What can we say about Euro 2024 that the French team is currently delivering? Gloomy in their game, the Blues are nevertheless in the quarter-finals after having scalped Belgium on Monday in the previous round. During the group stage, the teammates of a disappointing Antoine Griezmann really did not reassure. Already authors of worrying friendly matches before the continental tournament, the latter did not score in the game across three matches. Winning against Austria and Poland, respectively with an own goal and a penalty, Didier Deschamps’ flock were clearly far from being inspired offensively. A situation that inevitably caused tension in France while the situation did not change during the round of 16 against Belgium. Dominant against the Red Devils, the Blues missed everything in front of Koen Casteels’ goal and the solution came from an off-target shot from Randal Kolo Muani, deflected by Jan Vertonghen into his own goal.
Far from reassuring then. And while the grumbling continues among the supporters of the Blues, Didier Deschamps’ group and the coach are not spared. Faced with this rather complex situation, Philippe Diallo, the president of the FFF, stepped up to the plate this Tuesday. Questioned on the poor spectacle offered by the French team by RMCthe leader was keen to point out that France has qualified for the quarter-finals of the tournament, while other big names are missing: “I first remember the qualification. I note that the Italians returned home, the Croatians too, that England miraculously saved themselves 30 seconds from the end, that Portugal got away with it on penalties against Slovenia. All this means that we must not trivialize a qualification for the quarter-finals. France showed real solidity. They missed opportunities. Offensively, it is clear that there is a deficit. But the strength of this team is to have managed to overcome this offensive deficit to continue its path in the tournament.»
Philippe Diallo kicks Didier Deschamps’ future into touch
Despite acknowledging a deficit on the offensive side, the native of Saint-Nazaire was relaunched on the lesser pleasure taken by the supporters. The latter wanted to be reassuring on this subject, while being quite out of touch on part of his argument by talking about the number of viewers watching the Blues matches: “we may not see exactly the same supporters (smile). I also meet supporters and the observation of an offensive deficit is shared by all those who follow the French team, but the driving force remains to see the French team continue its journey in this tournament. You say “boredom” and I answer that there were 15 million viewers against Belgium, for a match at 6 p.m. That means that the attractiveness of our French team remains intact and I have no doubt that against Portugal, millions of French people will still come together to support our Blues. Does France have a duty to be emotional? The tournament is not over. Let’s wait. Remember the last World Cup, where there were sometimes similar comments. Then the French team showed, particularly during the final against Argentina, its full capacity to create emotion since there is one of the greatest finals in the history of the World Cup, an emotion that transcended the French fans. I know that the French team will also be there on the emotional frontier.»
Finally, Philippe Diallo was asked about the future of Didier Deschamps. Pointed out for years by a section of the French team’s supporters, the 55-year-old coach has still been under fire since the start of the tournament. Having less cordial relations with his new boss than with his predecessor Noël Le Graët, the former midfielder could see his future compromised in the event of poor performances during the continental tournament. A possibility that Philippe Diallo dismissed on Tuesday: “already, it is not up to me to judge the degree of closeness with Didier Deschamps. He had a strong closeness with Noël Le Graët, because they had about ten years of collaboration together, with a world champion title. It creates links. I am here more recently but a good collaboration has been established. I read that it would be less strong than with my predecessor, I do not know. But we have mutual trust, a very good collaboration on a daily basis. He knows that I trust him because he brought the French team to heights that it had never known in its past. (…) Once again, we are in the quarter-finals. It is already a very good result. We are going to play a big match and that is where I am, in the search for performance. What do you think the fans expect if not to see us climb the ladder round after round to take us to the final? People may have been frustrated by a few goals. But we had the chances in every game. It just so happens that we didn’t manage to convert them. The tournament isn’t over, the turning point will happen and the commentary will change completely. Once again, it’s a very difficult tournament, very close, no one really dominates their subject, no nation has had an easy run and there are only eight countries left. And we’re in it. That’s what we have to remember: France has its status as favourite and we’re still alive. There are two games left to win to be in the final on 14 July.» Now, to put an end to all this speculation around the French team, the latter will have to win largely against Portugal in the quarter-finals this Friday (9 p.m.). Which is far from guaranteed…
