France

Didier Deschamps needs a better plan than just relying on Kylian Mbappé | Adam White

02-Dec-2022 10:16:05 | The Guardian

France have the world’s best player but their manager still seems uncertain about major areas of his team

By Adam White for Get French Football News

At kick-off against Tunisia, France were a team of opposites. On the pitch, they had produced an authoritative 4-1 win over Australia in their opening game and then edged past a Denmark team that had reached the semi-finals of the Euros last summer. Away from those assured performances, however, confusion has reigned in the France camp for some time.

Their third group match was effectively a meaningless dead rubber but, by full-time in their chaotic 1-0 defeat to Tunisia, that confusion had started to seep on to the pitch for the first time in Qatar. Even though Didier Deschamps picked an experimental XI, the game showed up the coach’s two main problems: he does not know his best team and France are worryingly reliant on Kylian Mbappé. Deschamps’ side go into their last-16 match against Poland on Saturday afternoon unsettled and uncertain.