Dimitri Payet's Stunning Cameroon Winner Must Not Mask France's Defensive Issues
UEFA European Championship hosts France kicked off their preparations for this summer’s tournament on home soil with a 3-2 win over Cameroon at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Monday.
Didier Deschamps’ men ultimately saw off their African opponents thanks to goals from Blaise Matuidi, Olivier Giroud and a spectacular late winner from Dimitri Payet. However, as the final score suggests, it was a close-run thing, and Les Lions Indomptables twice pegged the French back.
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There was plenty for Les Bleus to be encouraged by over the course of the 90 minutes. Matuidi’s opener was a fine finish, and former Paris Saint-Germain starlet Kingsley Coman (now on loan with Bayern Munich from Juventus) created the opportunity for the current PSG man with some brilliant play on the left.
Giroud’s strike to make it 2-1 was excellent as well. Paul Pogba, who has often failed to replicate his superb Juventus form at international level, bamboozled his man before curling an inch-perfect right-footed cross right onto Giroud’s left foot.
The Arsenal man, who had to deal with being unfairly whistled pre-match, according to Goal’s Loic Tanzi, steered home a clinical volleyed finish.
Payet’s winner was a typically brilliant free-kick, the sort of set piece that English Premier League fans have become accustomed to from the West Ham United man this season and that Ligue 1 enthusiasts had been raving about for years before the 29-year-old signed for the Hammers last summer.
As fantastic as Payet’s effort was, though, it should not be allowed to mask the fact that France were extremely poor defensively. If Deschamps' men play like that in the actual tournament this summer, Les Bleus could be making an earlier exit than planned.
As reported by ESPN FC’s Mark Rodden and announced by the France Football Federation (h/t Rodden), Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and Barcelona’s Jeremy Mathieu were ruled out with thigh and calf injuries, respectively, last week.
The 1998 FIFA World Cup- and Euro 2000-winning captain called up Sevilla’s Adil Rami to replace the former and Olympique Lyonnais’ Samuel Umtiti from the reserves for the latter.
To lose both players—particularly Varane—was a big blow for Deschamps, and the 47-year-old now has a few things to consider after witnessing a wretched defensive display against Cameroon.
Rami and Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny struggled as a central-defensive partnership, looking every bit a pair that have not played together since the final French appearance at Euro 2012.
Although Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho is now technically available after his suspension for an anti-doping violation expired, Rodden reported that Deschamps will not be picking him.
The former Olympique de Marseille tactician will instead persevere with the likes of Rami, Koscielny, Umtiti and Manchester City’s Eliaquim Mangala—unless one gets injured before the tournament gets underway or during the event.
Rami, in particular, struggled. The former Lille OSC defender, who has enjoyed an excellent season with Sevilla, looked off the pace at international level and committed a number of naive mistakes.
The 30-year-old, as well as Payet and Patrice Evra, played a role in Cameroon’s first goal by Vincent Aboubakar. The West Ham man was beaten too easily, the Juventus man was slow to cover and Rami failed to react to the visiting striker’s run.
France’s No. 4 was also partly responsible for Cameroon’s second. Rami misjudged his header, while Koscielny made matters worse by getting outmuscled, and Schalke 04’s Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was left with a simple enough chance to finish against the hosts’ captain Hugo Lloris.
Speaking after the match, as reported by L’Equipe (in French), Rami admitted that he could do much better. The former Valencia CF and AC Milan man recognised that he was timid and committed mistakes.
The man from Bastia also conceded that his preparation was not ideal, having been drafted in as Varane’s replacement. However, Rami looked on the bright side and said it was better to make errors now rather than later during the tournament.
As happy as Deschamps can be with the goals that his team scored, he must work hard to correct the defensive mistakes made before Les Bleus host Romania in the Euro opener at Stade de France on June 10.
It might not even be a question of ironing out issues at the back. The man from Bayonne could decide to completely change things and go with a pairing of Koscielny and Mangala instead.
Because Rami has been out of the international picture for so long, the Manchester City man might actually have the upper hand over his positional rival. Deschamps is likely to use the friendly against Scotland in Metz later this week to assess how Mangala fares alongside Koscielny.
The France boss will expect much better from his players defensively when they tackle the Scots, but up top, he will want to see even more of a clinical edge at Stade Saint-Symphorien.
Although they scored three times, the French wasted some good opportunities—notably those created by Payet—and Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa also made some excellent saves.
With the likes of Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann and Manchester United’s Anthony Martial to return to the starting XI, the chances are that France will look sharper going forward against Scotland.
The question is, will the defence tighten up or will there be further problems for Deschamps to contend with going into the tournament?
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