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France are one of the favorites for the Euros and next year’s World Cup in Qatar due to the wealth of talent they have. However, Les Bleus haven’t been convincing in recent times.
Despite grinding out results in the World Cup qualifiers, their performances haven’t been the best. France drew 1-1 with Ukraine in their opening qualifier before defeating Kazakhstan 2-0 in their next game.
On Wednesday, Didier Deschamps’ side made it two wins from three games when they recorded a narrow 1-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Grbavica Stadium.
It was a cagey encounter that was ultimately decided by a moment of pure individual genius. France may have had the better players, but Bosnia gave them a run for their money, limiting Les Bleus to just two shots on target.
Griezmann nets winner against Bosnia
France’s blushes were spared when Antoine Griezmann scored in the 60th minute after being set up by Adrian Rabiot. The Barcelona star’s strike proved to be the winner.
However, Bosnia gave a good account of themselves. They played with no fear and didn’t show France any respect on the pitch. But for two impressive saves by Hugo Lloris, the minnows could have snatched a famous victory.
In the end, though, France’s quality came to bear. Les Bleus boasts many great players in their squad and all Deschamps needed to do when the going got tough was to turn to his bench.
The last 15 minutes was calmer as France aimed to hold onto the ball more, but this was not a convincing performance and on another day, Les Bleus could have gotten punished for their sloppiness.
Mbappe’s struggles with France continue
Another issue that will trouble Deschamps is Mbappe’s porous form. The PSG star was a key part of the French side that won the World Cup in Russia but he’s currently struggling.
In the three games that he played for France during this international break, Mbappe made very little impact.
He was substituted after a poor performance against Ukraine and was also left on the bench against Kazakhstan, eventually missing a penalty when he came on.
Although Mbappe played full throttle in the win against Bosnia, his performance still wasn’t up to scratch.
"He cannot be satisfied with what he has done so far. He was not very comfortable in the first game. He was much better against Kazakhstan and had chances. Of course, he wants to score more goals and create them,” Deschamps said ahead of the Bosnia game, as quoted by Goal.
"I know Kylian well. He can, over a match or a period of time, have a spell of efficiency that isn't as good as his usual levels."
Mbappe’s poor form for France should give Deschamps sleepless nights, especially with the Euros just around the corner. However, there’s still time for the 22-year-old to rediscover his best form before the tournament.
