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“Go on, feel free to find the issues,” Didier Deschamps challenged journalists after his team sliced Sweden apart to qualify for the last 16. “Not everything should be rose-tinted, we shouldn’t get carried away,” he said. A day on from the match, though, there have been few convincing responses to the France manager’s plea for criticism. If anything, fans have been unanimous in their praise.
The flaws in this France team are difficult to spot. Aside from a few defensive lapses, none of which the Sweden attack could exploit, France turned in a performance that consolidated their status as tournament favourites. Even if there had been issues at the back, the overriding sentiment is that France’s free-flowing attacking quartet more than make up for any of their teammates’ shortcomings.
Didier Deschamps’ hallmark risk-averse approach remains intact in his defensive and midfield setups. Only the front four have ostensibly been granted the freedom to roam around their third of the pitch, turning any stretch of free space into an opportunity to score.
At this stage, few are surprised by the ease with which Kylian Mbappé operates on the world stage. It was the captain who broke the deadlock before half-time in New York with a far-post finish – having already been denied by the post and an offside call. His goal in the second half means he has now scored 18 times in 18 games at World Cups.
The plaudits in the French press this morning, though, were first and foremost for Michael Olise. For Le Figaro, the 24-year-old has been “an artist who has captured hearts”, while Le Parisien labelled him the “official distributor of happiness” for his two-assist display. L’Équipe, meanwhile, dubbed him the “universal donor” to highlight his selfless performance.
Despite his aversion to media appearances, and his (rapidly improving) non-native French, the London-born midfielder’s popularity has skyrocketed among fans during the tournament. In a poll taken midway through the group stage, a quarter of respondents selected Olise as the team’s best player. Having only joined the France setup in 2024 as part of Thierry Henry’s squad for the Olympics in Paris, Olise has imposed himself as the leading creator of the late Deschamps era.
The former Crystal Palace forward picked up two more assists against Sweden, both from improbable defence-splitting through balls. He now has five assists in four games; the all-time record, which belongs to Lionel Messi, is nine. Olise is the only member of France’s attacking quartet who is yet to find the net himself so far, but it hasn’t been for want of trying. “He was unlucky, but these are the kinds of moves that fans come to the stadium for,” Mbappé said of his teammate’s bicycle-kick, which came back off the base of the post in the first half.
“When Michael is on the ball, a lot of things can happen,” Deschamps enthused in his post-match press conference. “He’s the one who feeds the attackers and acts as the link with the midfield, where he also drops back to help out.” The head coach is right in pointing out the defensive efforts of Olise, whose seemingly nonchalant movement around the pitch belies an impressive workrate. As is the case for the rest of the France attackers, including Mbappé, Olise’s creative brilliance has not dispensed him from defensive duties.
Deschamps believes Olise can aim to reach his captain’s level. “He’s in that category, in terms of what he’s been doing at his club and what he’s doing with us. Ousmane [Dembélé] is also up there,” he added. “There are a lot of players in that category, and they’re French! His personality is a bit introverted, but the important thing is that he doesn’t stay introverted when he’s on the pitch. The attacking trio has a very good relationship, and not just on a personal level. They speak the same football.”
Deschamps refers to a trio rather than a quartet, given that PSG teammates Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola are still battling out for a starting spot on the left wing. With two goals and an assist so far, it’s the latter who appears to be winning the race to start the rest of the knockout fixtures.
In any case, the seemingly telepathic understanding between the forwards is all the more impressive given that they play for three different clubs. In “speaking” the same footballing language, each member of the frontline has been able to express themselves to their full potential. As a result, they will have needed minimal supervision on the manager’s part, save for a few positional switches, on their way to 13 goals in four games.
France’s last-16 tie will bring to mind fond memories for Deschamps, who captained France to victory against Paraguay at the same stage of the competition in 1998. The former midfielder has understandably urged caution, pointing to the “aggression” that helped their next opponents knock out Germany.
On that afternoon in Lens 28 years ago, José Luis Chilavert was only beaten by a golden goal from Laurent Blanc in extra time. It’s hard to see the current France team taking that long to find the back of the net in Philadelphia on Saturday.
This is an article by Get French Football News
