The road to the 2026 World Cup is set to be long. For its first match since Euro 2024, which ended without passion or glory after a defeat against Spain, the French team was beaten by Italy (1-3) on Friday evening at the Parc des Princes, at the end of a match in which Les Bleus displayed worrying shortcomings.
We were hoping for a revival from Didier Deschamps’ men, a surge of pride after a sluggish summer campaign, and we inevitably believed it after Bradley Barcola’s goal after 13 seconds, the fastest in the history of the French team. But after this flash of brilliance from the PSG winger, who stole the ball from Di Lorenzo before shooting his teammate Donnarumma (1-0, 1st), there were 20 encouraging minutes, and then practically nothing.
The coach had nevertheless lined up a fairly offensive 4-2-3-1 with, in addition to Barcola and Kylian Mbappé, an Antoine Griezmann kept in the eleven thanks to the absence of Randal Kolo Muani, and the newcomer Michael Olise, who showed off his technical quality intermittently. But quickly, it was this Italy without a star who ended up taking the upper hand collectively. After an initial warning (a header on the bar by Frattesi in the 5th minute), the Nazionale equalized on a flash of lightning from Federico Dimarco (1-1, 30th).
The Blues are far from the mark
This goal could have made the Blues react, but the second half was dull for the French side. Midfielder Kanté-Fofana was suffering, as was the loss of the ball by the new Milan player who was punished by a lightning counter-attack concluded by Davide Frattesi (1-2, 51st). As for the defense, it also sent out worrying signals, to the point of being pierced a third time on Giacomo Raspadori’s goal (1-3, 74th), on which William Saliba was wiped out too easily.
The coaching didn’t really change things, like Ousmane Dembélé’s clumsiness on his recovery (63rd), or the excessive aggression of a Manu Koné close to the red card for his first selection. The former Toulousain did however show desire like on his strike in added time (90th + 3), the best French opportunity of the second period with another long-range attempt from Griezmann (77th).
The 2024-2026 campaign is therefore starting in the worst possible way, just like this Nations League which is already off to a bad start. We will really have to show something else on Monday evening, with the arrival of Belgium in Lyon.
