France team hunts without guns!

France have reached the Euro 2024 semi-finals but have yet to score a goal from open play. What happened to the top contender for the championship?

Mbappe cô đơn trên hàng công tuyển Pháp ở Euro 2024 - Ảnh: REUTERS — *Mbappe is lonely in the French attack at Euro 2024 - Photo: REUTERS*

At Euro 2024, the French team is not considered as strong as in previous tournaments, but their attack is still the dream of many teams with stars like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Marcus Thuram, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Randal Kolo Muani... Yet until after the quarter-finals, France only scored 3 goals and did not score any goals from open play.

Mbappe played below expectations

At Euro 2024, Mbappe continues to be the star leading the French attack. But Mbappe's underperformance has made the French attack "dull". Mbappe entered Euro 2024 with great confidence, but a nose injury in the opening match ruined everything. Wearing a mask made it difficult for him to play. Not only that, Mbappe's fearsomeness made him closely marked by opposing defenders and had very little chance of escaping. In that context, the satellites around Mbappe also did not play well enough to help France find goals. Antoine Griezmann is an example, when he was no longer as brilliant as in previous tournaments. Meanwhile, Marcus Thuram, Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo Muani were too lacking in sharpness. They had good speed and dribbling ability but were not decisive enough in the final situations.

Lack of organizing midfielder

Recently, in a media interview, French captain Mbappe said that France's difficulty in attacking was due to the lack of a midfielder like Paul Pogba. "In the past, we had Paul Pogba in midfield. Just signal and start running, the ball would come to your feet" - Mbappe said. Mbappe's statement has reinforced the experts' views on the current French team. Currently, France has many quality midfielders such as Aurélien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga or N'Golo Kanté, Adrien Rabiot... But they are all "workers" on the field with a tendency to play defensively and are strong in recovering the ball. The French team lacks a player who keeps the rhythm, passes the ball sharply and creates breakthroughs like Pogba. The playing style of coach Didier Deschamps' army therefore becomes quite stiff, lacks speed and is sleepy. That is also an important part of the reason why France cannot achieve the best attacking state.

Hàng công tuyển Pháp chơi tệ ở Euro 2024 - Ảnh: REUTERS — *France's attack played badly at Euro 2024 - Photo: REUTERS*

Emphasize stability

"The French team cannot score and no one can score against them" is what has happened to the French team at Euro 2024 at the present time. Coach Didier Deschamps has always been extremely cautious when placing three defensive midfielders in the starting lineup in past matches. They combined with the central defender duo Dayot Upamecano - William Saliba (sometimes Ibrahima Konate) to become the most solid wall at Euro 2024. France entered the semi-finals of Euro 2024, conceding only 1 goal (on a penalty kick in the match against Poland). The French team has known how to promote human resources in defense and midfield in a very reasonable way. However, the question is whether they can step up to the highest position at Euro 2024 based on defensive ability alone? The French team is like a hunter wanting to take down its prey without a gun in hand!