From our Special Envoy in Doha,
Caramba, failed again! Four years after what the history books still call the purge of Moscow, with a 0-0 against Denmark to make you want to take a golf license to forget the round ball, the Blues did it again on Wednesday afternoon , in the stadium of the City of Education, overheated by tens of thousands of furious Tunisian fans. With nine (!) changes at kick-off compared to the victorious team against the Danes in the previous match, Didier Deschamps broke his record, he who had made 7 changes in these third games which count for nothing in 2014 and 2018.
Giving game time to substitutes to keep them “awake”, as Randal Kolo Muani so nicely told us in the mixed zone after the match, is one thing. But aligning in an unprecedented 4-4-2 flat a whole gaggle of players in positions they did not know from Eve or Adam is another. If Disasi was indeed able to play from time to time right side in Ligue 2 with Reims, what to think of the poisoned gift made to Camavinga, him, the creative midfielder, bombarded left side in place of Théo Hernandez, last professional player at this position after brother Lucas’ injury?
The Madrilenian made us feel bad on Wednesday, and the Tunisians understood it well, they who never stopped attacking in this area of the field in the first period. Here an uncertain pass, there a small bridge that hurts the pride followed by a fault that could have deserved a yellow card: it is an understatement to say that the former Rennais suffered for his first match in the Coupe du world. And we are not talking about Mattéo Guendouzi, whom Deschamps therefore considers to be one of the attacking players in his group. We asked ourselves the question when we saw him at the end of training taking part in the penalty kicks with the rest of the attackers, we have our answer.
Players in total lack of benchmarks
Would Deschamps suffer from an acute “replacite” since his last find – good this one – with Griezmann repositioned in the midfielder? What is certain is that the players have all admitted to us that they had trouble finding their place and finding themselves on the field, because of sometimes crazy positioning. “It was a totally revamped team with players who had never played together, for some it was even their first selection. So for sure it was hard from an automation point of view, ”said bluntly William Saliba, the central defender of Arsenal (used, him, at his post) entered at the hour of play for replace a very pale Varane.
If Kolo Muani also argued that it “lacks a bit of professional wingers”, forcing “Mattéo (Guendouzi) to play in the hallway, which is not his position”, he prefers to retain the positive of this funny turnover made by Deschamps. “We scratched some playing time, it’s good for us, we take a little bit of experience in case the coach calls on us for the rest of the competition. It’s important for us to play, to feel the sensations on the pitch, to see what a World Cup match is like. You can’t throw someone like that, fifteen, twenty minutes in the semi-final, “come on, play”. He won’t be ready. “We weren’t used to playing together but that doesn’t excuse defeat,” said Axel Disasi after the match.
It remains to be wondered from what angle to take this strategy of the coach. From a show standpoint, honestly, we’ll get over it. Although the fans who slammed a blind to come see Jordan Veretout make unsteady passes to a Mattéo Guendouzi left winger and completely invisible until he was replaced by Dembélé ten minutes from the end, that’s what tingles your joints. But for equity, there, it is difficult to defend on the other hand. This was noted by some of our colleagues, revolted that Deschamps was able to rock a match of such magnitude even though three teams were playing their qualifier in the 8th at kick-off.
Luckily Australia scored
If Australia and Denmark had separated on a draw, the Socceroos would have been eliminated, and we would have readily understood that they had it bad by seeing Deschamps’ croquignolesque XI. Fortunately, dare we say, by scoring against the Danes on the hour mark, Leckie came to annihilate any form of controversy. But we will not be taken away from the idea that the French coach still took us for truffles on Tuesday, swearing to us eye to eye Mr. Bourdin that no, there was no question of “overworking” this match against Tunisia.
To others. Especially since, basically, we can’t blame him for having done so, just for having made us believe the opposite. With an oh so crucial round of 16 for the France team, which will in a way be a marker of the experience of the Blues in Qatar – an elimination and the World Cup will be missed, a qualification and everything will become possible -, dispute in only four days, it would have been stupid of him to take the slightest risk with his executives. To dream of bright tomorrows, you sometimes have to accept shrill todays, even if it’s always hard to get behind your TV.