Buts : Gandelman (24e) for Israelis // Camavinga (7e), Nkunku (28).e), Guendouzi (87e) and Barcola (89e) for the Blues
This is not a scoop, fortunately: the French team, even rejuvenated, even reworked, did not need the young retiree Antoine Griezmann or the absent Kylian Mbappé to win a football match against Israel. She will have done what was necessary to avoid a bad surprise and unwelcome trip, this Thursday evening at the Boszik Aréna in Budapest, a neutral ground and a stadium sounding hollow, where the Blues won quite logically ( 1-4). It will be difficult to draw lessons from a strange encounter in many respects (the context, the atmosphere), whether concerning the game, not always exciting, the players and the associations between them, since it is a question of create the right connections in these new times.
Nkunku, a ghost who comes at the right time
The Madrid pair Aurélien Tchouaméni-Eduardo Camavinga in the middle will not have worked too badly, the two knowing and understanding each other. The second was entitled to a nice boost from Israeli goalkeeper Omri Glazer, guilty of a gross hand fault on a fairly innocuous strike from the former Rennais (0-1, 7e). His second goal in the selection, and an assist for Randal Kolo Muani, the statistics will say, even his back serve was not very decisive. It’s good for morale and it can’t do any harm to the Parisian striker, who touched few balls (23) and who found Ilay Feingold on his way after a cross from Ousmane Dembélé (15e). The crazy dribbler could have scored a nice goal, after having found himself at the start of the action and having slammed a large bridge, only to finally miss the target (12e).
We said to ourselves that the evening would be quiet for the Blues, in white this evening, then we had a tiny doubt when Omri Gandelman reset the counters to zero, with a superb opening from Oscar Gloukh and a sudden helmet ending at the bottom after touching the left post of Mike Maignan, light on his dive (1-1, 24e). The doubt didn’t last very long. Camavinga found Christopher Nkunku at the edge of the area and the Chelsea returner, with his back to goal, relied on Feingold to turn and rush to restore the advantage to the French by sending the leather under Glazer (1-2, 28e). Three shots on target, three pawns, and above all the first in the tricolor jersey for the Titi.
Guendouzi gets the Blues out of trouble
At least that was necessary in an arena reminiscent of the time of the health crisis, despite 181 French supporters on the trip, and not helping the pace of the game to rise. France often had the ball, leaving Dembélé to try to cause chaos in the final meters, where Michael Olise (36e) and Camavinga (44e) failed to adjust the sights before the break. The Bavarian undoubtedly did not have the expected influence on the French game in this leading role, even if the trio accompanying Kolo Muani in attack sometimes swapped and Bradley Barcola and Mattéo Guendouzi arrived in a second period of a huge bore, with two shots from the restart in the 84the minute, until the end of the game, the moment chosen by the Blues to take cover.
Glazer and Denny Hopper did everything to delay the deadline ahead of Kolo Muani and Tchouaméni (85e), but the Israeli goalkeeper had to bow a third time on the conclusion of Guendouzi’s flat foot (1-3, 87e)well shifted by Theo Hernandez. The haired man from Lazio, author of his second goal in the selection, then turned into a passer on a counterattack at the end of which Barcola perfectly curled his shot to complete the success of the Blues (1-4, 89e)who ended the evening with Ibrahima Konaté as captain, following the exit of Tchouaméni. Halfway through, the French team is in second place in its Nations League group, a small point behind the Italian leader, before taking a trip to neighboring Belgium on Monday. It will take more, all the same, to make us think that this new era promises to be radiant.
Relive Israel – France (1-4)
