For the first time since 2016, France did not have either Kylian Mbappe or Antoine Griezmann in its squad. However, it did not affect Les Bleus in its dominant 4-1 victory over Israel in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday.
Mbappe, who is out with an injury, should be back with the French squad during the next international break in November, but Griezmann’s absence will be permanent. The Atletico Madrid forward announced earlier this month that he had retired from international football.
As such, manager Didier Deschamps will have to adapt to life without Griezmann – his long-time trusted man. After beating the Israeli’s, Deschamps spoke about the French side on display, captained by Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni.
𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 👊
Les Bleus clinch a 4-1 win over Israel ✅
🔜 We’ll be facing Belgium in our next match, on Monday at 8.45pm local time
🇮🇱1-4🇫🇷 | #ISRFRA | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/0stBVtvce7
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) October 10, 2024
“It is through matches like this that they will gain experience for the months to come,” Deschamps said as per France 24.
“I’ve got a positive analysis — four goals, it’s been a while since we did that. We were serious and diligent, with a lot of enthusiasm,” the 2018 World Cup winning coach added.
France took an early lead with an impressive strike from outside the box by Eduardo Camavinga, which was followed by a blunder from Israeli goalkeeper Omri Glazer. Israel equalized in the 24th minute with Omri Gandelman’s pinpoint header, but that would be the highlight of their evening.
Christopher Nkunku made it 2-1 just before the half-time whistle, and late goals from Matteo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola in the 86th and 88th minutes sealed a 4-1 victory for France at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest.
Although this was technically a home game for Israel, they were forced to play in Hungary due to ongoing security concerns in their country because of the war in the Middle East.
France’s next game will take place in Brussels, where they face Belgium, while Israel will travel to Udine to play against Italy.
