Deschamps Right On The Money

Not many people thought France had what it takes to overturn a two-goal deficit heading into the second leg of Les Bleus’ World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Tuesday night. And I’d bet even fewer would have wagered anything on Mamadou Sakho grabbing two of the goals that would send Didier Deschamps’ side through to the finals in Brazil next year.

Yet all the credit has to go to Deschamps himself. Embattled after a shambolic first leg showing, the former national team captain certainly, on this occasion, demonstrated the courage, decisiveness and perseverance required to stand out at international level.
First, he changed his selection, making no less than 5 changes to the eleven that started in Kiev on Friday. One of those, the suspended Laurent Koscielny, was of course enforced, and you could argue that some of the others left the manager little or no choice than to axe them. Eric Abidal, Samir Nasri, Loic Remy ad Olivier Giroud also made way, allowing Deschamps to name a new centre-back pair in Raphael Varane and Sakho, midfielders Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Valbuena, and striker Karim Benzema.

Second, the new faces also meant Deschamps had to tweak his formation, playing Cabaye a little deeper between the hard-running and slightly more advanced Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi, while Valbuena and Ribery provided support for Benzema upfront. Of course, the two-goal deficit left him with no choice but to adopt a much more positive approach, and Deschamps decisively sent his team out to do just that right from the off.

But his biggest success was surely at the back where Varane and Sakho both put in commanding performances. The Liverpool man was particularly impressive – the two goals aside – and on the back of this performance, it’s hard to see how Deschamps can leave him out of his starting team in the months ahead. If a bit-part role at PSG had hitherto threatened his place in the team, it seems his recent move to England may well have secured it.

Deschamps would have been particularly pleased that the three goals came from two of his “new faces” – Benzema got the other from an offside position, after having a good goal wrongly ruled out for offside – but he is experienced enough to know that there’s still a lot of improvement required if France are to make an impact in Brazil. Benzema, despite his goal, still didn’t quite convince – Giroud looked sharper in his short cameo – and the French still laboured to find that crucial third goal despite playing against 10 men for most of the second half.

Nevertheless, this victory probably gives some indication about the way forward for Deschamps. France is certainly not lacking in quality; it’s more a question of finding the right blend and picking the right tactics for the right occasion – and of course, rooting out the indiscipline and disharmony that brought much ridicule to the French camp in South Africa.

Brazil is still a long way off, but one would expect a good run from any team that can boast a spine of Hugo Lloris in goal; any two of Varane, Sakho and Koscielny at centre back; Pogba, Cabaye and Matuidi in midfield, and an in-form Ribery upfront.

Deschamps will have to keep making those brave decisions to make it work.