Et in the end, it is France who wins. As at the 2018 World Cup (1-0), as at the League of Nations (3-2), Belgium, more than ever its favorite victim, cruelly paid the price this Monday in Düsseldorf (1-0). As always, the Red Devils even saw the axe fall at the moment when they thought their trap was going to close. But Mike Maignan was a wall, again, Randal Kolo Muani emerged (85th) and the Red Devils collapsed. Deserved? The debate will be able to resume until the reunion scheduled for September 9.
In the meantime, the Blues continue their journey. Portugal, the last team to have beaten the Tricolores outside of a penalty shootout in a decisive match… 8 years ago, will have to be strong, Friday (9 p.m.) in Hamburg, to derail a train that is not very spectacular and still not very effective but is now on track.
Does the return of Freed From Desire, Gala’s hit and the anthem of the Blues during the 2022 World Cup, at the final whistle mark the return of the winning machine? It is four days too early to say but, as is often the case, Didier Deschamps will have had the last word at the moment when his place as coach was on the table.
19 shots, 3 on target
The match was supposed to be tactical. It was from start to finish, between a French team that dominated with a big base and a majority of players with a defensive profile, and a Belgian opponent who defended in their 30 meters with five players with an offensive vocation in the hope of better countering. The match finally turned on the coaching.
Belgian coach Domenico Tedesco added a midfielder to try to take the ball a little more, to free up De Bruyne and the Belgians finally came out. But Didier Deschamps chose to launch Randal Kolo Muani and the unfortunate hero of the Doha world final may have chased away a few demons, with the involuntary help of defender Vertonghen. “I have confidence in him and if I brought him on, it’s because I thought that his characteristics could cause problems at that time for a Belgian hinge that wasn’t very fast,” said the Basque.
It was the 19th French shot but only the… third on target. Once again, the French inefficiency and clumsiness were the negative points of the evening. Eyes behind his mask, Kylian Mbappé does not have the magic of the Qatari stay in his feet. The other striker lined up at kick-off, Marcus Thuram, was not able to convert the crumbs he had.
As in the group stage, too, it was long said that there was a lack of presence in the area, with Griezmann finally aligned on the right and cautious relay players. The usual strong side of the Blues – the left – countered by the opposing density, the danger came essentially from the other and from the reversals towards Koundé, freed in the corridor by the movements of Griezmann and really in the process of passing a new level.
There is no secret either. If the Blues are in the quarter-finals with only three goals scored, none by one of their players in the game (one penalty and two own goals), it is because the emphasis placed on the defensive block from the start of the preparation is paying off. For 80 minutes, the Blues left nothing behind and stifled the Devils with discipline and a midfielder who saved every restart. When their opponent took advantage of a few technical errors, the rearguard kept watch, with a William Saliba who was impressively in control in the duels and a Théo Hernandez whose defensive quality is being discovered.
“The ability to master”
“We had a lot of possession (55%), we got the ball out well, we were able to create opportunities. But we also knew how to stay smart so as not to fall into their game and leave the spaces they wanted vertically. We have the ability today to control our matches better, to have the ball. This had already been the case against the Netherlands (0-0) who are used to dominating their opponents in this regard. It doesn’t win, but I prefer to force the other to defend,” pointed out Didier Deschamps. Now, all that remains is to become clinical again to avoid being punished: Mike Maignan, who has still not conceded a goal in open play since the beginning of June (six matches), will not always be able to work miracles.
“By forcing and trying to put too much power into the shots, it goes off target,” the coach regretted. “But it’s a huge source of pride to be in the quarter-finals once again. I understand that we’re expected to be there, but we have to know how to appreciate it.” We’re even expecting them a little further away now.
: the suffocation machine is back){kind=link}