Zaire-Emery like Griezmann, Deschamps’ failed bet

One thing is certain, the match between the France team and Israel, which took place last night at the Stade de France in a very special context. Didier Deschamps' men provided a very disappointing performance which ended in a 0-0. A score far from trivial since it is quite simply the fourth scoreless draw over the calendar year. As Stats Foot pointed out last night, we have to go back to 2004 to find traces of such a sequence of 0-0s. At the time, the Blues had experienced five in one year.

This performance, Didier Deschamps could only recognize his weakness in the post-match press conference, believing that his team had not provided the necessary ingredients to get by. “We could have done more against a very grouped opponent who gained a lot of time. We had the chances to win that match but we didn't have the efficiency. Our first half was too quiet. I can't be satisfied with what we've done. We should have won, we are capable of doing better. There was a lot more energy in the 2nd half without opening the score,” complained the coach after the match.

Deschamps imagined Zaire-Emery supporting Kolo Muani

A Didier Deschamps who made a surprising choice for this meeting, namely placing Warren Zaire-Emery, the PSG midfielder, in a hybrid midfield position, occupied in the past by a certain Antoine Griezmann. A tactical option that doesn't really pay off given the results, which Deschamps explained after the meeting. “I put him there because he is used to projecting himself in a club. This is support for Kolo Muani. He made himself available. He had a big chance to score. He was not fixed, he was higher than Camavinga and Kanté but sometimes, it was Camavinga who projected himself. This is not a systematic position. Warren has the quality of being able to be impactful in the last thirty matches, through the call, the pass or the strike, even if his opportunity did not turn into a goal,” said the Blues coach after the meeting.

Also read:

France – Israel: Deschamps does not overwhelm his group despite this draw

France – Israel: Deschamps’ big clarification on the absence of Mbappé

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