Didier Deschamps said he had to act swiftly in the first half of the World Cup final to avoid France falling even further behind.
Argentina dominated in the first half of the final at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday, r acing into a two-goal lead as France were overwhelmed.
Lionel Messi fired home from the penalty spot after Ousmane Dembele had fouled Angel Di Maria in the box, and then Di Maria was on hand to sweep home the second after a fine move which included Messi, Julian Alvarez and Alexis Mac Allister, with the Brighton man teeing up Di Maria to finish.
France failed to land a glove on their opponents, and Deschamps acted decisively four minutes before half-time when he withdrew both Dembele and Olivier Giroud, bringing on forwards Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani.
Those changes eventually served to stabilise the 2018 world champions, and France would fight their way back into the game with Thuram and Muani both backing up the efforts of Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe scored from the spot in the 80th minute after Thuram had been fouled by Nicolas Otamendi, before thumping in a second barely a minute later to spark delirious scenes.
Chances then came and went in a thrilling final, and after further goals from Messi and Mbappe took the game to penalties, it was Argentina who emerged victorious.
Things could have been much, much worse for France though, and manager Deschamps said he had to act when he did in order to avoid his side going 3-0 down before the break.
"If we had been 3-0 down, we couldn’t have complained," said Deschamps after the match.
"We didn’t do the right things for an hour, but then with a lot of courage, energy and quality, we pushed Argentina to the limit.
"If I made those changes so early, it’s because I was not satisfied and I felt convinced we could do better.
"That doesn’t mean the players who went off were more guilty than the others."
The French squad came into the match with several players having suffered from a virus in the build-up to the game, and Deschamps admitted that had been an issue with their preparation.
“The whole squad has been facing a tricky situation for a while now,” he said.
“Maybe that had a physical or psychological impact. But I had no concerns about the players who started the match: they were 100% fit.
“We only had four days since the last match so there was some tiredness, perhaps. That’s not an excuse, we just didn’t have the same energy as in the previous match and that’s why, for the first hour or so, we weren’t in the match.”
