DESCHAMPS OUT TO MUZZLE MESSI
(and French boss wants to silence critics, too!)
There has been a tranquillity about the French as they contemplate the challenge captured on the front page of yesterday’s L’Equipe by an image of Lionel Messi navigating through a forest of five Bleus above the words in Spanish
¡No pasara! (Thou shalt not pass).
Appearances can be deceptive, though. The team’s progression through the group stage has been less than emphatic and the discussion about manager Didier Deschamps revolves around the question of whether his 80th game as manager today may be his last. The criticism is a result of three patchy performances, Antoine Griezmann’s slow start and a change of formation — from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 between the first and second games, which many saw as evidence that Deschamps ( right) arrived here without a plan.
It was put to the president of the French Football Federation Noel Le Graet on Thursday that england, Belgium and Croatia had all left far more of an impression. ‘We’ve qualified,’ he said. Le Graet insists that Deschamps’ contract to 2020 will be honoured, come what may today. But that seems unlikely. L’Equipe argued that anything less than defeating Argentina would be a failure. You need only to see Deschamps (left) in some of the press conferences here to appreciate the froideur between him and the French media. ‘has he done enough,’ L’Equipe asked. ‘ Did he make the best use of the time he had? Can he go higher in four years. France v Argentina will be an answer to this. There is no longer grey, only light and darkness.’
Perverse though it sounds, the effectively managerless Argentines arrive in this city with less angst following the miracle of St Petersburg that brought them here.
Deschamps, who will be without Benjamin Mendy because of a muscle injury, yesterday mounted a firm defence of the side’s performance. Although he said he had mixed feelings about the group stage, this was a young squad with 14 players who had never competed at a World Cup.
‘I’m not fighting for records,’ he remarked. The pre- match discussion was dominated by the subject of the opposition No 10, though Deschamps had no solutions to offer. ‘Messi is Messi,’ he said. ‘Look at his record — 65 goals in 127 matches.’
he is expected to deploy Blaise Matuidi on the left side of midfield to try to deal with the individual in question and cut off enzo Perez’s supply line to him. What Matuidi lacks in technical ability he makes up for in work rate. his performance against Messi in Paris SaintGermain’s 4-0 win over Barcelona last year has not been forgotten.
It is also the moment for Paul Pogba to step up. Though he has blown hot and cold here, he appears to be in a better frame of mind. The reversion to a four-man midfield against Peru helped Pogba, who saw more of the ball operating as a midfield pair with N’Golo Kante than when in the left of a midfield three against Australia.
France have genuine grounds for encouragement. They have been more defensively solid than other elite nations, while this Argentina side is poor: ageing and heavily dependent on one man.
Griezmann ought to be capable of pulling apart Javier Mascherano — leader of the uprising against manager Jorge Sampaoli and yet past his best.
‘We should leave the pitch without regretting anything,’ captain hugo Lloris declared yesterday. ‘We will need to be outstanding if we want to go ahead. We should go beyond our limits.’