IThere are the figures, cold and indisputable, at the end of France – Israel on Thursday evening (0-0): 70% possession, 24 shots including 8 on target, and a total of 2.2 expected goals, these “expected goals” which reflect the opportunities. And then there is the overall, visual analysis, this already painful memory of one of the worst matches for the Blues in a long time, in any case the most boring. The approximately 16,000 spectators (officially) who came to brave the cold at the Stade de France were badly offended.
No goal scored against the 81st nation in the world, although it had already been eliminated from the race to qualify for the quarter-finals and which remained on four defeats and 13 goals conceded: this is the outcome of this sad evening, which the vice-world champions in title at least had the good taste not to lose. Four matches without shaking the opposing net in the same year has not happened since 2013, another era, when Didier Deschamps was a young coach.
Destitution
This data reflects one of the French ills of the moment, already observed during a Euro ended in the semi-final but frankly painful. The copies made more and more often border on indigence on the offensive level, and it would be too easy to take refuge behind bad luck, an opposing goalkeeper in good shape or an opposition which almost knows how to defend in a low and tight block.
Deschamps did not dare to venture into this area on Thursday evening. He admitted to having “shaken” his players at half-time, after 45 minutes without intensity or speed, repeated touches of the ball before each pass, useless and repetitive transmissions. Obviously, all this could have easily been swept away if Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaire-Emery or Christopher Nkunku had converted their huge chances.
This lack of efficiency is not new this year. Beyond the declines in form and the absences (permanent or not) of Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud, each for different reasons, there is the observation that the France team no longer has a capable offensive player to change the course of a match all by himself, like England (Bellingham, Palmer), Spain (Yamal, Morata) or Italy (Retegui, Kean), on the program on Sunday evening in Milan.
Generational trough
Kingsley Coman is often injured, Ousmane Dembélé irregular. At the forefront, where Mbappé wants to play without accepting the constraints of the position, it seems very difficult to bet everything on Randal Kolo-Muani, certainly six times scorer in 2024 but limited at this level, or on Marcus Thuram, two goals in 28 selections without almost never play with two attackers, the configuration that suits him. The next generation is slow to emerge. Does it even exist?
The question is also worth a notch lower, in the middle, where the French team seems generously equipped with working environments (Kanté, Rabiot, Zaïre-Emery, Tchouaméni…), and terribly lacking in elements with the profile of a creative conductor. . While waiting for Michael Olise to thrive as much in Blue as with Bayern Munich (7 goals and 4 assists), a generational trough is emerging.
Deschamps composes but also lacks ideas and efficiency, when he places Zaire-Emery as playmaker, waits until the 70th minute to make his changes and the game plan seems simplistic at best, non-existent at worst . The Basque has always focused on the result above all, but there is not much left when victory is not at the end. He and his players will have the opportunity to finish the year better at San Siro on Sunday. The setting will lend itself well to this.
