June 6 – French manager Didier Deschamps has praised his young side following their 5-4 defeat against Spain in the last four of the Nations League.
France rallied from 5-1 down to deliver a respectable 5-4 scoreline with a flurry of goals in the latter stages of the match, even igniting the hope of an improbable equaliser. In his post-match analysis, Deschamps was gentle on his team which Spain at times had torn apart.
“It’s a mixed bag,” Deschamps. “There are a lot of good things to remember, especially our first 20 minutes in terms of control. We finished with a lot of chances, more than our opponent, who were efficient. Despite the large score, we continued on our path.
“I’m not going to smile, but I don’t want to take any credit away from my players. I have a young team, that should help. When we concede goals, we tend to blame the defence, but I’m not going to go there: it’s a question of balance. We were missing three of the four players who have played every match for the past two years.”
He pointed to Unai Simon’s outstanding performance in Spain’s goal and added: “Against this team, you have to be at your best everywhere, that’s a fact.”
At both ends of the pitch, France had problems. The defence was overwhelmed and the front four lacked the sharpness to capitalise on the many goalmouth opportunities. Even so, Deschamps was satisfied with Kylian Mbappé’s central role in attack.
The French manager explained: “They all have freedom. I said that Kylian was our central striker. But nothing is set in stone, there’s a starting position. You talk about Ousmane, but at his club, he has a lot of freedom. And it’s not just the two of them, there were four of them. There are other options, but I’m not going to change Kylian’s position. Ousmane can play in several positions.”
France will now play hosts Germany in the third-place playoff om Sunday.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1751171970labto1751171970ofdlr1751171970owedi1751171970sni@i1751171970tnuk.1751171970ardni1751171970mas1751171970