After a penalty and two own goals by their opponents, the French national team finally scored an action goal in the semifinals at the European Championship in Germany. After a pass from Kylian Mbappé, Randal Kolo Muani headed the ball into the Spanish goal in the 9th minute. Didier Deschamps’ team thus entered the match on a good footing, but the Spaniards, who excelled throughout the tournament, turned things around in the blink of an eye: in the 21st minute Lamine Yamal rolled the ball into the net, and four minutes later Dani Olmo scored the decisive goal, Luis de la Fuente’s team reached the final with a 2-1 victory.
Deschamps accepted the responsibility, he did not blame Mbappé and his teammates for the elimination Photo: AFP/Tobias Schwarz
Deservedly so. Deschamps also referred to this following the whistle.
“Spain proved today that they are a great team. We were lucky to get the lead but they made it difficult for us because they were in control. Tonight they showed their skills in every field. And we were a bit slow, especially our passing game, and perhaps more tired – admitted the French national team captain, whose words were joined by the team’s defender, William Saliba.
“We are disappointed because we might have played better.” We scored the first goal, but then we gifted them two. Honestly, they were better than us, we have to accept that. It is not easy to do this, but it is the truth. We tried everything to get into the game, but we mightn’t.
It’s not Mbappé or Griezmann’s fault
Back to the national team captain: at the press conference, Deschamps was asked regarding his out-of-form star strikers, Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann, but he did not want to blame the defeat on them.
“What happened is my responsibility.” Their pair didn’t play as well as usual, but neither of them was at 100 percent. They have been through a long season, it was difficult for them to be in shape. In addition, we faced an excellent Spanish national team, which performed as well as in previous matches. We might have done a few things better once morest a team that controlled the game. We fought until the end, but there were obstacles. It was our sixth game, maybe we had less energy – the coach thought.
Mbappé went to the semi-finals without a mask. As is well known, the Real Madrid striker’s nose was broken in the French team’s first European Championship game once morest the Austrians, and since then he has been wearing a mask in the matches. But Mbappé’s vision was limited by the extra layer, and he sweated while playing, so the mask didn’t suit him either. Deschamps explained followingwards that the player got rid of the hated accessory with the permission of the medical staff of the French national team.
