On Friday, the Blues failed to make their debut. Indeed, Didier Deschamps’ men lost 3-1 to Italy. More than the result, it was the attitude of some players and the level displayed that made people grind their teeth. After the match, Mike Maignan had also sent a message to the press. “What is said in the locker room stays between us. There is no need to worry. When we lose a match, it is not the end of the world. We all have a role to play on the pitch. We know that we must do better, this French team must win. We are not going to look for excuses, we are going to question ourselves and move forward.” Except that the French goalkeeper was not listened to.
The Blues discuss recent tensions
Very quickly, information about Maignan’s outburst leaked to the media, particularly in The Team. Thus, we learned that he remonstrated with his teammates for two minutes, pointing out in particular the behavior of some stars without naming them. Kylian Mbappé, like the vice-captain Antoine Griezmann, remained silent. Even if for some, the Real Madrid player was targeted by Maignan. The atmosphere was therefore a little cool in the group in recent days. Which Ousmane Dembélé did not deny at the microphone of TF1 last night, after the French team’s 2-0 victory against Belgium at the Groupama Stadium.
The PSG player acknowledged that the climate was “a little tense” after the defeat against Italy. He also said: “There are always bad times in football (…) This defeat against Italy stung us.” A blessing in disguise for the Blues, who were a little better against the Red Devils yesterday. In the mixed zone, Jules Koundé also raised the subject. “We missed out against Italy for many reasons, we just had to do some self-criticism, get things going again, especially in terms of intensity. I think we did it better. We weren’t worried. But I think we had to talk to each other, tell each other things. We had confidence in the group’s response. We weren’t very worried.”
They are not worried
Then he admitted that he was not worried after Friday night’s defeat. “No, we had to tell each other things, I had confidence in the group’s response because we have a group of competitors (…) We were better, we put the ingredients to win this match. It’s a good thing. We were on two defeats in a row, we absolutely had to win this match for confidence, for the supporters who are making the trip (…) I am in favor of saying that we should never be too negative when things are not going well or too positive when we win, there are things that we have corrected, there are things that we still have to correct, there is room for improvement, but it is a little more in line with our standards, whether in the game or in the collective.”
Holder, Mattéo Guendouzi also spoke about the recent turbulence in the French group. “There were some negative points (against Belgium, editor’s note). We know we can do much better. But there was a very good reaction. We will have to correct small points to be better. We must continue on this path. I think there is always a good atmosphere in the group. With victories, things always go better. But we are all aware of what we can do, of our qualities and our strengths. We must work to be ready for the next deadlines.” Lucas Digne, who returned to Les Bleus after two years of absence, also praised the spirit and atmosphere in the group. A victory and it starts again for France, who will have to confirm and improve next month against Israel and Belgium again to put an end to doubts and criticism.
