Deschamps’ chance to silence critics
Quarterfinals loss would miss target
Many France fans will have longed for Zidane as they watched their national team’s performances in the group stage, especially in the insipid 0-0 draw with Denmark.
The display against Argentina was what the public had been crying out for, with the explosive Kylian Mbappe eclipsing Lionel Messi as the French tore apart their opponents’ fragile defence.
Diego Godin and teammates will not leave the same kind of space to exploit in the quarterfinals, though, as the coach looks to avoid falling at the same hurdle as four years ago, when they lost to Germany.
Deschamps has Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud and Nabil Fekir in his squad. Yet he has struggled to settle on the perfect system to accommodate his attacking talents and get the best out of Paul Pogba.
Observers outside France are especially baffled how a team with such an embarrassment of riches in attack cannot play like they did against Argentina more often.
And if anyone doubts the credentials of the coach now, then more fool them.
This is the man from the Basque Country who won everything as a player, including captaining France to glory at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. As a coach he took Monaco to the Champions League final in 2004 and ended Marseille’s long wait to win a French title.
Calls for more flair are inevitable when Deschamps has so many brilliant players, and his lack of charisma in front of the media can be frustrating.
“He is a manager, a leader of men. He is a winner,” says Guy Stephan, his loyal assistant for almost a decade now.