French team: “We are not focused on inefficiency”, assures Didier Deschamps for the return of the Blues

Didier Deschamps veut archiver l'inefficacité offensive de l'Euro. MAXPPP

Après un Euro où elle s’est inclinée en demi-finale, l’équipe de France se retrouve avec la volonté de faire mieux offensivement, dès vendredi contre l’Italie.

For Didier Deschamps and the Blues it was also back to school on Monday, where a group very similar to the one that finished as semi-finalists of Euro-2024 must work to resolve in particular its problem of offensive inefficiency. Objective: to find the way to the goal by taking up that of the school, against Italy at the Parc des Princes on Friday, before Belgium in Lyon, for the resumption of the League of Nations.

Questions during the press conference of return to the Clairefontaine training center inevitably brought up the poor form of the two class delegates during the European Championship, Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann. Deschamps escaped an introductory essay on his captain's silence: Mbappé had the brilliant idea of ​​scoring a double the day before with Real Madrid against Betis Seville (2-0), after three matches without a goal. “I'm obviously happy for him, even though he scored in the first match (of the season) in the Super Cup” d'Europe", smiled "DD".

Mbappé only scored one goal at the Euro, from a penalty spot, and he also broke his nose. "It's very good for him, he'll join us with a smile. If it hadn't been for that, he would have perhaps arrived in slightly different psychological conditions,” explained the technician.

Having arrived at Real this summer, the French striker is faced with “very high demands”, but“Kylian is used to this in his daily life, and he himself sets very high standards”, added Deschamps. His coach in Madrid “Carlo Ancelotti said he wasn't worried, I'm not worried either, Kylian has always scored goals, he will score”, insisted the coach. He also had to come back to the failed Euro of his all-round player.

“The answer will come from the field”

Antoine Griezmann experienced at the Euro “physical and also psychological fatigue”, but Deschamps does not think that the Madrilenian has “completely missed the mark, because he is always someone generous, he did the maximum compared to what he had”. But for Grizi and Mbappé, "the answer will come from the pitch", Deschamps concluded. Their failed Euro, “it's already behind”.

He also wants to archive the offensive poverty of the Blues in Germany, which, with a game criticized for its lukewarmness, leaves a mixed taste, despite a place in the last four of the competition. The inefficiency of the Euro, “we can't change anything about it”, underlines Deschamps. “It's always useful, of course, it's part of the experience, but we're not focused on that, there will be another truth on Friday, another on Monday, with the guiding idea always in mind: to cause the most problems for the opponent”.

Lucas Digne returns

For this he recalled almost the same group, only three players out of 23 were not at the Euro, the new Michael Olise and Loïc Badé, but also Lucas Digne, a returnee. The left-back of Aston Villa, aged 31 (46 caps, 0 goals), has not worn the Blue jersey since France-Croatia (0-1) in the Nations League on June 13, 2022.

Deschamps announces wanting "stir, oxygenate" the group on the September, October and November gatherings, he “considers that it is the moment to see a maximum of players”. But he warned that few of them show up “100%”. With the Euro until July 9 and the semi-final lost against Spain (2-1), the late resumption of the championships, these international matches very early and the first on Friday, the Blues have only benefited from “a very short preparation”, regrets the coach.

With recovery on Monday and Tuesday, Deschamps only has one full training session on Wednesday, plus the one the day before the match at the Parc, to prepare for Italy. “We can't put too much workload at the start of the season, where obviously the bodies are not at their best”, explains Deschamps. “I'm adapting, I've always adapted, the Italian and Belgian counterparts have more or less the same problems”. Like every season.