Observer of the France team, Bixente Lizarazu named the two players who currently disappoint him the most among the Blues. He hopes to see them progress.
The French team is in the middle of a qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 and has a string of successes thanks in particular to the quality of its collective. Consultant for TF1, Bixente Lizarazu has the opportunity to comment on the Blues’ matches and in his capacity as a privileged observer, he noted what, according to him, was or was not yet completely working in the team shaped by Didier Deschamps. He spoke about it this Sunday.
And the former international notably mentioned what he considered to be an area for improvement in the France team. The right side does not convince the one who won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with the Blues. “ I’m still hungry on the right side. Offensively, Ousmane Dembélé has legs of fire and is capable of eliminating anyone, with his speed and dribbling ability. But on his finishing, he must do better. He must progress. He has to work specifically in front of goal. And then I find that he places too much emphasis on the inside of the game when very often, it is on the outside where he manages to make differences.“
“Koundé is too neutral”
After presenting his point of view on the strengths and weaknesses of Ousmane Dembélé, Bixente Lizarazu moved on to the case of Jules Koundé now preferred to Benjamin Pavard on the right side of the defense. “ Defensively, I find that Koundé is too neutral. So of course there is Théo Hernandez who is safer on the left but somewhere, and especially against Ireland, I think he can give a lot more offensively. » More generally, Bixente Lizarazu invited Didier Deschamps to “ see how we can improve this right side“. The message got through.
