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FRANCK FIFE / AFP

At the Stade de France,

Didier Deschamps started by paying our heads.

" The diamond ?

I thought you understood from what I said on Monday ”.

So Didier, we didn't understand anything, which often happens to us, but we were so afraid of finding this 3-5-2 criminal in Saint-Denis that we started a Cheyenne dance in the stands when we saw the composition. in diamond shape with Camavinga and Aouar holders in the middle.

Finally, we were going to see football, combinations in small spaces, side served in the depth, and many players in the opposing area.

Deschamps “The attack triangle is interesting to annoy the opponent, the 442 diamond allowed it.

It allows to have a good control and to create danger in the adversary ”#FRAUKR

- Nicolas Georgereau (@ngeorgereau) October 7, 2020

Ukraine much too diminished

We have seen all that, and even more, even if it has to be a huge downside.

Considering the face of the Ukrainian team, even a 6-5-0 could have provoked the unbridled enthusiasm of the 1,000 lucky spectators who were able to attend the show.

Thus, poor Shevchenko, still so sharp ten years after the end of his career, would have had his place without problem in this poor Ukrainian selection, deprived of 14 players (14!) After the discovery, among other things, of a focus of Covid-19 in the Shaktar Donetsk team, the main provider of internationals.

He was content to contemplate the sinking from the sidelines, in his coach costume:

“Considering the situation and the players we were missing, I can say that the players were very serious about the game.

They did their best, with a few chances at the start of the second half, but it's impossible to compare the two teams today.

France is one of the best teams in the world and we came to face it with a hopeful team ”.

"Do not minimize the merit of the players"

Didier Deschamps was also well aware of this, and did not pour into exaggerated triumphalism: "Obviously my friend Andreï had some problems preparing for this match, but I cannot take away the credit from my players for having scored seven goals.

The players had a lot of fun, with a good spirit, both from those who played and from those who returned.You must appreciate, savor, not to believe that you are more beautiful than you are either, but not to minimize anything ".

Once we have set the limits of the exercise, let's still underline all the good things this diamond brought, that DD had never used in Blue apart from an unfortunate experience against Spain, forever ago (2017).

  • Players who are closer to each other in the opposing last 40 meters

  • Side who could rush into corridors freed by their teammates

  • Two eccentric midfielders able to go inside to shoot on their best foot (a goal for Camavinga, a goal for Tolisso)

  • Short combinations between the offensive triangle and the others

  • Overall superior technical mastery with more ball "handlers" in the field

As for faults, because there were some, it is difficult to overcome the intrinsic limits of a system that requires a lot of effort from the two midfielders on the side (Tolisso and Camavinga on Wednesday, then Pogba at the end of the match) , especially the loss of the ball.

Ukraine thus obtained 4 or 5 clear chances "because we allowed them to come out too easily" (Giroud), which is a lot for a team which played this match as one goes to the funeral of 'a relative.

Above all, it was a system that DD took out of the attic for the least important match of the international break, with a good part of the B on the field (Aouar, Nzonzi, Tolisso, Upamecano, Digne, Martial ...), this which suggests that he does not see a great future for him in the games that really matter.

A test without a future?

“I chose the diamond compared to the eleven that I wanted to see evolve, always with the idea of ​​finding this attacking triangle that creates danger for the opponents.

But I told you in September that I would get out of what we used to do by the end of the year.

It worked well, but it does not mean that I would not have tried it again if it had worked less well or that I gave up the three-way defense ”.

Our opinion, for those who are interested?

The staff of the Blues are trying a few variations to make life more exciting, but who tells us that he really gave up the good old 4-2-3-1 with Grizou in ten which gave him some satisfaction in the east from the Urals?

There is one clue that puts us in doubt: this desire seems to be assumed to want to definitively align an attacking triangle, which allows both to put Grizou in his favorite axial position, and to bring Mbappé closer to the goal. opposing.

For the rest, it's open.

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  • Kylian Mbappé

  • Olivier Giroud

  • Antoine Griezmann

  • Didier Deschamps

  • Bangladesh

  • French team

  • Sport