The France Espoir team lost in Austria this Friday in its qualifying campaign for the Euro Espoirs (0-2). A first hitch in the Henry era.
There are the numbers, the scores and the records. And there is the content, too. A month ago, during the last gathering of the France Espoir team, Thierry Henry alerted his men to the complacency displayed in the first period of a match concluded with a historic success against Cyprus (9-0). With hindsight, everything suggests that the Blues coach did not take this approach to be choosy. Beyond the form, the French technician was also disturbed by some substantive details.
This inconsistency in content was confirmed this Friday in Austria, against one of the Bleuets’ pursuers in this group. The tricolors produced a very contrasting performance, with sequences where their collective performance was insufficient.
The Bleuets were not there
For the first time since Henry took charge, they trailed at halftime of a match. And there was nothing wrong with that, as the locals were superior in engagement and counter-pressing. Austria thus broke the deadlock in the middle of the first period, with a corner taken victoriously by Koller (1-0, 25th).
The Bleuets then tried to react, not without a certain clumsiness. Kalimuendo and Cherki struggled to combine, while Wahi was well muzzled. It was even the Austrians who were the most threatening on the counter, with a rapid attack concluded by a double post (30th).
Especially since the affairs of the Bleuets did not improve upon returning from the locker room, since the Austrians continued to dominate the debates by multiplying the clear chances before Koller scored his double (2-0, 75th). An evening to forget for Bleuets who also lost Lepenant to injury.
