Didier Deschamps admitted France need to start scoring goals if they are to win Euro 2024 after seeing them edge past Portugal on penalties after drawing another blank.
The pre-tournament favourites were blunt again in a long, wayward affair which finished goalless after 120 minutes, and their manager accepted they cannot continue to rely on their opposition’s inability to punish them.
Portugal missed a number of chances to do exactly that and Deschamps, whose side have reached the semi-finals despite failing to record a goal from one of their own players in open play, urged them to sharpen up before facing a formidable Spain unit in Munich on Tuesday.
“We need to score more goals,” the France manager said. “When you score more goals, you can manage things. [Otherwise] we are at the mercy of our opponent.” Deschamps’ side were noticeably lacking in the final third despite working some good positions throughout the match.
France are also reliant on keeping Kylian Mbappé – who was in the wars again after a second-half blow to his broken nose – available in the competition’s final week. The Real Madrid forward was off-key again and Deschamps withdrew him midway though extra time.
“He was tired,” Deschamps said. “[Kylian] is always very honest with me and the team, when he feels he doesn’t have the capacity to accelerate. We cannot lose a player but with everything that has happened, the trouble with his back [before the tournament] and the trauma with his nose, he is there. He is not in his top form but, with his efforts, he felt very tired.”
Deschamps praised his defence and the goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who made a number of important saves to take the game to penalties, where João Félix’s spot-kick struck the post. The World Cup finalists’ feat in reaching the last four in Germany should not be played down, Deschamps claimed.
“We have reached the semi-finals and that is an achievement, even if people expect us to. For me it is pride in my players, even though not everything has been done perfectly. I would like to seize this moment and make the most of it.”
Roberto Martínez made no statement about Cristiano Ronaldo’s international future after the 39-year-old’s quest for another European title ran aground. “We’ve just finished a game, everything is too raw, we are just suffering, there are no individual decisions at this point,” the manager said.
Portugal were wasteful, if arguably the better side overall, and Martínez felt their efforts were worthy of a victory. “We had the best chances of the game, and I think 11 corners to four, so I would say we deserve to win,” he said. “But we are talking about the best tournament and players in Europe. Our fans deserve to feel joy but I think the players gave everything.”
