Five things learned as Giroud surpasses Zidane in France’s 2-1 homecoming win

On a night of celebration, France just about held off the Netherlands to win 2-1.

The World Champions took the lead in the first half, only for the Dutch to roar back with an equaliser. That didn’t stop France, though, and Les Bleus found a way to get the winning goal late in the second half. What did we learn?

1. The Giroud Problem

Olivier Giroud is a likeable guy. A handsome hard-working no. 9 with a fetherlite touch and an impeccable sense of style. He’s so selfless and is always willing to put in the hard yards, doing whatever he has to in order to help his team. Put in this way, Giroud ending his 10 game scoreless run with a stunning left-foot volley wrapping his foot around Virgil van Dijk and giving France their first win in the UEFA Nations League is unquestionably a good thing.

But, the issue is that 10 game scoreless streak, and the general haplessness of Giroud’s game when France are engaging in their primary style of play. Under Deschamps, Les Bleus are a defensive side who sit deep and explode outwards with Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann as chief playmakers looking for Kylian Mbappé. In this system of play, Giroud is lost. He doesn’t have the pace to keep up with Mbappé on the break and his link-play is nowhere near as effective from the deep positions his defensive responsibility takes him to.

The way that France play under Deschamps, by far the smarter thing to do would be to start Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé as forwards ahead of Antoine Griezmann. Lightning-quick dribbler running a devastating two-man break. Then for situations where you are laying siege to the opponent’s goal (as happened tonight once France equalised) then, yes, you turn to Giroud to be that stupendous target man that your entire attack can pivot around.

Deschamps has been absurdly loyal to Giroud, and this goal is only going to strengthen that resolve, meaning that France will continue to be a obdurate side relying on moments of individual genius from Mbappé, Griezmann or Pogba to create openings from nothing.

2. Mbappé has the sauce

France may be a dull, pragmatic side at heart. A side made in the image of their manager Didier Deschamps, and specifically the 1998 World Cup winning side he played in. A side that shackles Paul Pogba to a defensive Karembeau-esque role instead of unleashing him in attack, a side where Antoine Griezmann plays so deep he may as well be listed as a central midfielder. A side that strings four centre-backs across their back four and yet still plays N’Golo Kanté as a defensive midfielder ahead of them. But there’s one man who plays with verve.

One man who nearly always manages to take his man on, no matter the situation.

One man who can be trusted to inject his every action in the game with flair and purpose and excellence.

Well, one young man.

Okay, one teenager.

Kylian Mbappé is a miracle of a player. Obviously he is phenomenally skilled, but his mental strength is off the charts. One only need to look at Marcus Rashford to see how a defensive coach can stifle a bright young attacking talent. Yet Mbappé plays for Deschamps, a legendary pragmatist, and he continually produces mesmeric performances full of joie de vivre.

Make no mistake; Kylian Mbappé has the sauce. Give him the ball and watch him work!

3. Koeman’s vision is clear

Ronald Koeman has one hell of a job on to rebuild the Netherlands into a European power, and today there were clear signs that the Dutch have a lot of work left to do. But also the seeds of Koeman’s vision are already clear; building a solid defensive unit around the majestic Virgil Van Dijk, but also playing a back three to solve the country’s full-back problem.

Unleashing the full-backs lets the Dutch maintain their hallowed midfield three (allowing them to bleed youngsters like Frenkie De Jong) whilst also giving their most talented attacking players like Memphis Depay a central role that releases them from the kind of defensive responsibilities that can derail him. The fluid simplicity of the Dutch equaliser, a give-and-go to release Kenny Tete down the right where he was free to unleash an indefensible cross that Ryan Babel turned home, is exactly the kind of thing Koeman will want to see more of.

4. France need a right-back

It’s been clear for a long time that France have needed a right-back. It’s been a problem position since Lilian Thuram fell away. Djibril Sidibé should have been the guy, but injury has rendered him inconsistent and unreliable. Benjamin Pavard is a centre-back who Deschamps seems to trust out there, and he’s alright. He’s not bad. But he’s not good.

Well, not good enough. Yes yes he scored probably the most important goal for France in their 2018 World Cup win; his bolt from the blue volleyed equaliser against Argentina reset the momentum of a game that had been taken away from Les Bleus thanks to Deschamps’ managerial pragmatism and inaction. But his overall tournament wasn’t the best, Eden Hazard ritually humiliated him in the semi-final, for instance. And his displays in the Nations League have ranged from awful to “yeah, I guess he wasn’t as bad as he was against Germany.”

Tonight his general display wasn’t quite as bad as it was against Germany, but he was massively culpable for the Dutch equaliser, failing to keep tabs on scorer Ryan Babel. Pavard can do a decent job against poor sides, but any team with a degree of quality is going to cause him an enormous amount of trouble. France need a right-back.

5. Mendy and pragmatism

Speaking of full-backs, Lucas Hernández may be a centre-back by definition but he generally performs much better as a full-back than Pavard. Of course he’s nowhere near as good as Benjamin Mendy, but unlike further forward, left-back is the one area where Deschamps’ pragmatic team selection makes total sense.

Here’s the thing: Lucas Hernández is a solid full-back. A great defender who can occasionally shine in attack. Benjamin Mendy is a force of nature in attack, one of if not the best attacking left-backs in the world. His crossing is supernatural; the way he created Olivier Giroud’s game-winner shouldn’t have been possible, but he made it happen anyway.

But Mendy is a poor defender. Well, maybe not poor, but he’s nowhere near as solid as Hernandez. And in Deschamps’ usual tactical approach (i.e. sit back and break on ’em) he’s a horrible fit. It’s not a coincidence that in the two minutes after he came on the Dutch rinsed France down his flank on two separate occasions, one leading to the goal.

Sure, when France pushed up into attack Mendy was once again miraculous. But when playing France’s pragmatic plan A, Mendy is a liability. He should be on the bench with Giroud, ready to be called upon as plan B whilst Lucas Hernández holds things down as the solid and defensively reliable plan A.

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