General Sports News
Tactical Confusion And The Failure Of Mbappe – What Went Wrong For Super Favorites France?
World champions and Euro 2020 favourites France were dumped out of the tournament by Switzerland on penalties having led 3-1 with only nine minutes remaining.
Sportsfila.com looks at why Didier Deschamps’ side fell at the first knockout hurdle.
France were supposed to go deep in – if not win – this tournament, what went wrong?
Deschamps’ side are so used to being at the top of their game that sometimes their sense of superiority counts against them. In the wake of their surprise exit their attitude was questioned against a Swiss side who were not expected to cause them too many problems.
But there was no press from the front three and that left the midfield exposed. “There wasn’t any togetherness, there wasn’t any spirit. We didn’t play as a team so we didn’t deserve to go to the next round,” was former France World Cup winner Patrick Vieira’s assessment.
Why were France so disjointed?
With no fit left-back Deschamps switched to a back three, a formation France had not played this year, and Adrien Rabiot, more used to pulling the strings in midfield, was asked to do a shift as left wing-back.
The system also meant Paul Pogba was one of only two central midfielders, a position he is not comfortable with as it requires more discipline than he is used to displaying.
Paul Pogba enjoys playing the Euro 2020 with France than Man UTD
It was a fudge and the France boss recognised as much with 10 minutes of the first half remaining by switching to a back four. “A disaster. I didn’t recognise some of the players,” Vieira commented.
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So why did this formation change make so much difference?
It introduced Clement Lenglet as the third centre-back, a defender who had not played since his red card for Barcelona on May 16. Lenglet was at fault for Switzerland’s opening goal, failing to even get off the ground as Haris Seferovic towered above him to head home.
The Barcelona centre-back did not re-emerge for the second half. The wing-backs also did not provide the width they should have so France focused their attacks centrally, allowing Switzerland to exploit the space out wide.
France were nine minutes away from going through
They were, but the instability at the back, weakness in central defence and uncertainty in midfield cost them as Seferovic exploited his advantage to score another header, and Switzerland’s 90th-minute goal came via one pass straight down the centre to the edge of France’s penalty area.
The failure of Kylian Mbappe, should he be blamed?
June 28, 2021, will be a day that Kylian Mbappe will long remember, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.
The young striker missed the decisive penalty against Switzerland on Monday night to send France home.
Not a single penalty was missed in the shootout, with Mbappe taking France’s fifth penalty. As the striker walked up, there was an air of uncertainty on the player’s face, the player who had hardly contributed during the 120 minutes of intense football on show.
Yann Sommer guessed right and the Swiss went into delirium at the expense of Mbappe, who wasn’t even consoled by a single teammate following his miss.
He came into the competition as the potential star of the tournament and left with a whimper as his side crashed out of the round of 16.
Mbappe 0, Benzema 4
Mbappe failed to score a goal that wasn’t offside in the whole competition, even with France despite having a handful of clear-cut chances during the competition. The player beside him, Karim Benzema, finished the tournament with four goals as he rekindled his love for international football.
Mbappe’s message, but not enough!
The French striker did speak following his side’s elimination, regretting his miss.
“It’s very difficult to get over, the sadness is immense after this elimination as we couldn’t reach our target,” he said.
“I am devastated by the penalty, I wanted to help the team but I failed.
“Sleeping will be difficult tonight, but it’s the ups and downs of this sport that I love so much.”
“I know fans have been disappointed, but I want to thank them for their support and for always believing in us.”
“Congratulations to Switzerland.”
France’s problems
Mbappe’s failure to show up as expected has been the main problem for France in the tournament, but not the only one.
The defence haemorrhaged goals. After starting well against Germany, from the second match against Hungary the French’s defensive weakness was already apparent. Portugal scored another two against Les Bleus, whilst Switzerland scored three.
Benzema and also Paul Pogba performed consistently well during the competition. But, as a forward, being unable to score a single goal will weigh heavy on Mbappe.
The positive, though, could be the fact that suffering his first big national disappointment at the age of 22 will only make him a better player going into the future.
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There is NO REASON for Gareth Southgate to be linked with the Manchester United job
Gareth Southgate is the only person in the Universe who can turn Manchester United into Middlesbrough within no time
The English media is trying all their best to push Southgate to united, but he is championship level manager at best
The England national team is waay better than this Manu squad, and he has had 0 success ( reaching semis ain’t success). So what exactly are people expecting if he becomes Manu boss
Absolutely no way! Why would Man U hire Southgate? That would be the worse decision in the history of the game.
