“A calamitous performance.” Daniel Riolo, journalist and columnist for After Foot, did not mince his words after the slap suffered by the French team on Friday against Italy (1-3), at the Parc des Princes, which plunged it into a full-blown doldrums two months after a Euro in Germany marked by an offensive failure and a soporific game. The fastest goal in the history of the selection, scored after 12 seconds by Bradley Barcola, could have suggested a completely different scenario, but it ultimately acted as a trompe-l’oeil. Kylian Mbappé’s teammates quickly fell back into their old ways before being punished by much more exciting visitors.
For Riolo, one of the main people responsible for this rout, and the bad run of the Blues, is on the bench. “Deschamps has always come out on top through his management and his ability to lead men. He also had stunning success at the 2018 World Cup, with some guys who walked on water like Mbappé. The story could have ended in the last sixteen against Argentina. Euro 2021 was then not good with abominable tactical errors. At the World Cup in Qatar, a stratospheric Mbappé once again carried the team. You must not pass against England,” he pointed out.
“It was necessary to change, Zidane was ready”
“Today, Deschamps’ speech is worn out and no one is buying into it anymore. As he is in the process of renewing his team with new players, it will be even more complicated. He no longer has control over this squad. His old-fashioned methods and his old, outdated training will no longer work with the new ones. We knew that this was the end of the story and that change was needed, but he didn’t want to change. We’re going to have him at the head of Les Bleus again when Zidane was ready. Too bad, we’ll see this story through to the end, it’s sad,” lamented Riolo.
In his position since 2012, Deschamps is currently under contract until the 2026 World Cup. “What did we see against Italy? We believed it at first when we saw the line-up. I thought for the first five minutes that we had found Mbappé. It lasted five minutes. Italy then came to their senses and imposed their game. Italy has quality players, but they are not a big name. (…) Deschamps has entered too many years. The group is no longer with him, the message is tired, he is tired, the training sessions are tired. This team breathes fatigue. We saw a calamitous performance from the Blues,” concluded Riolo. The next meeting for the French team is scheduled for Monday with the reception of Belgium in Lyon.
- RMC Sport
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