Opposed to an affordable opponent in the round of 16 of the Euro, the Blues would fall from a great height if they lost to Switzerland on Monday night in Bucharest.
It could record the failure of the return of Karim Benzema under the tricolor colors, like asking the question of a departure of Didier Deschamps.
DECRYPTION
On paper, there is not really a photo.
But between the theory and the reality of an often tricky competition, which has seen several favorites fail to come out the back door, there is a world and 90, even 120 minutes on the field.
These will take place Monday evening on the lawn of the National Arena in Bucharest, which will see France and Switzerland oppose each other.
In the round of 16 of this Euro of which they are favorites, the Blues have no room for error if they do not want to see their competition turn into a fiasco.
Here's why premature elimination would be a cataclysm.
Because Switzerland is not a European cador
Four goals scored, five conceded, one victory, one draw, one defeat, all in a relatively tough group: third in Pool A, that of Italy, Switzerland did not deserve but did not either shone during these first three matches.
Only Xherdan Shaqiri marked the spirits with goals and a tireless combativeness on the front of the attack.
Behind, no player seems to really stand out in this team which has a relatively permeable defense, conducive to the acceleration of blue arrows like Kylian Mbappé or Kingsley Coman.
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Losing to this Nati, who has not won a knockout match since 1938, would represent a huge underperformance for the Blues.
Even physically diminished, Didier Deschamps' men must win against the Swiss of Dimitri Petkovic, who leads the 13th world nation in the FIFA rankings.
Because France is a priori better than in 2018
For the reigning world champions, elimination in the round of 16 would also be a terrible failure with regard to the performance of the Blues since the start of the Deschamps era in 2012: quarter-finals in 2014, final in 2016 and crowned in 2018. The former coach of Monaco and Marseille has never suffered the terrible disappointment of a failure in the round of 16.
Compared to 2018, France also seems strengthened, with the return to the selection of Karim Benzema, one of the best strikers in the world for ten years.
Elimination at this stage of the competition would somehow sign the failure of this bet by Didier Deschamps, despite a double against Portugal in the last group match.
Because it could threaten the pursuit of Deschamps' mandate
Renewed until the 2022 World Cup, in a year and a half, Didier Deschamps could in principle continue to coach the Blues in Qatar.
Could a catastrophic scenario in Bucharest nevertheless prevent him from carrying out this mission?
"Not to be in the last four, it would not be a fault, not at all, but it would not correspond to our value", warned at the end of May Noël Le Graët, the president of the French Football Federation.
Far from their "value" in the event of elimination against the Swiss, the Blues would logically not do without a deep questioning, which could see "DD" leave the tricolor ship earlier than expected.
This is to say all the pressure weighing on the France team before getting to the heart of the matter.