“Who came into this room before me? The player of the match,” Didier Deschamps said matter-of-factly in an air-conditioned media suite in the BVB Stadion. He was alluding to the 33-year-old Poland reserve goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski, a surprise protagonist who repelled seven of France’s eight shots on target in the yellow arachnid-like arena that belongs to Borussia Dortmund.
About half an hour after France had to settle for a draw and second place in Group D, it was Deschamps’s way of contextualising another strange, soul-searching night in front of goal, labouring the point that it was not for the want of trying. Les Bleus totalled 48 shots in the group stage but their wait to score a goal from open play goes on into the last 16. Their next opponents will be wary of a flood.
Part of Deschamps must pine for those occasions like when France annihilated Gibraltar 14-0 in qualifying and put four goals past the Netherlands and Scotland last year. Worryingly, France also failed to score in their final warmup game, a stalemate with Canada in Bordeaux. Their goals at this tournament have been a Kylian Mbappé penalty and a Max Wöber header. Wöber plays for Austria.
Then again, as Deschamps digested the reality that France may have to beat Belgium, Portugal and Spain or Germany to reach the final after failing to earn a victory that would have guaranteed top spot, there appeared a ripple of satisfaction in his voice as he previewed the potential path to Berlin on 14 July. It was almost as if he was readying himself for a told-you-so moment.
The question is when does an anomaly – France outscored every team at the World Cup in Qatar and only Portugal scored more in Euro 2024 qualifying – become a problem? Deschamps’s demeanour would suggest not yet. “We’ve always had a goal average that is quite impressive,” said the manager. “These three games it hasn’t quite been there, which is why we have had two draws and one win, but I’m positive. We need to score more goals, we need to be more clinical.”
Mbappé was busy and waspish on his comeback against Poland and Bradley Barcola, who scored a hat-trick in a behind-closed-doors match last week, bright on his full debut. Ousmane Dembélé won the penalty Mbappé converted 11 minutes into the second half but again flattered to deceive. It must have alarmed Deschamps that Poland finished the game the stronger. France lacked zip.
He may tinker personnel again to try to find a more potent formula. Antoine Griezmann could return to the starting lineup after being relegated to the bench. “He took it with a smile,” said Deschamps. “I don’t know what gossip you are hearing from the local butcher, baker … there will be unhappy lads because not everyone can play. But I’m not here to make everyone happy.”
Perhaps France are keeping their powder dry? “Maybe there are other teams who have given off something a little bit different,” Deschamps said, presumably referring to the way Germany and Spain have overwhelmed opponents. “The fact we haven’t scored [from open play] limits our performance. But we are where we want to be. I imagine you think it was a no-brainer we made it into the last 16 but we should not take anything for granted. It was a really difficult group.”
It is an obvious thing to say but France are a totally different proposition with Mbappé. Before the Poland game, Robert Lewandowski recalled how wearing a mask for Bayern Munich against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2015 slowed his reactions by milliseconds, but Mbappé appeared sharp, scampering into space and slinking past defenders, neatly dovetailing with Barcola on a couple of occasions. He grew tired of the black mask, the buildup of sweat stinging his eyes, but this was a near-perfect return to action.
For France, though, there have been too many nearly moments since arriving in Germany. Deschamps plans to use the five-day break before their last-16 match in Düsseldorf on Monday as an opportunity to press the reset button, start afresh. He was at pains to describe the knockout stage as a separate competition to the one they have just hobbled through.
The players will be joined by their families at their Paderborn base on Wednesday, rest and recovery the buzz words. “We’re into the round of 16,” the manager said. For now, that is all that really matters.
