By Gura Garcia
02 Jul 2024, 10:42 AM EDT
Although the French national team qualified for the quarter-finals of the Eurocup 2024, which is being held in Germany, remains one of the great surprises of the continental championship, but not precisely because of what the French have seen in past years. Currently, they have been one of the most disappointing teams due to their performance on the field.
The team led by recent Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappé was expected towas that team that spectators and football fans enjoyed playing and were encouraged to watch all their matches. The French team is made up of a squad full of great players, but so far Didier Deschamps’ team has not managed to find its best version in attack, to the point of showing a rather poor level so far in attack.
A France that has disappointed
France has top-level players, especially in the offensive field, Despite this, they managed to qualify for the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 without scoring a single goal from open play. In their debut against Austria, Kylian Mbappé’s shot hit Wöber and ended up in the opponent’s goal. In the second match against the Netherlands, the match ended in a goalless draw.
In the last match of the group stage against the Polish national team, the The goal came from Kylian Mbappé’s feet, but it was from the penalty spot. And, in the round of 16 match against Belgium, France’s victory came in the final minutes of the match with an own goal by Belgian player Jan Vertonghen. A duel that ended with Jules Koundé, the FC Barcelona defender, as the match’s MVP, without any player from the offensive line being the protagonist.
Numbers don’t lie
In this way and as incredible as it may seem, the French team has achieved to reach the quarter-finals, where they will have to face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, with only 3 goals and none of these have been from open play: one penalty and two own goals by their rivals. France has gone from being one of the most feared teams offensively speaking to at times becoming desperate due to the poor offensive level it has shown to date in the continental championship.
A situation that does not worry Didier Deschamps
Following France’s level of play, the Blues’ technical director, Didier Deschamps He prefers to focus on his team’s qualification for the quarter-finals, where they will face Portugal, and, beyond the goals, to value how good his team is at a tactical level: “We have the ability to control our games a little more. I am immensely proud to be in the quarter-finals again. Although that was expected of us, it is something we must appreciate and value,” he explained after the match.
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