logical victory for a rejuvenated French team against Israel

The new generation of Blues accomplished their mission on Thursday, taking three precious points against Israel (4-1) in the race for the knockout phase.

In the midst of a period of uncertainty, the French team is still not convincing but continues to get the job done. The Blues logically beat an Israeli team which was largely inferior to them (4-1), Thursday October 10, for the third day of the League of Nations. We had to wait until the last five minutes to see them kill the suspense and materialize their domination on the scoreboard, thanks to goals from newcomers Mattéo Guendouzi (87th) and Bradley Barcola (89th). But this evening with a small group in Budapest (2,226 spectators in the stands only), due to the political context, will not go down in history.

Without Antoine Griezmann, recently retired, nor Kylian Mbappé, left to rest, some had to move up the ranks. The light did not come from Aurélien Tchouameni, inducted interim captain, clearly less visible than his midfield friend, Eduardo Camavinga. He particularly stood out, through his desire to accelerate his team’s play, but above all by being directly decisive on the two French goals. The Madrilenian opened the scoring with a long shot, the rebound of which made the Israeli goalkeeper lose his composure (7th), then gave the decisive pass on the 2-1 goal signed by the returning Christopher Nkunku (28th).

The latter finally scored his first goal for the French team (11 caps), in style. Found in the middle of four players, he turned around cleverly before finding the net with a ground strike from the tight corner. The 26-year-old striker, particularly prone to injuries, returned to the selection after 16 months of absence. Enough to justify the great confidence placed in him by Didier Deschamps, who called him up even though he only played 126 minutes in seven Premier League games with Chelsea this season.

This match was an opportunity for Didier Deschamps to “see players” on his own terms. The coach tested Michael Olise in a No.10 role in what appears to be a first attempt to fill the heavy absence of Antoine Griezmann. Usually twirling, the young player from Bayern Munich disappointed, showing himself to be far too messy. This will remain as one of the two shadows on the board of this victory, with the Israeli equalizer at the heart of the first period, following a subtle pass lobbing William Saliba, beaten in the air by Omri Gandelman (24th).

The French team still has three games left, starting with the trip to Belgium on Monday to try to finish first in its group. The draw won by Belgium in Italy (2-2), Thursday evening, is in this sense good news for Didier Deschamps’ players. As a reminder, the first two places qualify for the quarter-finals, then leading to the Final Four. The Blues are currently second, one point behind the Italians and two ahead of Belgium.