You can be the world champion nation and be unable to beat Finland, 55e world nation, without its major players. Deprived of Kylian Mbappé, Benjamin Pavard or Lucas Hernandez – spared or in convalescence – and with Antoine Griezmann, Raphaël Varane or even N’Golo Kanté – who came into play in the second period -, a French team lost to the Finns (2-0), Wednesday 11 November, at the Stade de France.
The Blues experienced their first defeat at home since March 23, 2018 (Colombia, 3-2). The Nordiques ended a twelve-game unbeaten streak for the Habs and also became the first team to win in France in sixteen games.
“The key word is to adapt. I’m not taking any risks for anyone. I’m not going to complain: the game is there for everyone, I see it on a positive side. This leaves the possibility of distributing the playing time ”, had declared, before the match, Didier Deschamps.
Three days away from a perilous trip to Portugal in the League of Nations, the coach will certainly have to count on those absent as the holders of the evening were in difficulty. More worrying, it is the few established players of experience – Paul Pogba, Moussa Sissoko or Olivier Giroud – who have disappointed the most.
The beginnings of Marcus Thuram
“We had two, three occasions with Marcus. If he puts them at the bottom, it’s another game. But we weren’t in it, commented Antoine Griezmann. Afterwards, they were well organized behind and it was nice to have people, we did not know how to find the opportunities and create danger. Now we have to look at what we did wrong and already think about Saturday. “
One of the only satisfactions is to be credited to a beginner. In two minutes, Marcus Thuram could have inaugurated his international career thanks to a strange double, equaling in his first match the number of goals scored in 142 selections – a legendary double in the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup – by his prestigious father, Lilian Thuram.
But the Borussia Mönchengladbach striker – 7e “Son of” to debut in the French jersey – first headed the crossbar on a corner from Lucas Digne (15e) before harvesting a (rare) good tricolor center from Léo Dubois with a flat of the foot too removed (17e). “I’m trying to learn a lot alongside the other internationals, to watch how they are evolving in the France team and to gain as much experience as possible as quickly as possible. And I hope it will continue “, he relativized.
After twenty rather encouraging minutes, marked in particular by the enthusiastic activity of Thuram, this team of substitutes therefore sank in the wake of Paul Pogba, Olivier Giroud, Steven Nzonzi and Moussa Sissoko. The latter, who had missed the last gathering of the Blues, lost in the first period 9 balls out of his 31 touchdowns.
And on one of their too many technical errors, Finland trapped their host. At the 28e minute of play, Rasmus Karjalainen takes advantage of the fragility of Moussa Sissoko and throws in depth for Marcus Forss, who overtakes Clément Lenglet to coldly deceive Steve Mandanda (28e, 1-0), traditional accustomed to the tricolor bench. The Marseille goalkeeper, who celebrated his first selection in 2008 with a certain Lilian Thuram, would lose a second time three minutes later.
The Nordiques’ warning shot was signed by a player in the Cypriot championship, recognizable by his blond curls and now by the quality of his left foot. Left alone by the passive defense of the French, Onni Valakari sent the ball into the left window of Mandanda (31e, 2-0).
Three-game seven-day streak
Shaken, Olivier Giroud’s teammates struggled to create real opportunities. On the contrary, following a further loss of ball from Wissam Ben Yedder, their opponents were short of nothing – Mandanda’s right foot – to worsen the score by Joni Kauko. Annoyed behind his black mask, Didier Deschamps left three players at once in the 57e minute: Giroud for Anthony Martial, Ben Yedder for Griezmann and Pogba for N’Golo Kanté.
Despite an attempted reaction – and the debut of another new international (Ruben Aguilar in the 71e) -, the Blues did not manage to reverse the trend. Solidly regrouped in defense, the Finns resisted until the end. Griezmann’s final attempt in stoppage time grazed the goalkeeper Jesse Joronen’s cage.
With a team also reshaped – in particular its star striker Teemu Pukki on the bench at kick-off -, in view of a decisive trip to Bulgaria for the League of Nations on Sunday, Finland, which had until then always lost in eight matches against France, confirms its development. In a few months, the Finns will play their first Euro finals, among 23 other nations, including France, which is among the favorites.
At Euro 2021, the Blues, who will start the competition especially against Germany and Portugal, will certainly have little to do with the defeated team in this friendly match, the first of a grueling series three meetings in one week. In the midst of a pandemic, despite the closed doors, the football federations have chosen to favor the financial aspect at rest for internationals. In June, freshness will be more than ever one of the keys to success.
