LdN: very disappointing Blues held in check by Israel

The French team made its comeback during the last two days of the group stage of the Nations League. And to have the right to offer themselves a final for the head of the group 2 ranking against Italy at San Siro next Sunday, the Blues, who have one point less than the Nazionale, had to win at the Stade de France against Israel, whom they had beaten 4-1 in the first leg. This meeting necessarily took place in a very tense geopolitical context, particularly after the incidents that occurred in Amsterdam between Israeli hooligans and pro-Palestinians before and after the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv. In an ultra-secure Dyonesian enclosure where only around ten thousand spectators were able to enter, Didier Deschamps’ men hoped not to suffer too much in this heavy context to win. Deprived of Kylian Mbappé (preserved) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (injured), DD lined up a rather reshuffled starting lineup, particularly in the midfield (Zaire-Emery, Kanté, Camavinga) and in attack (Olise, Kolo Muani, Barcola).

As in the first leg, the Blues immediately put their opponents under pressure by laying siege to the Israeli half. A pressing which allowed the French to create the first big scoring opportunity on a cross from Kolo Muani, but Olise’s shot was blocked (3rd). What suggests a festival for the rest of the match? Not really. In the first period at least. France dominated, but it systematically broke its teeth against the very compact Israeli defensive block. A wall facing which the French attacking trio sorely lacked imagination. And without a creator behind it, the show quickly got boring. There was a double opportunity from Kolo Muani (20th) and Kanté (21st), but the content of these first 45 minutes was ultimately perfectly summed up by the triple miss from RKM, Olise and Barcola in the 43rd minute. At half-time, France were hanging on and there really wasn’t much positive to come from it apart from the suspension of Eduardo Camavinga for the clash against Italy after he received a yellow card.

Blues without ideas

Worse, if Shlomo had been more skillful on Abu Fani’s free kick, the visitors could have taken the lead. When we return from the locker room, we take the same ones and start again. The Blues had opportunities like this cross from Hernandez (50th), long-range attempts on target from Camavinga (54th, 65th) and Konaté’s header from the corner that followed (54th). But each time, the Blues’ lack of technical precision was fatal. Several French players who were supposed to be dynamiters, such as Olise or Barcola, were quite disappointed. It was Camavinga who was the most prominent element offensively. Opposite, the Israelis suffered on a physical level, but they had the merit of never giving up defensively, like this return from Shlomo on a shot from Olise (63rd).

Twenty minutes from time, DD tried to make the difference by bringing in Coman, Nkunku and Rabiot, whose return to the Blues was greeted by loud whistles from the Stade de France. DD’s move was almost perfect since the first two were involved in Zaire-Emery’s huge chance, fantastically repelled by Peretz (76th). Happy to keep the Blues in check, the Israelis then played with experience to grab minutes at the end of the match under the annoyed gaze of Didier Deschamps. But Israel held on despite a final header from Thuram (90th) and a full-axis strike from Nkunku (90th). 0-0, the Blues remain second in their group and are now three points behind Italy. The reigning world vice-champions, qualified for the quarter-finals, are condemned to win by a wide margin at San Siro to hope to finish first in their group.

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