Under the rainy skies of Dortmund, it was time for change this Tuesday evening. First of all in the organization chart of the German selection, quadruple world champion but hit by a deep crisis. Architect of these unstable foundations, Hansi Flick left, taking with him his sweet dreams of competing in Euro 2024 at the head of Germany, the country organizing the competition (June 14 to July 14). Propelled to the head of the Mannschaft, Rudi Völler – appointed interim coach pending the possible arrival of Julian Nagelsmann – then had the difficult task of playing the firefighter on duty against the Blues, finalists of the last World Cup in Qatar and more than ever in danger to join John McEnroe’s native country next summer. Changes also perceptible within the starting compositions. For Didier Deschamps, deprived of Kylian Mbappé who suffered a knee injury, exit the 4-2-3-1 set up last Thursday against Ireland.
Todibo, Saliba, Pavard… the losers of the evening!
Place a 4-4-2 where Benjamin Pavard and Théo Hernandez started on the wings while William Saliba, preferred to Dayot Upamecano, was established alongside Jean-Clair Todibo, author of his great first with the A. In the middle of field, the 100% Madrid duo Eduardo Camavinga-Aurélien Tchouameni accompanied, for their part, Kingsley Coman and Adrien Rabiot, off-center on the left. Up front, Randal Kolo Muani and Antoine Griezmann, evening captain, started. Back on the German bench as number 1, after a first experience between 2000 and 2004 (29 wins, 11 draws and 13 defeats in 53 matches), Rudi Völler opted for a 4-2-3-1. Present during the last debacle against Japan (1-4), Nico Schlotterbeck, Joshua Kimmich and Kai Havertz came out of the eleven. In front of Marc André ter Stegen, Niklas Süle, Jonathan Tah, Antonio Rüdiger and Benjamin Henrichs formed the German defense. In the midfield and just behind Leroy Sané, Florian Wirtz and Serge Gnabry, Emre Can was associated with captain Ilkay Gündogan. Alone on the front of the attack, Thomas Müller struck from the start.
Caught behind his back on a nice combination between Gnabry and Henrichs, Pavard let the left side of RB Leipzig slip away. The latter crossed behind where Müller, alone in the heart of the French defense, shot Maignan to open the scoring (1-0, 4th). An action unfortunately symbolizing, in itself, the difficulties encountered by the tricolor rearguard facing the Germans. Failures confirmed in the final moments of this shock following another blunder. Faulty on his restart, Todibo then saw Havertz throw Sané deep. Much livelier than Saliba and Tchouameni, the Bayern striker doubled the lead (2-0, 87th) and thus secured the victory for his team despite Griezmann’s too-late reduction in the score (2-1, 89th). An unusual defensive fragility for a team which had still not conceded a single goal in 2023 but a justifiable rout in many respects. On an individual level first of all with many more than insufficient performances, like Benjamin Pavard, William Saliba or even Jean-Clair Todibo…
Back in the starting eleven of the Blues, the new Inter Milan player – who had not played again since August 12 – logically paid for his lack of rhythm in an official match. Very often caught behind by the speed of Gnabry and the incessant climbs of Henrichs, elected man of the match by the FM editorial team, the French number 2 did not score any points in his match at distance with Jules Kounde, who entered the game shortly after the hour mark. Guilty of a certain laxity on the first German goal and author of 9 turnovers, the native of Maubeuge contributed very little on the offensive level. An observation also applicable to William Saliba, not very reassuring with the ball, often caught up in speed and too lax on many sequences. Although renowned for his solidity with the Gunners, the 22-year-old Bondynois, credited with a 3 by our editorial staff, finally showed a very sad face on German soil. And what about Todibo’s big premiere… Plunged into the deep end, the OGC Nice defender drowned on several occasions. Not exempt from any criticism on the first goal, he finally offered the second goal on a new restart error.
Griezmann and Rabiot, main victims of a disappointing 4-4-2!
“It’s a frustrating first considering the result, we would have preferred to stay with the dynamic that had been ours for a while. Personally for me, it’s a joy to be on the field, unfortunately on the second goal it’s me who loses the ball but from a personal point of view, I see it clearly, I still have to work, I don’t I have no right to miss this pass, it’s good for me, it allows me to learn. The coach congratulated me on my first. On the goal, he told me to make sure my pass, that at this level, I had no right to miss it., regretted the person present in the mixed zone. More than individual performances too far from the international level, this defeat can also be explained by the lack of automatisms of an inexperienced defense (11 selections in total for the central hinge) and ultimately not used to playing together. Symbol of this learning – still in progress – the absence of connection between Todibo and Pavard where the two men often procrastinated in their communication, showing, moreover, some gaps in their respective compensations.
“It happens sometimes. Us on tiptoe, and them aggressive. We were late. We were present but not active enough. There have been delays and we are not close enough. With the quality of these players, it hit the mark for them. This is not what I expected. I’m not going to push the point home, there are extenuating circumstances. We were no longer used to losing. But questioning… the high level is merciless. Germany didn’t have many chances. We did not do at the start of the match what the very high level demands.declared, in this capacity, Didier Deschamps at the microphone of TF1 before adding another layer at a press conference: “If we lost, it’s because we didn’t do things well against a very aggressive Germany. The start of the match was catastrophic in terms of aggression and intentions, and that allowed them to open the scoring. This is an eleven that is not used to starting, there was adversity but they need playing time so that we see them, that will require repetition too. In the changes, some were constrained and forced because of yesterday’s training (Monday), regarding Dayot Upamecano and Kylian Mbappé. From the moment Kylian cannot start, because of a problem with his patellar tendon, it is not bringing him in that will improve his situation. It’s the same for Upamecano, there was no risk to take”.
Forced to change his plans, Didier Deschamps opted for a 4-4-2. A tactical system which, certainly, allowed the Blues to engrave a second star on their jersey, but which, once again, proved to be faulty. An organization, moreover, playing tricks on certain French executives, like Adrien Rabiot, eccentric on the left and much less impactful, or even Antoine Griezmann, associated with Randal Kolo Muani at the forefront of the attack and guilty of unusual technical waste despite his late goal from the penalty spot. Asked about the system decided by his coach, Kingsley Coman did not want to draw hasty conclusions… “It depends, it’s only one match, we can’t judge on one match. With the 4-4-2, the team was world champion (laughs), we won a lot of matches so we shouldn’t throw everything away after a bad match”. One thing is certain, with this inefficient system, a reshuffled team and a defense as young as it is crumbly, the gamble attempted by Didier Deschamps to compensate for the absences of Kylian Mbappé or Dayot Upamecano will not have worked. Facing the Netherlands on October 13, the French team could then return to a pattern and fundamentals that were so attractive until now…
