Kante and Lucas Hernandez leave France national team
Midfielder N'Golo Kante had to leave the France team because of a knee injury and could not
play the match against Croatia.
Meanwhile, defender Lucas Hernandez also said goodbye to his teammates due to muscle problems
that caused him to miss the match against Austria, and also to return home to welcome
the birth of his second child.
Thus, Les Bleus has only 22 players left on the list and they will not gather at Clairefontaine
but stay at a hotel in Enghien-Les-Bains, close to the Stade de France.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
The defending champion France has no choice but to win against Croatia tonight.
Teachers and coaches Didier Deschamps must win all 3 points to save honor, pride as well
as hold back a little hope in the race to win the top spot of Group 1 League A.
No longer a stone…
friendly Most of the big teams see the UEFA Nations
League as a legalized friendly tournament.
It's a place for teams to forge troops and test for the biggest playground on the planet
to take place later this year: the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
That's why in nearly 10 years of leading France, Deschamps changed 10/11 players for the first
time in the starting lineup for two consecutive matches (in the 1-1 draw with Croatia in the
first leg).
Therefore, Les Bleus is allowed to have an error: lose points.
However, even so, not having won a match at this year's tournament is unacceptable to
those who love the blue shirt team.
And most importantly, France is losing faith in victory.
They are no longer a team, but even playing with the B squad makes their opponents miserable
like in the UEFA Nations League 2021/22, where they became champions in a very convincing
way, though not too expensive.
much effort.
Less than 5 months from now, the 2022 World Cup will officially open.
But Deschamps still has a "strewn construction site" that needs to be cleaned up and sorted
out.
From attack to defense or midfield, Les Bleus has outstanding problems to solve.
Moreover, the desire and motivation to win is also what the 53-year-old military leader
needs to find for his students at this time.
A victory over "delicious bait" Croatia (France has never lost in 9 confrontations with this
Eastern European team) will become a huge morale boost for the next stage of the Gaulois
Rooster.
Although not really convinced, but Benjamin Pavard (right wing) and Theo Hernandez (left
wing) are the most likely options at the moment.
Both have impressed in their ability to assist in attack but need to be more aggressive in
defense against Croatia's attacking players in this encounter.
In midfield, Deschamps has more options, but at the moment France still does not have a
midfielder that organizes play as well as Paul Pogba (injured).
However, the certainty of Boubacar Kamara in interceptions as well as the ability to
support the attack of Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot could also keep Les Bleus'
midfield from falling behind against Croatia.
Perhaps, the lack of efficiency on the attack is the most difficult problem for Deschamps
in this convocation.
The disastrous decline of Antoine Griezmann and the injury of Kylian Mbappe made Les Bleus
only 3 goals / 3 matches.
It's time for the French leader to promote a new attacking trio for the Gaulois Rooster.
And Christopher Nkunku is likely to replace Griezmann to side with Mbappe, Karim Benzema.
The last 15 minutes of the match against Austria showed that this trio coordinated well, effectively
and created a complete freshness for Les Bleus' attack.
With Nkunku and Mbappe on the field, Benzema can coordinate one-touch, have more space
to launch shots towards the opponent's goal.
Meanwhile, Croatia is getting better with each match and is fully capable of creating
a difficult match for the home team.
But coach Zlatko Dalic will also shuffle many positions in the starting lineup at the Stade
de France tonight compared to 11 starting players in the 1-0 win over Denmark.
In theory, Croatia is not as appreciated as the opponent and it is also difficult to create
a surprise in Paris, where they lost 4, drew 1 in the next 5 trips here to confront Les
Bleus.
It seems that winning the match against Croatia is an order for Deschamps' teachers and students
tonight.
Because any other result will drag the Gaulois Rooster into an unnecessary crisis on the
way to prepare for the 2022 World Cup.