From the fight against Austria to the failure of the leaders, the lackluster tournament of the French team

Vice-world champions and best European nation in the Fifa rankings… It is in the shoes of the favourites that they set down their suitcases in their corner of greenery in Bad Lippspringe, next to the city of Paderborn. Not necessarily named, the obligation to learn the lessons of the embarrassing elimination against Switzerland in the round of 16 of the previous edition is obviously present. On the other hand, it is too early to measure the true level of the French selection. After a preparation without great adversity, with a logical 3-0 success against Luxembourg and a soporific 0-0 against Canada, gray areas still need to be cleared up.

Didier Deschamps is lucky that he can count on a nearly complete squad. Only one major absentee: Lucas Hernandez, who tore his cruciate ligaments in early May. The return of N’Golo Kanté despite his exile in Saudi Arabia and the arrival of Bradley Barcola bring a touch of curiosity to this list of 25 cut out to go far. But we still wonder in which system the coach will ask his men to play their part, with a big question mark over the name of the person or people who will accompany captain Kylian Mbappé in attack.

All these tactical considerations do not inflame the debates on national soil. Attention is in any case monopolized by the Paris Olympic Games, organized less than two weeks after the tournament final. So, when Emmanuel Macron announces the dissolution of the National Assembly following the European elections on June 9, football is absolutely not the priority. The retransmission, the same evening, of the friendly against Canada is disrupted, TF1 deciding to broadcast it with a 15-minute delay.

When the Blues land in Germany three days later, it is inevitably difficult to ignore the political context. The subject does not put all the players of the French team at ease. Ousmane Dembélé is the first to admit that “the alarm bell“had just been”pulled“. Then, Marcus Thuram pushes the commitment a little further two days before the Blues’ entry into the competition by clearly calling for “sand fight so that the RN does not pass” during the legislative elections. Same story the next day, from the mouth of Kylian Mbappé, whose every word inevitably goes around the world.

Despite this clearly parasitic preparation, the Blues are ready to enter the arena. Against Austria, they emerge victorious from a bloody fight with the air of old-fashioned football (1-0). Kylian Mbappé, who caused the opening score by pushing Maximilian Wöber to score an own goal, is forced to leave the pitch five minutes from the end of the match with a broken nose and a bloody face. Luckily, the star striker of the Blues escapes the operation and is not out for the rest of the tournament. However, he only has four days to recover from the shock and take part in the second match, against the Netherlands.

Didier Deschamps kept things vague until the last moment. “Everything is going in the right direction for it to be available”the coach even advances on the eve of the shock. But after a parade of masks – he is forced to play with them – at the various training sessions, Kylian Mbappé does not set foot on the pitch at the Red Bull Arena. He watches from the bench as his teammates dominate an opponent who is more cautious than usual, without being able to put the ball in the back of the net (0-0). Two huge chances involving Antoine Griezmann leave a taste of unfinished business.

With no goals scored by a French player in 180 minutes, “DD” admits to a problem of efficiency. Conversely, the defensive sector impresses and more particularly the hinge Dayot Upamecano-William Saliba. The first has retained the confidence of the coach despite his mixed season with Bayern Munich and the second is propelled as a starter while he had never shown in the French team the level at which he evolves at Arsenal. This unprecedented and circumstantial association only owes its existence to the fact that the usual starter Ibrahima Konaté is not “not 100%”.

Deschamps brings it back for the last group match against a Poland already eliminated. The physiognomy is ideal for his Blues to finally adjust the sights in front of the goal. Qualified before playing, the French team has the opportunity to finish first in its group and avoid the most difficult part of the table, bringing together Germany, Spain and Portugal, the three most prominent opponents so far. Despite the first team and the return of Mbappé, scorer on penalty, we are still waiting for a clean goal, without any flat, scored in the course of the game.

