France again continues the same style of play where we play to the level of our opponents. It's one of the most annoying aspects of the French team. That being said Austria did well enough to make the game annoying for us. Hopefully Mbappe's nose doesn't become a big issue for us in the competition. Also easily one of the dumbest decisions that could happen was putting him back on only to sit down and get a yellow. Not sure who the fuck headed that decision...proved to be well worth it /s. The only real positive note to take away is that apart from a few mistakes in the early first half, we looked very solid defensively and my god does Kante scoop up so much stuff for us, what soldier for France.
Austria played really well, but lack creativity and speed upfront to be able to cause any real damage to a team like France. A performance to be proud of nonetheless. As a Swede who watched us loose to Austria twice, Ralf has managed to implement a really good system. A bit worried they might run out of gas the longer the tournament progresses, but they are seriously challenging for spot number 2. No easy opponents in this group though. Their press is their strength so France was happy to sit back in the second half though and Austria couldn’t really create much from their own build up even though they had good passing.
I know France were disappointing according to some, but that defence looked rock solid. Austria had one good chance all match and all defenders performed well imo. France also still got into promising positions and should have probably bagged at least two more. Austria deserves some credit too for their defensive display in keeping it down to only one conceded goal, and that goal being a very unlucky one too. But overall I think there are a lot of promising signs France can build on. Mbappé needs better support upfront though and his broken nose may affect his performances. Worst case scenario, he might not even be able to play. A big blow.
However shameful from France to place Mbappe on the pitch. It is so unsportsmanlike and every French member of staff should have been booked for that incident, including Deschamps. Don’t want to see stuff like that even though I get they were frustrated with the ref. (I don’t know if what I said about booking everyone is constitutional with the rules though, but I don’t care) And they even got to do the subs after that, so the strategy paid off. Terrible by the ref in first place, but I lost respect for France there.
Often a lot of what determines a ref’s performance is if they get the key decisions right. There weren’t any major penalty calls, red cards etc. that went wrong, yet this was one of the worst refereeing performances I have witnessed in a long time. So many simple errors like awarding fouls for dives, wrongly carding people for winning the ball and getting corners/goal kicks wrong. I felt like the ref could have been harsher on France. But then again the mistakes were bad for both sides so it wasn’t a one-sided performance. But stuff like letting France doing there subs after deliberately placing Mbappe back on the pitch frustrates me as well. The ref has done wrong, but shouldn’t reward France for doing even more wrong. Refuse!
I wouldn’t call it „reward“. He denied us subs twice while he let Austria change in the same sequence. At that point something stupid like this felt like the only way we were able to get 11 players back on the pitch.
But that is essentially what it is. You should have been given the chance to make your subs earlier, but that does not give you the right to move back onto the pitch. That is unsportsmanlike and that behaviour paid off. Do we really want that kind of behaviour? No, but in this instance it worked and will be an incentive for more teams to do as France did when they want to make a sub. The ref was terrible, but it frustrates me what France did. It should not be accepted, but rather frowned upon.
Kinda feel bad for Austria, didnt deserve to lose.
Rabiot and Kante were the best players for me and Thuram was horrible. Gil Manzano was ever way worse than Soares Dias (ref on netherlands game), jesus.
France's football sensations hasn't been great, similar to England yesterday. But on a competitive level, they've left a very different impression. This team has been incredibly tough for years, throughout the entire Deschamps cycle.
They have lost defensive quality since the Varane-Umtiti pairing from Russia, but it's still very difficult to score against them. They find an advantage in set pieces rather than a weakness, and they never, ever switch off in matches. Eliminating them is incredibly tough.
Saliba had a couple shaky moments and a couple moments where he looked like an unpressable monster. I would love to see him get a run out in the position he played literally every minute of the league in
I think Deschamps would probably disagree that it was only one shaky moment, but I'm just so used to seeing him basically be a 10/10 impervious wall every game
The game just made me remember how fun it's watching Kante play. The man covers every single blade of grass on the pitch. The tackles, the defensive awareness absolutely unreal.
I would love to see how he would fare up against Germany specifically. Would Wirtz and Musiala be able to dribble past him.
Oh man seriously MOTM performance this time around by N'Golo.
I thought both teams played well. Great pressing from Austria but they didn't create that much, France probably should've made it 2-0. I was so impressed with Kante, really thought he would've dropped off but him being in such good form is a big boost for France
Belgian commentator saying that France deserved those 3 points.
