Deschamps: We’re still among the best
TURIN: France showed they were still a force to be reckoned with as they claimed an impressive 3-2 comeback win over Belgium in the Nations League after this year’s shock loss to Switzerland in the Euro 2020 last 16, coach Didier Deschamps said on Thursday.
The world champions, who struggled in consecutive draws against Bosnia and Ukraine before beating Finland in World Cup qualifiers, were on the ropes in the semi-final against the world’s topranked team when they trailed 2-0 at half-time.
But a spectacular reaction, culminating with Theo Hernandez’s last-minute goal, earned France a spot in tomorrow’s final against Spain and gave Les Bleus some chest-bumping pride.
“We were knocked out by Switzerland [at Euro 2020] but the France national team is still here,” Deschamps told a news conference after the goals by Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe and Hernandez followed first-half strikes by Yannick Carrasco and Romelu Lukaku.
“We confirmed what we did against Finland, against Belgium who are the best nation in Europe, in the world. We’re still among the best teams.”
Deschamps added that the game was one of the best in his time as France coach, which started in 2012.
“It’s one of the best because of how it unfolded, because of the quality of our opponents,” he explained.
“Despite the adversity we had the pride and the character to turn it around. It is a great, great moment.”
“The players showed pride and character,” he added, heaping praise on the defensive work of the three attacking players — Mbappe, Benzema and Antoine Griezmann.
Mbappe, who had not scored in his six previous internationals, set up Benzema for the opener before levelling with a penalty, after missing the decisive spot-kick against Switzerland in June.
“Kylian didn’t have any doubts. He was determined after lacking efficiency at the Euros. Like I always said, the French team is better with than without Kylian Mbappe,” Deschamps said.
Meanwhile, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez believes the weight of responsibility his players felt in their quest for silverware was to blame for their second-half collapse against France.
A star-studded squad, including Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard, have been dubbed the “golden generation”, but they again fell flat in their pursuit of a trophy three months after a quarter-final exit to Italy at Euro 2020.
“The second half was a question of emotion, feeling the responsibility of getting to the final,” Martinez told a news conference.
“All of a sudden it became a game that we wanted to finish. At that point, we stopped playing.
“If anything, it is the responsibility we feel to our fans and the way this generation wants to bring silverware in such a desperate manner.”
RESULT
At Turin: Belgium 2 (Carrasco 37, Lukaku 40) France 3 (Benzema 62, Mbappe 69-pen, T. Hernandez 90)