France was put to the sword by England in Miami. (Image: Carmen Mandert – FIFA, FIFA via Getty Images)
While England were in a mood of celebration after Saturday’s World Cup third-place decider, France were reminded that things could always get worse. It was supposed to be Didier Deschamps’ final game as manager, but instead he was forced to make three substitutions at the break to avoid open humiliation. England led by four goals by half-time and their rivals regained their pride, but the French media had little sympathy and delivered harsh reviews.
Thomas Tuchel beat Deschamps early on and the Three Lions led 2-0 by the first water break after goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa. Bukayo Saka added two more before half-time, but it was only a brace from Kylian Mbappé and a goal from Bradley Barcola that gave Les Bleus hope. A disappointing error from Michael Olise at one end saw Jed Spence brought down from the penalty spot at the other, completing Saka’s hat-trick. Ousmane Dembele added a fourth for France, but Jude Bellingham finally gave England victory in stoppage time. While some of France’s substitutes were praised for their impact off the bench, the starters received the real punishment. Here are some excerpts from the French media’s verdict after the match, which has never been seen before.
L’Equipe
L’Equipe is famous for its harsh evaluation of players, and some players are given harsh evaluations after winning. After France scored six goals in one match for the first time this century, many were eagerly waiting to see what kind of result would come, and the French publication did not disappoint.
As expected, the defenders bore the brunt of the criticism. Maro Gusto, Ibrahima Konate and Theo Hernandez scored 2/10, while Maxence Lacroix and Mike Maignan scored 3.
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L’Equipe gave 5 players a score of 2/10 (Image: L’Equipe)
Two more shots were fired further up the pitch. They moved on to Rayan Cherki and Desiree Douai, both of whom had little impact but were substituted at the interval.
L’Equipe’s match report said, “Never before had the French team witnessed an act so contradictory and bizarre, so unfathomable, both in their dizzying fall and their subsequent comeback.”
“And Les Bleus were able to write an unprecedented chapter in their history and achieve something extraordinary in a match that, in their eyes, meant nothing an hour ago.”
France’s leading sports newspaper didn’t put any punches on its cover. (Image: L’Equipe)
RMC Sports
RMC Sport was less forgiving, with only three of the aforementioned five receiving the 2/10 treatment: Gusto, Hernandez and Cherki. Like L’Equipe, the highest praise went to defensive substitute Dayot Upamecano, which seemed to underline just how vulnerable Les Bleus were at the back in the opening game.
“The moment of brilliance was a perfect through ball, but Mbappé couldn’t capitalize on it and followed it up with a shot on target. And that was it,” they wrote of Cherki.
“The Manchester City players were dressed down by Deschamps during the first water break, but it didn’t help. Cherki, who was replaced by Dembele at half-time, had a disappointing World Cup.”
It capped off a terrible week for the French. (Image: Getty)
france information
France Info acknowledged that the second-half fightback was partly to be credited to the semi-finalists, and admitted that had Olise been able to score at 4-3, Deschamps’ level of side-pull could have been seen. Nevertheless, their article recognized the damage done in that horrifying first 45 minutes.
“Didier Deschamps was abandoned by his players and almost ended his 14-year tenure as France national team coach in a disaster,” they wrote. “Falling 4-0 at half-time against England, they finally shook off their arrogant indifference to avoid historic humiliation.
“The French team transformed offensively after making four changes during the break, but could not solve their defensive weaknesses. In the end they lost by a more generous margin with an unrealistic score of 6-4.”
foot mercato
In the Futmercato, Konate received the most scathing criticism, but Duet received some difficult reviews. The Paris Saint-Germain star outperformed his club and international colleague Barcola in North America, registering just one goal and two assists in eight appearances.
Futto Mercato gave the winger a score of 2.5/10, saying, “Desire Douet, deployed on the left wing, endured a nightmare start to the game against England’s intense pressure.” “An early error in the middle of the pitch in the third minute saw the midfielder give Declan Rice the lead and immediately put Les Bleus in danger.
“So hesitant in his decision-making, struggling to decide on the direction of play and overwhelmed by the Three Lions’ press, he was logically one of the victims of Didier Deschamps’ major tactical overhaul at half-time and was substituted immediately after the break after a very difficult 45 minutes.”
