On June 9, 2024, at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux, France and Canada played an international friendly football match. Canada’s forward #20 Jonathan David (R) and France’s defender #04 Dayot Upamecano (L) battled it out for possession of the ball. (Image by FR)

Before departing for Euro 2024, France concluded their domestic campaign with a disciplined and enterprising draw against Canada that was entertaining but uninspired.The visitors played well overall, confident with the ball and not overly aggressive in attack. They gave as good as they got in the first half. However, France had the best chance to take the lead, but Maxime Crepeau made three excellent stops to deny them.
The match remained an enjoyable contest into the second half, Liam Millar powering a curler against the bar and Olivier Giroud, on his final appearance for France on home soil, narrowly missing with a variety of lunges.However, neither team was able to find a way to score, which won’t concern Canada too much—they looked like a respectable, developing team—and won’t bother France too much, especially because Kylian Mbappe only played for the last 20 minutes. Still, they didn’t convince me; Didier Deschamps needs more work.It doesn’t seem like France is a team that is getting better, and maybe they don’t need to. They can win whatever game they have with the players they have. However, there is still the feeling that they fall short of what kind of team they aspire to be or should be.Under Didier Deschamps, France lacks the dynamism that strong passing teams can capitalise on, and their link-up play is not as brilliant as it could be.Of course, players like Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni who did not play or start will improve them, but there seems to be an overall lack of fluency rather than a particular one.It is also true that France’s style of football may not be suited for winning international competitions. However, this is not because they are overly cautious; rather, it is because they do not move and pass as well as they could. If they were to improve, they would be more difficult to beat. It appears unlikely that they will change at this time, and they might not even need to.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – MAXIME CREPEAU (CANADA)

Three great saves in the first half, more good work in the second.

PLAYER RATINGS

France: Maignan 6, Kounde 6, Saliba 7, Upamecano 6, Hernandez 6, Kante 6, Camavinga 6, Dembele 6, Thuram 5, Giroud 5. Subs: Mendy 6, Coman 6, Konate 6, Barcola 6, Mbappe 6, Kolo Muani 6.Canada: Crepeau 8, Johnston 6, Bombito 6, Cornelius 7, Davies 7, Buchanan 6, Kone 6, Eustaquio 7, Millar 6, Larin 6, David 6. Subs: Osorio 6, Miller 6, Laryea 6, Shafeelburg 6, Oluwaseyi 6, Hiebert 6.

KEY MOMENTS

9′-FRANCE ATTACK NOWDembele makes a deft pass into the area, and Kante goes in down its right side! Giroud chooses to go for goal despite Giroud being in the middle and strikes straight at Crepeau.10′-FRANCE IS ON THE WAY!Thuram strays to the left this time, sweeping Griezmann’s cut-back goalward, but Crepeau makes another stop, tipping the ball onto the bar and over!35′-FRANCE WIN A well CORNER Griezmann swings out, Kounde dives into a near-post flick-on, and Upamecano bobs over a clumsy header from well inside the box that neither I nor you could muster. That was an excellent opportunity because he was unmarked there.48′-DOWN THE LEFT THURAMHe crosses, Crepeau steps down, palms the ball into the danger zone, but Cornelius clears since no one is around to punish him. And this is what? After Canada breaks with Millar, he enters Kounde to create a curling angle. The Preston North End player then power curls up against the bar! What work!Demboles crosses to the back post at 54′.Griezmann swipes it over… and Giroud slams home a winning goal right there. However, France continues to attack, with Dembele sending in a low cross into the box that Giroud is unable to get a foot in front of.The smart pass into Davide is 67′.ustaquoo in conjunction with it. However, he chooses to go for goal rather than slide in Larin, and Saliba slips in to block with his body. Since he is a striker and is there to score, he makes the pass there, which is not tough, and provides his partner a far greater chance.- – -The Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing, NBA, and WWE are among the top live sports rights that TNT Sports is now offering. These rights were previously held by BT Sport. Fans may enjoy a membership that combines TNT Sports, Eurosport, and entertainment in one place at discovery+, the home of TNT Sports streaming in the UK. Moreover, TNT Sports is available via BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.