France will win Deschamps’ way, boring but effective
By Harvey Cruz
France are into the World Cup semifinals after a 2-0 win against Uruguay. It hasn’t always been pretty, but Didier Deschamps won’t mind that.
The man in the navy blue blazer and baby blue dress shirt couldn’t hide his excitement once Raphael Varane scored. Cameras showed him pumping his fists and shouting in glee, his side having just breached Uruguay’s elite defense. Didier Deschamps has his side into the semifinals. That the performance was lacking in invention or excitement feels irrelevant to France’s longest serving manager.
Through five games this World Cup, Deschamps has seen his side scrape by without much to show for it. In a narrow 2-1 win over Australia, it was hard to see what had made Les Bleus one of the pre-tournament favorites. Conceding a penalty via handball while scoring a penalty and an own goal to win wasn’t much to celebrate. They lacked creativity and bite in attack, yet Deschamps saw the positives in winning in such a way.
“It was not easy, but winning the first match is very important,” Deschamps said. “We did the job. But we can do better, do a lot better.” So, how did they fare in their next game against Peru? Another close 1-0 victory secured with Kylian Mbappe’s winner. The game saw Olivier Giroud inserted into the starting lineup and Blaise Matuidi playing as a defensive winger. Once more, the performance wasn’t particularly convincing, but the refrain from the manager was the same.
“We are in the knockout stages so we are very satisfied,” Deschamps said, per BBC Sport. “It was tougher in the second period. We played a better game in the first half – it was more fluid and flowing. However, we were solid after the break which helped us get this result.” Two games, two victories. For Deschamps, that’s all you can ask for.
Their last group game against Denmark was the final chance to impress before heading into the round of 16. Instead, they gave us the first, and so far only, scoreless draw of the World Cup. Ever the optimist, Deschamps knew his side didn’t need to make this game fun to watch, and blamed the opposition instead.
“It has not ended up a very exciting match because the Danish team were satisfied with a draw as it meant they would qualify. But all the same, while their defense was very good, we had a number of scoring opportunities,” he declared. “We didn’t need to take risks in the match as this result was OK for everyone. We tried to get a win but the last 15 minutes was, shall we say, a neutral kind of match.”
In their last-16 match against Argentina, France finally showed off some of their attacking talent, winning 4-3. Yet, despite the score and Mbappe’s electric performance, they gave up three goals to a team who had spent the tournament in total disarray. Deschamps could hear the chatter from miles away. “There has been criticism, and there always will be. But the truth comes with what happens on the pitch,” Deschamps told French television after that game.
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The style of play has been substance over style, more about a fear of losing than a desire to win. Despite all the attacking talent at his disposal, Deschamps has favored a system closer to Diego Simeone than Pep Guardiola.
With people clamoring for exciting talents such as Ousmane Dembele, Florian Thauvin, and Nabil Fekir to get a look, the 49-year-old opted for Corentin Tolisso as a third central midfielder against Uruguay. Sacrificing attacking power for midfield solidity is the Deschamps way. The reward? A victory. France are now in the last four.
This probably shouldn’t surprise us anymore, a team so rich with skillful creative players settling for such an underwhelming style. Deschamps has been doing it for years. Still, it’s hard to watch the likes of Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba, and not wonder why they aren’t given a little more freedom to do their thing. And yet here France are, two games away from World Cup glory. If they are to win, they will win Deschamps’ way.