Pressure on Deschamps is greater than ever

France manager needs big win to silence critics Captain Lloris admits his team must improve

in Ekaterinburg

To gain an understanding of the scrutiny that Didier Deschamps is under as manager of France during this World Cup, it is perhaps sufficient simply to list some of those players he has left at home.

Karim Benzema, Anthony Martial, Adrien Rabiot, Kingsley Coman and Alexandre Lacazette would feature in most other squads in Russia but were all overlooked in favour of players who struggled badly on Saturday to break down Australia.

Add in a qualifying campaign that ended with only 18 goals in

10 games, as well, perhaps, as the lingering frustration at being so stifled by Portugal in the Euro 2016 final, and you can see why criticism is growing.

It is not that Deschamps has selected bad players in their place, just that France have, theoretically, the deepest array of attacking options in the world and yet the key to unlocking these creative riches has remained maddeningly elusive. As the French football expert Julien Laurens commented after Saturday’s game: “France did win against Australia, but Deschamps lost. The pressure on him is greater than ever.”

Deschamps extended his contract with France until 2020 only last year but, after six years already in charge of such a talented squad, the debate surrounding one of the nation’s great football figures is raging.

The sudden availability this summer of countrymen Zinedine Zidane and Arsene Wenger will hardly comfort him if France do not establish some momentum in Russia and today’s match against Peru is already being viewed as a potentially pivotal test. Victory would probably guarantee their path to at least the last 16 but defeat would throw Group C wide open. Upon arriving yesterday in Ekaterinburg, Russia’s most eastern host city, there was no parthat ticular attempt by either Deschamps or captain Hugo Lloris to sugar-coat their fortuitous win against Australia.

“We have seen other teams break their teeth in the first match,” said Lloris. “We got the three points, even if our way of playing needs to improve. Nothing can replace aggression, this has been lacking for the whole match. We must raise our quality, physically, psychologically and technically.”

The physical admission, which was expanded upon by Deschamps, was especially noticeable. N’golo Kante, who is so renowned for his fitness, apparently told Deschamps he was struggling to breathe and move during the first half in Kazan while Antoine Griezmann hurt an ankle and complained of “heavy legs”. It will be rather cooler in Ekaterinburg, but the opposition

Today France v Peru will also be quicker and technically more advanced.

For French supporters, the overriding concern with Deschamps is their ongoing struggle to see any clear identity or certainty in his selection, even six years into his time as manager.

The qualifying campaign was largely played in a 4-4-2 system. He then switched to 4-3-1-2 for some of the warm-up matches, before moving to 4-3-3 against Australia, where an attacking trio of Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele lacked balance and vital cohesion. There are calls for Olivier Giroud to start today.

Deschamps has tried to characterise this period as one of transition for the national team and it was noticeable yesterday that he should