Having failed to put the nail in the coffin, they were at the mercy of the return of the Poles who were determined to leave the tournament with their heads held high. Robert Lewandowski also equalised on a penalty, but in two stages, the referee allowing him to try his luck again after Mike Maignan was saved after he was off his line on the first attempt. 1-1 final score. Les Bleus had to settle for second place and learned the next day that they would face Belgium in the round of 16, an opponent who was inevitably out for revenge after the very badly digested semi-final of the 2018 World Cup, but also that of the 2021 Nations League.

This time, the staff has six days to prepare for the match. Criticism of the game itself is increasing, as is criticism of the rotation of players. After three games, only 13 of them have been given a start and seven of the 25 selected have not even played a single minute. “TEveryone is happy to be here but we must not forget that we are footballers and competitors”concedes Ibrahima Konaté at a press conference, who nevertheless says he is ready to put his feelings aside.

Coué method or not, the release comes from a player who came off the bench – the only one that evening – Randal Kolo Muani. The striker who has been mocked since his arrival at PSG causes the only goal of the match (1-0), credited to Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen, five minutes from the end of regulation time. Didier Deschamps and his staff are jubilant, as if they are releasing all the tension that has accumulated.

In France, interest in the competition is not at its highest. Only 11 million people are watching this round of 16 match against Belgium on television. Three years earlier, Médiamétrie (whose measurements have since evolved) counted 16.3 million for the elimination against Switzerland. On the one hand, a large part of public opinion does not hesitate to mock this team incapable of scoring. On the other hand, the general boredom generated by this Euro 2024 does not help to increase popular fervor.

Although the match was enticing on paper, allowing Les Bleus to take their revenge eight years after the Euro 2016 final, the quarter-final against Portugal followed the same curve. 120 minutes of tension and suspense were not enough to make the pill of another 0-0 go down. No matter the explosion of joy at the penalty shootout – won for the first time since 1998 – and the revelation of unexpected heroes (Dembélé, Fofana, Koundé, Barcola and Hernandez), something was wrong with this team, which, moreover, showed up at each match with a new face.

At the forefront of criticism, Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann are only shadows of themselves. When the captain, “fatigue”is replaced 15 minutes before the penalty shootout – an exercise in which he is the most experienced -, the second is the first element that Didier Deschamps removes from his eleven to try to find the solution. The two leaders of the Blues are simply very far from their best physical condition. The evidence is such that no one in the France group denies it.

About “Grizou”, Adrien Rabiot admits his “surprise” faced with the disappointing performances of the man who shone with Atlético de Madrid during the season: “We expect, from the outside and us as teammates, much more from Antoine because he is capable of more”. The next day, for the semi-final against Spain, the most consistent team in the tournament, Didier Deschamps lined up a starting eleven without the man who was his starting man at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. More than a disavowal, the downgrade is brutal for Antoine Griezmann, knowing that the French team did not play a match without him between August 2017 and March 2024 (84 matches).

Kylian Mbappé is present and… unmasked. If his assist for Randal Kolo Muani, who scored with a header after seven minutes of play, suggests a liberation, the match swings in the wrong direction for the French team. Lamine Yamal, 16, steals the show by scoring a legendary goal to equalize.

Behind, La Roja scored their second goal after another brilliant inspiration, this time from Dani Olmo. 2-1, the score would not change. Concentrated on not falling apart, the Blues struggled to cause danger. Like a symbol, Kylian Mbappé wasted a huge opportunity, in his favourite situation – launched at full speed and on his right foot – at the end of the match. “My competition is difficult, failed”the person concerned recognizes just after the meeting.

The elimination highlights above all the collective limitations of this team, which is often said to sacrifice beautiful play to focus on the result. In Munich, Luis de la Fuente’s Spain showed that it was possible to play well and win. 40 years ago, the winners of Euro 1984 also demonstrated this. Under contract until 2026 with the French team, Didier Deschamps has two years to find the right formula for the World Cup in North America. He will have to do without Olivier Giroud, who played his last minutes with Les Bleus in total anonymity.