MY ACCOUNT
Fielding an inexperienced side, Didier Deschamps insisted he will continue his search for optimal balance following France’s 1-1 draw away to Croatia on Monday.
Following their opening Nations League defeat at home to Denmark, Les Bleus could only manage a point at the Poljud, with Andrej Kramaric equalising from the penalty spot following Adrien Rabiot’s opening goal.
Deschamps went back to 4-4-2 after the opting for a 3-5-2 against Denmark, with several starting players under 10 caps including Moussa Diaby, Matteo Guendouzi, Christopher Nkunku and William Saliba.
With that relative lack of experience in mind, Deschamps was buoyant following his side’s performance against the other 2018 World Cup finalist.
“We had overall control with two chances for 2-0 but we conceded a few too many situations to this Croatian team at the end,” he said post-game. “The lines were stretched, but it was consistent overall. We could also have avoided the loss of possession at times. I can’t be completely satisfied even though there are a lot more positives.
“We must also take into account the merit of the opponent. We also gave them the opportunity to equalise with this penalty. There are also all the changes at the end of the match. There were less than 200 caps in the team selected against Croatia. This is no excuse, but there are fewer automatisms.”
The Vatreni finished the stronger of the two sides in Split, with chances falling to Luka Sucic and Nikola Vlasic upon their introductions.
France ended the game with a cumulative xG of 0.69 from seven shots in comparison to Croatia’s 1.55 from eight, speaking to their growing inability to turn possession into something substantial in front of goal.
With one point out of a possible six, Deschamps insisted that while Les Bleus are not out of Nations League calculations, November’s World Cup in Qatar requires experimentation in preparation for their title defence.
“We are in contention,” he said after the match. “But with one point out of six, we are not in the best of moods. They are also preparation matches in anticipation of what awaits us at the end of the year. You have to see different things, different players and different systems.
“There were a lot of forced changes with worries and injuries. Compared to my starting lineup, I still have the same concern to put each player in the best conditions.
“We can always improve in defensive animation, but we can have problems with three, four or five [in defence]. I’m not frozen for the next game. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. I want to have more answers.”
