Undoubtedly, the great highlight of France's defeat against Switzerland, in addition to Mbappé, is Didier Deschamps. Since he landed in 2012 at the helm of the French national team, yesterday was one of the most complicated days for the coach. He had managed to get out of extreme situations for the last nine years and had managed to reinforce a group greatly diminished after the shipwrecks with Blanc and Domenech on the bench. However, His approach to Switzerland, placing an unprecedented system of three centrals, has put into question one of the coaches with the best background of national teams of the last decade.
Starting with the approach, L’Equipe he questions the reasons why Deschamps lined up a three-center system, upsetting the 4-4-2 that had worked so well for him in the group stage. “He placed two lanes without depth, especially with Rabiot”, underlines the newspaper, which criticizes that the coach threw the first half and that he gave wings to a Switzerland that felt very comfortable during the 90 minutes, except for 20 in the second half after Lloris' penalty and Benzema's double.
Precisely the call of the madridista, although it seems difficult to believe seeing his performance in the Eurocup, has also been put under the spotlight to throw a pinch to the coach. Thus, on RTL the journalist Philippe Sanfourche said: “Yesterday's defeat reminds us that soccer is not a sport like any other. Didier Deschamps paid during the Eurocup for having summoned Karim Benzema. I am not saying that Karim's return was illegitimate, but that it was too late, which threw France's tactical plans out of balance ”. In his social networks, he added with irony: “Yes, Benzema is an F1 and Deschamps is one of the best drivers. But changing all the settings at the start of a race is not ideal. Tactical trial and error, delicate game time management … This saving comeback will have added a lot of options, but too late. “
Another reason why the French coach has been criticized is Lenglet's ownership. The Barcelona center-back, who had already been marked by his 2021 with the Blaugrana team, was surprisingly a starter against Switzerland. The last game played by the Nancy youth squad was dated May 16 against Celta and the feelings could not have been worse. He was outmatched in a line of three centrals in which he did not know how to stop Embolo and appeared in the photo of Seferovic's first Swiss goal, who easily won the duel against the French central defender. Lenglet was replaced at halftime by Coman, but in France they consider that he should not have been a starter in such a demanding match.
To top it off, to Deschamps he has also been criticized for his management of the changes. With 3-1 on the scoreboard, the coach decided to continue battling in a runner that, despite benefiting France, gave wings to a Switzerland that seemed physically melted. The entry of Sissoko in the final section by Griezmann, with the risk of an extension that ended up taking place and leaving France without its main offensive weapon, was the last wrong decision of Deschamps, who leaves the Eurocup very touched in one of the worst matches that are reminiscent of the French national team.
The defeat in the second round of the European Championship has once again put into question the continuity of Deschamps, who has a contract until 2022 with the French national team. The coach did not want to guarantee his continuity yesterday at a press conference, although he assured that he hopes to be on the bench in September.