Netherlands 0-0 France
LEIPZIG — What to make of France? We know that Didier Deschamps abhors risk as if it were a death rattle, but there is a level of functionality within this XI that is bordering upon unhelpful.
With Kylian Mbappe fit and demanding the ball most of the time, the spark becomes a fire. Without him, everything feels a little damp to the touch.
As with England, we know that this team is capable. As with England, there is something not quite clicking. With Deschamps preferring to soak up pressure with his industrial-sized sponge of a midfield, success is determined by France’s ability to counter attack at speed and take their few clear chances.
So why, when the game is stretched, do they repeatedly turn back and play sideways passes that kill momentum?
Ousmane Dembele is one of those footballers who must produce every time I don’t watch, because he spends half of his time beating the same man repeatedly on the wing and the other half providing crosses into the box that either fail to beat the first man or sail over everyone’s head. Marcus Thuram was willing against the Dutch, but several steps below Mbappe.
The surprise of this tournament is that Deschamps has not turned to Olivier Giroud sooner. France have scored one goal and it wasn’t scored by a French player, it was an own goal from Austria’s Maximilian Wober. For all the pace and direct dribbling in the front three, the amateur analyst says that a still point around whom they could all run and roam would make sense.
All is not lost. Scratch that: nothing has been lost at all – beat Poland handsomely and France will likely top Group D. They tend to grow into their international tournaments under Deschamps anyway. During their 2018 World Cup win, they scored a single open-play goal in the groups and then eight more in the knockouts. Nobody is panicking. The blue end of the Red Bull Arena hailed the players at full-time.
And how much of that is because of N’Golo Kante, who was the best in show again. Saudi Arabian football is supposed to have dimmed the lights of those persuaded to cash in.
Kante has rocked up in Germany after a year in a second-rate league and been the highest-performing player over the tournament’s first 10 days. He is the only player awarded two official Man of the Match awards.
There is a tinge of melancholy to all this. Kante left Chelsea ostensibly because there were doubts about his fitness issues, limited to just seven Premier League appearances during his final season.
But here he is as if his France shirt was Leicester 2015-16 or Chelsea 2016-17 blue, tearing around the pitch like the world Supermarket Sweep champion. He pops up on the left wing to provide an overlap and the right to provide cover and yet always seems to be there in the middle.
The tendency, therefore, is to judge Kante by his effort. There was the meme about him covering all of the world where water does not run and the other one about him having three lungs. The social media statistics focus on distance ran and hard work completed. It’s not intentionally patronising, but it certainly serves Kante short.
Because his art – and it’s still at 33, playing in Saudi Arabia – lies in his reading of the game and then the consistency of his action. He is every teammate’s best friend because he knows where to be and when, but effort to get there isn’t the totality of his work.
He is a magnificently efficient tackler, a far better ball carrier than he has ever been given credit for and his passing is inherently reliable too. Dependability can be sexy, Kante is a joy and English football misses him badly.
That is why France and Deschamps are not worried. The attack will work it out; Mbappe will be fit again soon. They have not conceded a goal. All the while they have their everyman in midfield, making everybody’s life easier.
This manager loves him. This team loves him. This country loves him. Kante almost didn’t make it to Germany and he won’t make it to the next major tournament. We should enjoy every second of this long goodbye.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/fwmT35O
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