Didier Deschamps' immense smile, which stretched from ear to ear on his face, said it all. On the pitch at the San Siro stadium in Milan, the coach threw his water bottle high into the air, out of joy but also certainly to release the frustration accumulated over recent months. He almost forgot to greet his Italian counterpart, Luciano Spalletti, whose selection was defeated by the France team (1-3), Sunday November 17.
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Perched at the top of San Siro, the nearly 4,000 French supporters who had made the trip could sing, over and over: “We are at home”. Thanks to this victory by two goals, the Blues not only ended their year 2024 on a good note, but they also stole first place in their Nations League group from Italy. “Winning here is a source of pride. And to win by two goals, I told the players that we had to keep that in mind.”assured Deschamps. This is not anecdotal: in the quarter-finals, in March, they will host the return match and will face a group runner-up, whose identity will be known on November 22.
The two heroes of the evening are as unexpected as the scale of this French surge, three days after a performance of rare poverty against Israel (0-0). Lucas Digne and Adrien Rabiot played their 50th selection on Sunday, an event worth celebrating, the first being particularly generous with the second. Twice, from a corner (2nd) then from a free kick (65th), Digne placed the ball on the head of Rabiot, who scored his first double with the Blues.
A collective success
In addition to his two assists, the left-back also caused Guglielmo Vicario's own goal (33rd), which would have deserved to be awarded to him as his kick was splendid. “We will say that I did 50% of the work”smiled Digne after the match. Returning to the selection in September, after two years of absence, the Aston Villa player may have sowed the seed of doubt in the mind of his coach. Théo Hernandez, the usual holder of the position, goes through a gap, often missing Kylian Mbappé on the left side.
“It will certainly complicate my choices for the future”confirmed Deschamps, who was not only thinking about his side. The coach was delighted with the « grand match » carried out by all of its players. During the first half hour, his seven changes in team composition and his tactical choice to switch to a diamond system considerably hampered the Italian team. Close to each other, the French midfielders and attackers combined well and managed to gain ground by multiplying their passes.
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