France wins in Croatia in the League of Nations

Published on : 14/10/2020 – 22:42Modified : 14/10/2020 – 23:17

After a demonstration (7-1) against a very weak Ukrainian selection and then a sluggish performance (0-0) against Portugal, the France team followed with a 2-1 victory in Croatia on October 14 in Zagreb.

This result allows him to remain tied on points (10) with a Portuguese selection at the top of group A3 of the League of Nations. Portuguese who won 3-0 against Sweden, despite the absence of a Covid-19 positive Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portuguese and French will meet on November 14 in Lisbon before the Blues welcome the Swedes on November 17.

A very uneven performance in Croatia

By then, coach Didier Deschamps may have learned the lessons of these three matches played in the space of eight days. At least the exit of the reigning world champions in Croatia mirrored their recent performances: very uneven.

The French have indeed had a good first half hour, especially Antoine Griezmann. In the 8th minute, the playmaker of the Blues takes advantage of a cross from Ferland Mendy pushed back by Domagoj Vida in the axis to send the ball under the opposing crossbar with a left strike: 0-1.

His attacking friend Kylian Mbappé then narrowly misses the opportunity to double the bet. In the 15th minute, perfectly served back by Anthony Martial, he opened his right foot too far and missed the target at close range.

The Croats are fighting back

Undoubtedly tired of losing to the Blues – since its creation, Croatia has conceded 5 defeats and 2 draws against France – Luka Modric and his partners increase the pace at the half-hour mark. This requires an exceptional parade of the keeper Hugo Lloris in front of Mario Pasalic to deprive the premises of the equalizer (30th).

In the second half, the Vatreniare just as enterprising. They are rewarded when Nikola Vlasic scores with a subtle strike from the outside of the right foot: 1-1, 65th.

However, this is without counting on the Paul Pogba class. In the 79th minute, the midfielder sends a long ball to left side Lucas Digne who instantly delivers it to Mbappé. The young prodigy throws himself on it and gives the advantage to the visitors: 1-2, final score. Once again, the Croats were victims of a nasty trick on the part of the French.