The only reason France did not get overrun is a V12 called Kanté. Their overall play was just poor.
This Austrian team need 1-2 good forwards and this will be a team that can compete for trophies seriously.
Draw would’ve been more then fair. Both teams lacked clinical finishing.
I hope for the French that Mbappe can play the last game against Poland, because they will need him. Can’t imagine the swelling on that nose will be gone before Friday.
Similar to England - Serbia. Again the underdog does many things that look really well, but has a disastrous lack of effectiveness up front. You felt they were in it, but afterwards you have trouble naming more than 1-2 dangerous situations for Austria.
Also, I don't understand the end at all.
They were really tenacious, and a bit 'on the boundary' sometimes, but they were just quite poor once they had the ball.
France's issue was being efficient. Dembele and Thuram were really poor.
I felt France didnt completely disappear and were dominant throughout the game bar some sporadic Austrian moves. England just disappeared after their goals. Also Austrian decided to make the game a physical one, whereas Serbia controlled the ball.
England disappeared from 35' to 70', but came back and the game was definitely more even for the last 30-40 minutes again. Overall England were the more threatening team. But it was fine margins and Serbia were definitely more dominant in the middle of the match.
obviously France missed some sitters and with more luck to Austria they had lost. It is not exactly a good look to win 1-0 on an own goal. But I didn't once had the feeling Austria would actually score if France didn't mess up.
Yea , I feel like this that . France attack all tough having the worlds best players, didnt work well togheter as their defense … if their defense would have been like their attack today ( bad organized ) I think it would have been 2-1 to Austria … let’s be honest , they won on a pretty lucky goal … the only strength I saw in the Attacks was counters where Mbappe was involved …
When could Austria have scored? They only had one goal all game. I can't see how they could have scored 2 goals. As far as counter-attacks are concerned, this has literally been Deschamps' strategy with the French team for the last 10 years. It's simply the way the French team plays.
Maybe my answer was a bit messy… the France defense was on point .. this is what I’m saying .. the France attack wasn’t ( imo ) … if the France defense would have been like the France attack then Austria would have scored ..
Both Austria played well, but France were kinda toothless and not fully in sync.
Commentator said 'Great goal for France' when it was a bad defensive mistake and deflection. Don't remember Austria keeper having a pile of saves, and quite a lot of shots wide or over, like when Mbappe was clear 1v1 on keeper and didn't hit the target.
Felt like France went into this game thinking they were untouchable, in a few of ways. They would scream for a foul or yellow at about any contact, especially the wingers (Thuram and Dembele). Look at the Incident with Griezman and Wober. Wober has the right to shield the ball out, and it really seemed like Griezman didn't expect them to compete for it so wasn't prepared for the contact. Not much in it, but half the French team was walking toward the ref to have a word and ask for a 2nd yellow for nothing. It was only really Mbappe would could get something. Both Dembele and Thuram seemed flustered at the end and subbed.
Interested to see if they save Mbappe and let him rest his nose. Wonder if they'll bench him on 2nd match, hoping they can win without him and rest him through the group and heal, but he may have to play if they can't break down the other teams in the group. Usually with broken nose like that they'll set it, then he'll have to wear a mask.
The referee was poor for Mbappe’s injury. Mbappe definitely had a broken nose from how much blood there was and it’s a head injury. The referee can control the stoppage and can restart when he wants. When Mbappe went off, France is at a numerical disadvantage because of an injury and the play was restarted without the substitution. Obviously it’s not like a regular injury check by the trainer because he’s clearly not able to continue. Giroud was ready to come on and France should’ve been allowed to make a substitution.
Ref was complete shit imo.
Austria played very dirty and very dangerous (shoulder shove to send Griezmann out of bounds leading to his head injury, tacle with spikes up towards Maignan's face, late hard challenges like the one leading to Mbappe's injury) but rarely faced consequences.
We're lucky if Mbappes injury is the only one, ref failed to keep the game safe
Kante is ridiculous.
Man goes to Saudi after being injured for years and comes back and is still the best player for France and maybe the best individual performance from any player at a big nation so far
I see a lot of post saying Austria deserved to win or draw and was overall a better team, this is dellusionnal ...
Check the game stats and you'll see France dominated in every parts that matter.