ETH outwitted Klopp last weekend in one of the best and most dramatic FA cup clashes in years and I’m sorry but Southgate would not have won that game and ETH has had to deal with Ronaldo, Sancho, Greenwood and so on, he deserves more time
Soccer Football – Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag on the pitch before the match REUTERS/Umit Bektas/ File photo
I have been saying this for weeks now. If United were under any other manager especially Southgate, they would be fighting for relegation right now. The problem at United is not Ten Hag but the players.
People keep saying that Ten Hag’s style of football at United is not attractive and no identity but there is so much that a manager can do if the players themselves are not good enough or not putting enough effort. Ten Hag’s Ajax were playing attractive football and he managed to get them to the SF of the CL.
Without him, look at Ajax now. And the media keep pushing their agenda to get Ten Hag sack and replace him with a much worse manager like Southgate. If Ten Hag is managing England right now, with the players they have, we won’t see such a passive football like we saw yesterday vs Brazil. Ask Liverpool fans, would they replace Klopp with Southgate? I rest my case.
- Ten Hag Says Man United Are on Track
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Liverpool only have themselves to blame for loss to Manchester United. Had to find a way to squeeze in the random Bruno slag off in between. Dude was dead on his feet at full time, and had to slot in to center back for the last 30 minutes.
SportsFila reflect on Manchester United’s 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup Quarterfinals and look ahead to the semifinals where Erik ten Hag’s side will take on Coventry.
How come everybody seems to have forgotten that 2 of LFC’s goals were pure luck?
More shots, same shots on goal, higher goal expectancy. What is this narrative that Liverpool should have put this game away, if anything we should’ve put this game away! They had a good 20, 25 minute stint where they kept the ball in the second half, but did nothing with it, we deservedly won this game.
David de Gea is still without a club since leaving Manchester United this summer (Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
For Liverpool fans: don’t say that we lost to Manchester United because Jota Trent Alisson and jones didn’t play. We have to stop doing that every time a team loses a big game it’s very stupid because had you won, you wouldn’t be saying that. Don’t forget that when y’all drew 0-0 to them at home Trent Alisson and Jones started. Keep in mind how well they’ve been playing despite having lots of injuries they almost beat Manchester City’s full strength squad last week.
Also, you lose to Manchester United, 2 fringe players for them decided the game for them, Liverpool didn’t play well and a loss is a loss you have to accept it otherwise you’re a sole loser and are unwilling to take it.
It’s interesting how nothing much is said about the mistakes made by Liverpool, but all criticism is piled on Bruno; how supposedly poor he was.
Ten Hag claims United is moving in the right direction 👀 WHAT DIRECTION IS THAT?!
Every time he speaks after a dismal performance after the match I always sit there saying to myself “What on Earth are you talking about”.
The media trying so hard to get ETH sacked…..when liverpool had bad injuries with VVD out, y’all didnt have the same energy
Most fans want ETH out because of his poor tactics and substitutions. I also felt he should be braver to drop non-performing players irrespective of names, and even play academy players if he has to.
Now I’m ETH in because I realise from Rooney’s and Ole’s recent interviews that the mentality of these players are incredibly low and it’s no longer just speculation that the players can’t cope on this stage.
I can understand ETH saying positive things and coming off as “crazy” but if you have players who are weak minded and aren’t willing to fight, you can’t be tough cos they’ll cave and where does that leave you for the rest of the season?! Jason Sancho case in point. I rather come across as insane to the media but hope that I’m lifting the team enough to get a string of performances to save my job and give the fans at least something to cheer about until I can have a summer clear out.
Keane is a freaking legend but that approach with these weak players will kill them and ETH would lose the dressing room.
This man keeps dropping off bombs on and off the field..A gift that keeps on giving..Most delulu man on this green earth
What a GIFT! Hand him a 15 years contract and 5 years add ons
The problem for Utd in recruiting an elite manager in the Summer is that Liverpool, Bayern and Barca will also be looking for new managers.
From the moment I heard “A new era begins. .” from ETH. I knew it was the joke of the century. He has the guts to say it while Klopp/Guardiola are competing against each other by 1 point in the Primer league he acted like he can compete with them ro
