Published on : 11/11/2020 – 23:25
The evening of international football matches in Europe was marked by a huge surprise: the defeat conceded by France, world champion, in front of modest Finland, victorious 2-0 at the Stade de France on Wednesday.
Painful booster shot: the France team, diminished by injuries but above all completely out of the game in Saint-Denis, was trapped Wednesday in a friendly against Finland (2-0). Worrying three days before the League of Nations shock in Portugal. On the cold lawn of a Stade de France behind closed doors, there were certainly only two holders of the 2018 World Cup in the tricolor ranks at kickoff. The stake was certainly zero or almost, in the middle of an autumn overloaded with meetings. Kylian Mbappé, Raphaël Varane and Lucas Hernandez certainly did not play, while Antoine Griezmann only came into play for half an hour.
But none of these arguments will be enough to excuse the insipid performance of the Habs, overwhelmed by the murderous revivals of the 55th world nation, whose players, to scrutinize their astonished faces, must always find it difficult to believe it.
And here are the Blues in doubt, three days before the most important trip of their year 2020, to Lisbon at Cristiano Ronaldo. We will have to win or draw with at least one goal scored to take the lead of the League of Nations group alone before receiving Sweden on Tuesday, again in Saint-Denis.
This third defeat since the World Cup (after the 2-0 setbacks in the Netherlands and Turkey) is also for the Blues the first at home for nearly two years and a friendly against Colombia in March 2018 (3-2).
Thuram lacks success
The first selection of Marcus Thuram (23 years old) should have been a celebration for the son of Lilian, 12 years and five months after the 142nd and last cape of his dad (record). It ended in a frustrating mess for the Mönchengladbach striker, the most prominent man of the Blues but also, inevitably, the one who lacked the most realism (bar in the 15th, volley above at the 17th, shot blocked in the 45th + 1, shot captured in the 70th …).
Bad luck: these are the two newcomers of the Finnish selection … who burst the screen. Another Marcus, Forss of his last name, sublimated a loss of ball of Moussa Sissoko (28th). And Onni Valakari crucified Steve Mandanda with a long shot (31st), left alone by Paul Pogba and Steven Nzonzi after a bad pass from Wissam Ben Yedder.
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