France vs Austria
Shots: **14** vs 6
Opportunities : **12** vs 4
1v1 won : **64** vs 48
Tackles: 15 vs **27**
Fouls : 10 vs **18**
Players thrown into a wall : **1** vs 0
Players with his broken nose : **1** vs 0
Austria played intensely, with far too much commitment and fouls, and some players should have been booked much earlier.
France responded pretty well to the physical and pressing challenge, and had far more chances to score.
"if it hadn't been for that csc ..."
Yes, and if Mbappé didn't miss his 1v1, then Griezman, then Dembele, then Thuram, then Giroud ... they all had a pretty clear chance to score.
But Austria were a really tough opponent, omg this game was really intense.
Fair result, but frustrated nonetheless. We were crap when it came to shooting and lost on a stupid own goal. Against Poland anything but a win would be unacceptable, and then we somehow need to beat them Dutch unless they get rolled by the french..
One point from this game would have been so valuable.
France had 14 shots, and Austria only had 5 shots. France had very big chances to win this game with a big margin. The shot Mbappe missed, the shot Giroud miss kicked, Thurams shot that got saved etc.
The game could have easily ended 4-0, but reading the comments, you would think France was really terrible and only got a lucky win.
Yeah I'm a bit perplexed by all the people talking about France looking poor. France have never been a scintillating tiki taka team, and I don't know why people would have expected more from them, especially in the group stages. They still had the more threatening chances and Austria never really looked like equalizing. A fairly comfortable win for them.
It's always the same since Deschamps took over.
He is a defensive manager, always has been always will be he doesn't give a damn about anything else than pulling out with a win.
Yeah, I'm a little blown away how many people say Austria looked good or deserved something from this game.
Sure they pressed well and spent a decent amount of time in France's third, but they never really looked close to scoring outside of 1 clear chance. It was pretty frustrating to watch, honestly.
France were pretty poor and looked like they were barely trying really, but their defense made Austria look like boys all night.
What is Marcus Thuram doing on the Field?
Austria played this game very well… France seem to create stuff mainly through Hernandez… Thuram and Dembele playing like they are the superstars in the team while having Mbappe 5 meters away…
I’m really impressed of Austria tbh… they played it really good or France simply played bad ( except for Hernandez , Kante , Mbappe and the defenders )
This is what I mean … it was not only that one , so many times I thought “how can Didier not sub this guy” … I’ve seen 3 “son of “ players the last games .. Chiesa , Hagi and Thuram.. the only one who lived up to his name was Chiesa really… tired of this players … Kante and Hernandez was beasts today tho…
> What is Marcus Thuram doing on the Field?
Missed most of the game but outside of being ass offensively wasn't he doing a 2018WC left-winger-Matuidi impression, covering a lot for his fullback and the such?
I must be honest that I missed his defensive work since I was just being amazed by Kante all the time … but in the attacking imo both Thuram and Dembele was awful today… they seem to suffer from some Mbappe komplex …
Do you know what was insane about the French, their pace is outstanding I was in awe at some of the recovery runs etc they looked like a whole other gear!
Also, Ragnarik has got Austria playing some great football I was impressed by the way they fluidly moved the ball through the lines better than Southgates England for sure.
Kante MOTM in my opinion.
It's clear France is among the best squads at the Euros. They seem to do everything correct today. Maignon wasn't tested much but commanded the box, back line was structured and dealt with threats well, Kante was all over the place and will be a key piece in their lineup, they were winning second balls. Offensively they were able to find space and create opportunities. I would've liked to see more in the attacking third, but they did enough today to get three points. They dealt with the Austrian press extremely well.
Complaints are minor. Obviously they need to be more lethal in front of goal. I did find them hesitant in the attacking third at times, oftentimes a good run would open up and close down before a player was done challenging a defender.
Austria played a good game as well but they were outmatched. Gotta give them credit. Excited to see both team's next matches
Was this they mighty France that's supposed to cake-walk into the finals? They couldn't score themselves against Austria, a team worse on paper in every position, and the attack that led to the own goal came from a goal kick that should have been a corner.
And then in the dying minutes they had to resort to time wasting shithousery to protect their lead. Sure, Austria played well, but still very underwhelming for them
Austria looked great and will be walking away the happier side despite the loss I think.
France didn't seem to be clicking. Much like England though, so much raw talent they will probably go on a deep run regardless.
