Grizou, Kyky and the Benz, the trident that stings your heart. – FRANCK FIFE / AFP
- The Blues won (3-0) against Wales on Wednesday night for their first preparatory match for the Euro.
- While it is too early to draw general conclusions after a game against a Welsh side that was quickly reduced to ten, there is still some positive to be taken in all of this.
- Overall, the Blues have launched their preparatory phase perfectly, which does not prevent Deschamps from remaining vigilant in the face of any excess of confidence.
No injuries, a clean and clear victory against Wales, a clean-sheet and smiles, all complemented by an integration of Karim Benzema with small onions, at first glance, step 1 of the preparation of the France team went off without a hitch. Not that at first glance, moreover. It was also the general opinion of the troops Wednesday evening in Nice, starting with the coach.
“I’m not going to shout ‘this is it, we have arrived’, but there were some good things. The quality is there, the state of mind too, ”greeted the Desch after the meeting. A little earlier, Lloris also mentioned the “positive” to be drawn from this first week. For the tactical lessons against a Welsh team reorganized and too quickly reduced to ten, we will come back on the other hand.
“Beautiful complicity for the future”
Even if we can already move forward without too much risk of crashing that the agreement between Griezmann, Mbappé and Benzema, in this 4-4-2 diamond pattern exceptionally emerged from the attic by DD to integrate the Benz to his food, has enough to drool with envy any normal human being as long as he likes the round ball. “We can not really draw conclusions from this first game of preparation but we could see the fluidity, the automatisms that are created as we go,” said former PSG coach Guy Lacombe in front of his TV. “We have to wait for stronger opponents, we will then see if their imagination can go beyond the difficulties. But on the offensive front, faced with a terribly regrouped opponent, we have seen very good things, great complicity for the future, ”he continues.
If our eyes were necessarily drawn to the offensive line on Wednesday on the Allianz Riviera side, we also saw very good things in the middle of the field. Including a Corentin Tolisso (already) back to a pretty crazy level if we assume that the Bavarian had almost drawn a line on his chances of playing the Euro after a serious knee injury last February. Guy Lacombe: “This is where Didier is very good. He knows full well that a player who comes out of injury, while having all his potential, will bring his freshness. Depending on the opponent, he will be able to compose his environment. We are rich in front, in the middle. And even behind, it’s not too, too bad (laughs)! “. No matter what we say, no matter what, we always come back to that.
Deschamps tracks down the slightest excess of confidence
It is not for nothing that Deschamps concluded his post-match speech on Wednesday with a warning: “For the moment everything is going well but that does not mean that we have to fall asleep on our laurels by thinking that with our qualities that will be enough. I’m going to fight against that but with my staff, we are on alert. The players are well aware of this too. “A warning that was addressed first to the players but that we will keep in a small corner of our head. Ankles swell so quickly these days …
How do you want us to keep our calm too, even though this group seems animated by an esprit de corps to be the most gifted of happiness managers? However, as the coach repeated on the Côte d’Azur, “I attach as much importance if not more to the state of mind of the troops because I know very well that we will need that to go far ”. “You just have to see when the goals have been scored and just after,” says Lacombe, referring to the collective gatherings following the goals of Mbappé, Griezmann and Dembélé. Each time only Lloris was missing in this mass of flesh and love. “We feel that this team wants to play together and experience things together”. Above all, she does not deprive herself of it.