The wind blows on the blue house. Reigning world champions, the France team is going through a hell of a zone of turbulence before its two Nations League matches against Austria and Denmark, Thursday 22 and Sunday 25 September. In this tense context, franceinfo: sport takes stock of the challenges of the last two tests of the Blues before the World Cup in Qatar.
The specter of relegation
Considered useless by many observers when it was created in 2018, the League of Nations gained interest in France after the French coronation against Spain on October 10, 2021 (2-1). A year after this title, which had restored confidence to the Blues eliminated early from Euro 2021, the League of Nations could play a bad trick on them this time. Placed in an “affordable” group, the France team started its campaign disastrously with two draws and two defeats this summer.
Dead last in their group with two points, Didier Deschamps’ players must win against Austria (4 points) at the Stade de France and Denmark (9 points), or risk being relegated to Ligue B. which has never happened before for a winner of the young event. In the event of an air hole in Croatia (7 points), the Blues will finish, at best, second with 8 points.
A mess of wounds
Integrate the list of 23 or 26 players for the World Cup. For each of the Blues, a common point. But for these two matches, the France team is decimated by injuries. Didier Deschamps must thus deprive himself of Hugo Lloris (right thigh), Presnel Kimpembe (hamstrings), Lucas Hernandez (adductors), Théo Hernandez (adductors), Paul Pogba (external meniscus), N’Golo Kanté (hamstrings) , Adrien Rabiot (left calf), Kingsley Coman (right thigh) or even Karim Benzema (right thigh). For them, no last rehearsal before the World Cup match against Australia, and a great opportunity to show off for those present at Clairefontaine..
Hit in the right ankle, Lucas Digne is forfeited and replaced by Adrien Truffert! https://t.co/FetJv5Qq8t
– French team (@equipedefrance) September 20, 2022
With Adrien Truffert, called to replace Lucas Digne on Tuesday, five players are discovering the France A team this week (Alban Lafont, Benoît Badiashile, Youssouf Fofana, Randal Kolo Muani). In addition to these novices, other players will want to shine, in view of the World Cup, under the eyes of Didier Deschamps. In defense, Jonathan Clauss and Ferland Mendy have the opportunity to shine in right and left piston, when the young William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano are eyeing a place in the axis in Qatar.
The debates are even more open in the midfield where among the summoned, only Aurélien Tchouaméni seems to have a secure place in the World Cup. Finally, in attack, the world champions Ousmane Dembélé and Olivier Giroud can be the big winners of this gathering, to the detriment of the “forgotten” like Wissam Ben Yedder and Moussa Diaby.
Restore the French coat of arms
Since the start of the “Pogba affair” this summer, football has taken a back seat in the news of the France team. Between the audit of the French Football Federation (FFF) commissioned by the Ministry of Sports and the controversy over image rights with Kylian Mbappé, the atmosphere is heavy around the Blues. If we add the risk of relegation to Ligue B and the numerous injuries, all the ingredients are there to create a great mess even before the start of the World Cup.
To avoid this, Thursday’s match against Austria will be important as it is the last on French soil in 2022. If the reigning world champions manage to show a positive face, commune with their home crowd and avoid the descent into League B, a positive dynamic could be triggered. Otherwise, the French team risks navigating through troubled waters as far as Qatar.