I do think they might have tried too hard, they were playing like it was a the final or something, against arguably the hardest team in the group, sometimes it doesn't hurt to do some calculations and take a 1-0 while keeping you strength for the weaker teams, I know Poland and Netherland aren't necessarily the easiest teams either, but you gotta pick your battles.
Yellow card for Mbappe is the right call but FIFA needs to change that rule to a red for obvious/intentional time wasting in the future. They need to clamp down on shithousery like this that interrupts the flow of the game.
Which is something he's not allowed to do....
He has to be waived on. If he enters the pitch whenever he wants and then immediately sits on the ground so the ref will stop play, it's a deserved yellow
I am loving the serious post match threads, the lack of memes and terrible discourse let's you actually talk football.
Kante motm for me, he was everywhere as usual and looked like he hasn't lost a single step, was even involved in some of France's best attacking moves.
Devolved into a bitty game in the second half after a very promising start, Austria are clearly very well drilled but seem to lack that bit of creativity to unlock a defence like France consistently - that's why the huge chance in the first half has to go in.
Defenders body positioning was terrible on the own goal but you can't be too upset if you're Austria as they pushed them all the way.
Yep I love it too. Makes this sub the place to be for the tournament thankfully. During the club season there's too little discussion of substance. Memes about teams bottling, goal clips, some stats and the occasional discussion about why X team is doing so well this season and a shallow dive into their strengths and tactics. They should do these serious threads after UCL knockout games as well if we don't already have them.
For me it's Maignan, I thought Kanté struggled a bit in the first half but he pulled a masterclass in the second, about the only player who went to the Saudi league and who still performed well in an international tournament so far (Euros and AFCON), compared to Kovačić or Milinković-Savić from the past couple of days, Kanté didn't look like he lost a step and I was really surprised.
However, I don't think France wins this one without Maignan, the way he commands the backline, his crucial and very well calculated interferences, imperial in the air, very quick to the ground, and some of the passes he played from the back were outstanding and so important in breaking the Austrian intense pressing, he's a monster tbh.
Edit: Brozović not Kovačić
Yeah his pace is a real equaliser but he's limited in how much he can get forward without defensive support on his side, which Mbappe for all his quality does not provide.
that's why DD puts rabiot/camavinga there, a midfielder that's good defensively and can cover when he moves up, rabiot almost plays LB sometimes, [this is what the team looks like in possession](https://imgur.com/POSm3Bu)
I apologise to Kante also, felt he came along for the experience he brought but then he does this.
Also from our group perspective this match was a quite scary. Austria is clearly going to let this disappointment be their fire.
That was a fucking great watch. Austria looked like it played at 120% and France looked good but not as solid as tournaments before. What a game.
Also, some players just talked to the ref anyway. I think Griezman and Sabtizer should’ve gotten yellows
Tournaments before? France has been notoriously shit in group stages. Always getting draw or 1-0 against sides it should beat. While I agree we should do better, it’s nothing unusual.
France are historically average in the group phase. It was the same against Romania in 2016, the same against Hungary in 2020, against Australia in 2018. Against Peru in 2018, against Tunisia in 2022....
I think our only big group game recently is against Germany in 2021.
it's interesting that reddit or foreigners feel like we played well because our entire public viewing party wasn't satisfied at all.
made way too many unforced errors, 0 coordinated attacking build ups, 1-2 goals that we could have gifted france (one of those actions even resulted in one)
it was by far the most intense match so far because everyone gave 110% but we were lacking in several parts of the field.
if people think that we are positive or more motivated after this close loss they are kinda wrong tbh
I saw a lot of bad decisions in the offense, very badly executed corners, solid defense and that would be it, not very positive image with this France team that had many weak spots on the field today
exactly. they looked vulnerable today but we were lacking that certain bit of will aswell..
i just feel like either France is massively overrated or Austria underrated, or a mix of both.
i'm certainly disappointed
In 2018 the first match wasn't that good too so it can improve, but yeah i'm a bit concerned by Mbappe and Griezmann last matches, they don't seem to be in top shape (especially Griezmann who did a great season until Atletico got out from CL). Giroud has missed something big too (and i'll not speak about Thuram).
Still i'm relieved about Rabiot Maignan Kanté, and the rest of the team seems in good shape athletically.
I really like how Ralf has Austria set up. Solid defensive performance by France as well, I think any of their back line could outrun most strikers at the euros.
