If they want to avoid a double confrontation against Spain, Portugal or Germany, all first in their group, with the addition of the return match away, the partners of captain N’Golo Kanté must beat the Italians by at least two goals apart.
After the lesson of the trip to the Parc des Princes (1-3), the Blues are driven by “a spirit of sporting revenge”, assures Lucas Digne.
It was the first match after the Euro-2024 semi-final lost against Spain (2-1), the launch of the 2024-2026 cycle which should lead to the World Cup got off to a bad start.
Kylian Mbappé was conspicuously sulking, he then missed the October and November rallies, in poor form at Real Madrid and disturbed by suspicions of rape in Stockholm.
Flat encephalogram
“He is in a complicated situation, I am behind him. He is going through the period which is not the happiest of his career,” Deschamps explained on TF1.
To a lesser extent, the coach did not have a peaceful autumn either. There was no shortage of criticism about the poverty of the Blues’ play and the flat encephalogram of the fourth 0-0 of the year 2024, Thursday, did not help.
But while waiting for the return of his captain in March, the technician maintained his objective of “oxygenating” his group during the group stage of the League of Nations.
Bradley Barcola has settled in, even if like everyone else he missed his last match, and Randal Kolo Muani scored six goals for Blue in the calendar year, even though he hardly plays for Paris Saint-Germain anymore. .
Jules Koundé established himself as a manager, Manu Koné had an interesting debut and Mattéo Guendouzi was good every time he had his chance.
Deschamps insists with Michael Olise, in pole position to succeed the retired Blues Antoine Griezmann in the role of the creative environment. But the Bayern player was not convincing for his first four selections, including three starts.
“Rectify the situation”
“We know his qualities,” Guendouzi defends. “He is one of the best in the world in his position, with his exceptional left paw. We are aware that sometimes adaptation takes a little more time, but we are here behind him.”
As part of the squad rotation, Deschamps could line up with Giuseppe-Meazza Digne on the left of the defense, for his 50th selection, and a midfielder with Kanté, Adrien Rabiot and Guendouzi. Eduardo Camavinga is suspended.
The coach could also start Christopher Nkunku in attack and replace Ibrahima Konaté with William Saliba in the hinge, alongside boss Dayot Upamecano.
The Italians present a serious test before moving into more competitive matches, the Nations League quarters, even the four-way final, then embarking on World Cup qualifying in Mexico, the United States and Canada .
“They have a very good coach (Luciano Spalletti), warns Digne. I know him, I had him at Roma, he is a very great tactician and a very great man.”
In the midst of turmoil, Kylian Mbappé receives support from those close to him: “He has had a mental problem for several months”
Luciano Spalletti, the Italian coach, is pleased that his team “obtains good results without making too much noise”, with four victories and a draw in five days.
Against Israel, “we were not good, it’s up to us to rectify the situation on Sunday by showing a different face”, promises Digne.
“Playing a match like this is just great,” continues the defender, referring in particular to the “mythical” San Siro stadium. “I had the chance to play there several times, never against Italy, but the atmosphere was incredible,” he remembers. The Milan stadium is sold out (78,000 spectators) for a final gala match.
