by France scored so many goals at the past World Cup, in so many different ways, that it wasn’t a matter of when the next one would arrive.
It all came down to when, how, and from whom, even if “Kylian Mbappé” was typically the response to the final section of the inquiry.
There were headers in the close range, and with timing so sharp and delightful, it was worth watching again. To set things up, balls were lofted into space. There were darting dashes, cutbacks, and flawless precision.
Aurélien Tchouaméni baffled England with long-range shots; Mbappé lined up rockets from the edge of the box and even bundled one in off his hip joint; and Theo Hernández performed acrobatics that required yogi-level flexibility.
Of course, there were also Mbappé’s heroics in the championship game. Has anyone in soccer history performed better after losing? finishing with a total of 16 goals scored during the tournament, even more than eventual winners Argentina.
The glaringly obvious fact is that France is skilled at scoring goals. Therefore, why isn’t it able to do so as Euro 2024 draws to a close and a crucial semifinal matchup against Spain approaches?
“We need to score more goals,” head coach Didier Deschamps said to reporters following the French team’s victory over Portugal on penalties, Cristiano Ronaldo’s final appearance in a European Championship.
“You can control things better when you score more goals. Otherwise, our opponents have the last say over us.”
No French player has scored from open play up until this point. Moreover, France has scored two own goals out of the three goals in their “for” total, an astonishingly high figure in this tournament.
The one deviation was Mbappé’s penalty in a 1-1 draw with Poland, who had already been eliminated. Not one of the dramatic moves and crisp finishes that were so clearly on show in Qatar, despite eight hours of play in the books.
Even with his injuries, Mbappé is disguised and full of intention on their part. In addition to the seasoned player and 2018 World Cup star Antoine Griezmann, they have a wealth of possession thanks to the agility of Randal Kolo Muani, the inventiveness of Ousmane Dembélé, the strength of Marcus Thuram, the youth of Bradley Barcola, and the running of N’Golo Kanté. Plenty of goals, for sure. Nope.
That any team, much less one with an abundance of attacking skill, could have advanced to the semifinals of the second-biggest tournament in the world with those kinds of numbers is astounding and impressive in one sense.
Only Poland, Czechia, Albania, and Croatia—long-forgotten group stage exitees—have scored as many goals overall as France. Germany finished with 11 points, as opposed to their three. Mbappé, who suffered a fractured nose in the first game, recovered, but he was fatigued during extra time against Portugal, and Griezmann has not looked like the player he used to be. Nevertheless, they remain here.
“Not every task has been executed perfectly,” said Deschamps. “We just keep going, and over time, we have this power to tilt things in the correct direction. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to the fullest.
“Kylian and Antoine aren’t playing the best football they know they can for a variety of reasons. But times have changed since then.
Naturally, both are meant to increase our efficiency, yet currently, we are not efficient. We are persevering nonetheless. They belong to a team, and in addition to their football skills, they still possess team spirit.”
POSTED BY SOCCERFORYOU