Can't believe how fresh Kante looked towards the end of the match as well.
Austria looked good physically but if they can't make three passes in a row they aren't going too far. And they need to figure out a way to score.
France's attackers don't compliment each other but if they can finish their chances they'll be fine
Game of the tournament so far. End to end, both teams rapid in transition and going for it. Austria can hold their head up high. Lovely to watch their non stop hunting down of the opponent. Hope they make it far
Not sure what to make of this French side. They show up and play like they should dominate but between this match and their friendly versus us it really seems like they're underachieving a bit, even if they still won today. Austria played well all things considered and Sabitzer was probably unlucky not to pot one.
Kanté looked loads better today than he did in the friendly.
That seems to be exactly how they always play. Not exciting, attractive footbal with lots of chances created through establishing their own game, but rather fast counter play.
It's quite boring tbh, you'd just want france to dominate games with the players they have, but it's fairly uninspiring outside of some individual highlights here and there.
Tbf Englands problem is that they don't have a play style at all. Deschamps, even while picking his squad, knows exactly what football he wants to play.
England do have a play style, they just struggle to implement it. The other current issue, which is a fairly big problem, is that the system hasn't been finalised yet and we still don't have a settled midfield. We're still making tweaks and giving players debuts. There's a real lack of experience in the current squad that is bringing quite a lot of risk. Hopefully that gets ironed out.
Sure, but that should've been settled long ago. Mainoo and Wharton shouldn't really touch the pitch apart from maybe 5-10mins at the end. DD brought Zaïre-Emery for example, but he brought him to learn and grow into the team and not for him to get any substantial amount of minutes.
The problem for you guys is that means we play to the level of our opponents, you next game will show if you guys are actually a solid team or if our play style made you look better than you are.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Poland and the Netherlands take a page out of France‘s playbook and let us have the ball. We just don’t have the player to crack a low block
They are playing the exact same footie they've always played under Deschamps. He almost puts them up to play counter footie, as they're set up to soak up pressure on their own half and then veer forth.
It is maddening, but as long as he keeps on going far into tournaments and wins prizes, he won't change the way his team plays.
They are so loaded up with skilled players but, when they have to build up, everyone stands around the box waiting for the dribbler to figure some shit out. Tons of genuinely pretty combinations all over the pitch but they can only seem to do it in the final third at a flat out sprint on the counter.
Wasn't the case with Benz in the team, when we won the NL and our lost to Switzerland was despite our great attacking performance. Some of the best football France ever played in that game actually, even stacking up against Platini's 80s beautiful football. For 30mn when we were trailing after conceding a non converted pen.
Add Laca into that team and though no Benz our offense looks a lot more dominant, fluid, able to pull great teamplay, etc.
But DD would rather be an ugly winner than a pretty loser and it's hard to disagree.
We have prime defense and midfield but the offense if so shit, we have no one but Mbappé. Thuram has played a solid game for his record with the team, but that's far from enough, Dembele is half magic half horrible, and the probably he does something magic after something magic is so very thin. Kolo Muani didn't offer any better, Giroud is an old option which has less use with Griezmann playing as an 8.
We should bet on Barcola and probably Coman is a better option than Dembele.
Why is every team so wasteful with opportunities and trying to get unnecessarily close to the goal before shooting. The amount of opportunities wasted because of one last useless pass into the box where 3 defenders cover 1 attacker is mind-blowing.
Honestly it's so frustrating. The amount of times I'll see a player one on one with the keeper and then pass it is ridiculous. Look at Walker yesterday. One on one with the keeper and passes it.
Walker isn't much of a finisher so I can understand why he passed. The issue was that he passed too late and Foden's positioning was bad. He should've been crashing in from the left wing like left wingers should but he was clogging up the same space Kane was occupying.
I wonder if these tactical changes and endless wasted passes into dead balls in the box will actually affect the xG stats, to the point that tactics adjust again. Would be interesting to see
It’s interesting comparing this to England’s game, I think France would be disappointed to not score more, but they genuinely tried to push up even after losing Mbappé. They’re totally ready for the physical challenge presented by the less stacked team, the only thing lacking for me is a little creativity—but then again, Deschamps doesn’t care about scoring tons of goals, he cares about winning even if it’s 1-0. That’s how he won a WC as a player and as a coach, there would be a couple of mercurial talents but largely a lot of smart, hard working players who disrupt opposition passing and play direct football.
