** World Cup 2026 - USA, Canada, Mexico Thread **
Saw no thread was active yet while it starts tomorrow so I'd gave it a go
No real time for an extensive write-up but lets
first 70 mins or so was sublime. won every duel, never misplaced a pass
all that shite about france potentially being the greatest ever, lol, they looked a rag arse rovers out there today
Deschamps beat France, not France beating themselves.
These were Mbappe's minutes before this match. Should've been 0 vs. Norway and 60 for 3-4 matches where France were up 2 by the 60th minute. Tourney is a gauntlet and Deschamps had the luxury of a very deep bench (which he didn't even use). As a result, Mbappe comes into the match not even 100%, Olise awful, etc.
Spain gifted 0.8 xG by Digne's idiocy. The 2nd goal was a nice passage of play (and 0.5 xG there).
Other than those it was a pretty dire 0.3 v 0.3 xG affair
Moment of silence for Paris.
Destruction imminent?
in hindsight playing four forwards against a team that can keep the ball all day and make them run after it wasnt the best idea
Spain gifted 0.8 xG by Digne's idiocy. The 2nd goal was a nice passage of play (and 0.5 xG there).
Other than those it was a pretty dire 0.3 v 0.3 xG affair
To be fair, France didn't produce anything until two down, score effects and all. Spain also had that first half attack that France just snuffed out before a tap in. They just kept turning up in front of goal here and there all game, while denying France literally anything before it was too late
Spain needs more long-haired players. They used to have Puyol and Ramos (before his change in hairstyle), now there's only Cucurella.
I think I've let his hair fool me into thinking he couldn't reall defend before, legit MOTM for me today
The Spanish national team has a tradition when it comes to defenders and flowing locks. 😉
To be fair, France didn't produce anything until two down, score effects and all. Spain also had that first half attack that France just snuffed out before a tap in. They just kept turning up in front of goal here and there all game, while denying France literally anything before it was too late
I actually thought France came out pretty good. They were completely bypassing Spain's midfield, just the end product was off. But then from the Digne PK + Saliba injury, they were just extremely unsettled and then fatigue prob crept in.
As daca mentioned, where the **** was WZE? Cherki hardly played. Could've used Mateta more, Akliouche, Malo Gusto, etc.
France even had all easy matches except for Paraguay. Deschamps had the luxury of having France be completely fresh for the home stretch, but instead managed like every player's health regenerates to 100 for the next match and he had his life savings on Mbappe to win golden boot
Have to think that a team with a very strong midfield with effective possession could stand a chance, but they still have to get past that defence.
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Thought it was gonna be the other way around. France got nullified rather spectacularly
He's just Luis Enrique's most used player this season maybe he's alright who knows
I never bashed Deschamps for his decisions but playing the very disgusting Koundé over WZE was disappointing af
Also Deschamps got torched for years for playing haramball and as soon as he rolls out a true 424 we get embarassed by the most random assortment of midgets you'll ever see.
Haramball rules international football and we need to respect that.
Yeah the fact that their midfield might be France's weakest line doesn't matter nearly as much if they don't try to dominate there.
@fossilkid93 I don't think France started that well, even if Spain didn't create many chances. Too sloppy in the passing, many chances at a good counter attack fumbled (because Spain was also far from perfect). Stamina never seemed like the main issue, even though it could have been their big strength with their squad depth. Rotating could have helped, but also hurts chemistry, confidence etc in the limited time they have together, and it's not like the two players who basically shared 1 spot, Barcola and Doué, played particularly well today
