- Didier Deschamps said inefficiency in front of goal cost France at the European Championship, with their poor shooting, notably from Kylian Mbappe, contributing to their semifinal exit
- Deschamps took responsibility for France’s performance, acknowledging that Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann did not play to their full capacity, and that the team had to adapt due to a lack of offensive weapons
Inefficiency in front of goal cost France at the European Championship, team head coach Didier Deschamps said after Tuesday’s 1-2 loss to Spain saw them exit at the semifinal stage.
France scored four goals in six matches at the tournament, with Randal Kolo Muani’s early effort in Munich on Tuesday being the first they had scored from open play. They had previously benefitted from two own goals and a penalty kick.
Wayward shooting, notably from out-of-form team captain Kylian Mbappe, did not help their cause after they went 2-1 down and were searching for an equalizer.
“I am the one who has to take responsibility,” said Deschamps, after questions about the poor form of Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, previously another key player for France.
“We didn’t have all the offensive weapons either, and we had to adapt for different reasons. We didn’t have the usual influence.
“The pair didn’t play as well as they usually do, or to 100 per cent of their capacity. But they were coming off long seasons and finding their efficiency difficult for them,” Deschamps told a news conference.
“We came up against a very good Spanish team, who confirmed all the potential they had shown.
“We could have done certain things better against an opponent who had a lot of control of the game… We fought until the end, but we had our limits too, for different reasons.
“We had complicated situations. We were playing a sixth game, so maybe we had less energy, too.”
Deschamps explained that Mbappe’s decision to play without a mask had been cleared by the French medical team. This was after the attacker ditched the protection he had used since returning to the side after breaking his nose in France’s opening game of the tournament against Austria. Mbappe had previously said it had irritated him, hampered his vision, and became difficult to wear with all the sweat during the game.