After the French team’s bad evening in Croatia (2-0 defeat), the Blues are condemned to the feat against the Vatreni at the Stade de France, Sunday March 23 at 8:45 p.m., in the quarter-final second leg of the League of Nations. We will need a start in the game otherwise we will fall into gloom just over a year before the 2026 World Cup.
Didier Deschamps’ men will hardly be able to do worse than in Split in any case: accumulating errors in defense and still deficient in attack, they displayed a very worrying face despite the return of their superstar Kylian Mbappé after six months of absence in blue.
In front of their public in Saint-Denis, they are obliged to react so as not to let doubts set in after a year 2024 which is already hardly flamboyant despite a semi-finalist place at Euro-2024. As the coach enters the home stretch of his long tenure at the head of the Tricolores, which will end after the 2026 World Cup, we must chase away the clouds as quickly as possible and extinguish the debates on a potential wear and tear of power.
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Returning from Croatia on Friday afternoon, the Blues and their boss will have had barely more than two days to remobilize and try to reverse a situation which seems very compromised.
Memories of the famous play-off for accession to the 2014 World Cup and this incredible return match in the Dionysian venue, on November 19, 2013, inevitably come back to mind. The French then managed to overcome their handicap by two goals to win 3-0 against Ukraine and obtain their ticket to the Brazilian tournament. A founding success for the rest of Deschamps’ career.
“Put a little madness” to stand out
Is the 2025 French team capable of such a performance?
“The strength, the desire, they will be there, declared the coach on Saturday at a press conference. Being at home, in front of 80,000 people… We have to make sure to take them with us. We will have to be efficient and impervious defensively. Afterwards, compare to 2013… For the players, that doesn’t necessarily speak to them. We know what’s at stake, what the objective is.”
Aurélien Tchouaméni believes that it will take “a little madness” to win. “We can’t say that it’s a match like any other. We weren’t at our level in the first match. We want to show a completely different side,” added the Real Madrid midfielder.
Salvation will inevitably come from a reawakening of the offensive sector, which has been down for a year. On paper, the association between Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé – transfigured in recent months and suddenly become the top European scorer of 2025 with 22 goals – has no equivalent. But Didier Deschamps did not manage to find the right formula in Croatia to get the most out of his two jewels.
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Kylian Mbappé “involved on the field”
If Luis Enrique managed to make Ousmane Dembélé a lethal weapon in attack at PSG, the player keeps poor statistics in the French team (6 goals in 54 caps). Kylian Mbappé, who has only scored two goals for the national team in 2024 (including a penalty at the Euro), is no better off and will have to live up to his status as leader on Sunday.
“Kylian is very good, in legs. He was not effective on Thursday. But I found him involved on the pitch, available, making a lot of effort. He is concerned as captain, he assumes his role”, defended Didier Deschamps.
The animation in attack and the ability of the French coach to finally build an environment capable of creating play will be the main challenges of the meeting against Luka Modric’s Croatia and will determine the destiny of the French in this competition.
The outcome of this double confrontation will also have a concrete impact on the Blues’ schedule on the road to the next World Cup. If they qualify for the Nations League Final Four, they will begin their qualifying campaign in September in a four-way group with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan.
Elimination against the Croatians would force them to begin the quest for their ticket in a group including the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands in June.
With AFP
