In front of 16,611 spectators, the worst attendance in the history of the French team in the Saint-Denis arena, the French team produced a sad spectacle this Thursday evening against Israel. Unable to find the fault against a selection which nevertheless remained on four defeats in a row, Didier Deschamps’ men finally conceded the draw (0-0) before traveling to San Siro, next Sunday, for the final shock of group 2. A month after their success against these same Israelis in Budapest (4-1, October 10), the Blues this time showed dismaying clumsiness.
Despite 22 attempts and an undeniable collective influence, the Tricolores indeed lacked precision in the last gesture, while confronting an inspired Daniel Peretz and logically elected man of the match by the FM editorial staff. Interviewed at the microphone of TF1 after this result now forcing the Blues to achieve the feat against the Nazionale on the last day, Didier Deschamps, for his part, did not hide his frustration, in the same way as Jules Koundé and Ibrahima Konaté, annoyed by the insipid evening performance.
The Israelis annoyed DD
“We could have done more”released the Bayonnais at the microphone of TF1before switching quite quickly to the very defensive tactics of the Israelis. More than the performance of his players, the Blues coach highlighted the attitude of the selection led by Ran Ben Shimon. Behavior deemed unsporting by the former Marseille midfielder… “As long as we don’t score against a regrouped opponent who is gaining time. We had a quiet start to the match, not energetic enough. We had the opportunities to score, then the opposing goalkeeper did the right thing. Them through their game, well grouped, saving time, I understand them too”he declared, before continuing.
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“In actual time over 90 minutes, I don’t even know if we played an hour. Realism? This is the time that could have been lost… From the moment there is 0-0, it reinforces them in this defensive work. If we had opened the score, it would not have been the same for them. We had the ball, control, they had half a chance on a set piece in the first. Between the changes, the six meters, the throw-ins, pfff it’s part of the game. We’re going to have to get a hell of a score in Italy if we want to hope (finish first in the ranking). » Not sure, however, that pointing the finger at an adversary weaker on paper than the French armada is a judicious tactic to help Deschamps avoid mentioning the disastrous performance of his men…