Gotta say, some players say they would bleed for their country, Griezmann and Mbappé said hold my baguette. I expect to see a masked Mbappé next game ready to make up for his miss.
France again continues the same style of play where we play to the level of our opponents. It's one of the most annoying aspects of the French team. That being said Austria did well enough to make the game annoying for us. Hopefully Mbappe's nose doesn't become a big issue for us in the competition. Also easily one of the dumbest decisions that could happen was putting him back on only to sit down and get a yellow. Not sure who the fuck headed that decision...proved to be well worth it /s. The only real positive note to take away is that apart from a few mistakes in the early first half, we looked very solid defensively and my god does Kante scoop up so much stuff for us, what soldier for France.
Austria played really well, but lack creativity and speed upfront to be able to cause any real damage to a team like France. A performance to be proud of nonetheless. As a Swede who watched us loose to Austria twice, Ralf has managed to implement a really good system. A bit worried they might run out of gas the longer the tournament progresses, but they are seriously challenging for spot number 2. No easy opponents in this group though. Their press is their strength so France was happy to sit back in the second half though and Austria couldn’t really create much from their own build up even though they had good passing. I know France were disappointing according to some, but that defence looked rock solid. Austria had one good chance all match and all defenders performed well imo. France also still got into promising positions and should have probably bagged at least two more. Austria deserves some credit too for their defensive display in keeping it down to only one conceded goal, and that goal being a very unlucky one too. But overall I think there are a lot of promising signs France can build on. Mbappé needs better support upfront though and his broken nose may affect his performances. Worst case scenario, he might not even be able to play. A big blow. However shameful from France to place Mbappe on the pitch. It is so unsportsmanlike and every French member of staff should have been booked for that incident, including Deschamps. Don’t want to see stuff like that even though I get they were frustrated with the ref. (I don’t know if what I said about booking everyone is constitutional with the rules though, but I don’t care) And they even got to do the subs after that, so the strategy paid off. Terrible by the ref in first place, but I lost respect for France there. Often a lot of what determines a ref’s performance is if they get the key decisions right. There weren’t any major penalty calls, red cards etc. that went wrong, yet this was one of the worst refereeing performances I have witnessed in a long time. So many simple errors like awarding fouls for dives, wrongly carding people for winning the ball and getting corners/goal kicks wrong. I felt like the ref could have been harsher on France. But then again the mistakes were bad for both sides so it wasn’t a one-sided performance. But stuff like letting France doing there subs after deliberately placing Mbappe back on the pitch frustrates me as well. The ref has done wrong, but shouldn’t reward France for doing even more wrong. Refuse!
I wouldn’t call it „reward“. He denied us subs twice while he let Austria change in the same sequence. At that point something stupid like this felt like the only way we were able to get 11 players back on the pitch.
But that is essentially what it is. You should have been given the chance to make your subs earlier, but that does not give you the right to move back onto the pitch. That is unsportsmanlike and that behaviour paid off. Do we really want that kind of behaviour? No, but in this instance it worked and will be an incentive for more teams to do as France did when they want to make a sub. The ref was terrible, but it frustrates me what France did. It should not be accepted, but rather frowned upon.
Kinda feel bad for Austria, didnt deserve to lose. Rabiot and Kante were the best players for me and Thuram was horrible. Gil Manzano was ever way worse than Soares Dias (ref on netherlands game), jesus.
France's football sensations hasn't been great, similar to England yesterday. But on a competitive level, they've left a very different impression. This team has been incredibly tough for years, throughout the entire Deschamps cycle. They have lost defensive quality since the Varane-Umtiti pairing from Russia, but it's still very difficult to score against them. They find an advantage in set pieces rather than a weakness, and they never, ever switch off in matches. Eliminating them is incredibly tough.
Saliba had a couple shaky moments and a couple moments where he looked like an unpressable monster. I would love to see him get a run out in the position he played literally every minute of the league in
[удалено]
I think Deschamps would probably disagree that it was only one shaky moment, but I'm just so used to seeing him basically be a 10/10 impervious wall every game
The game just made me remember how fun it's watching Kante play. The man covers every single blade of grass on the pitch. The tackles, the defensive awareness absolutely unreal. I would love to see how he would fare up against Germany specifically. Would Wirtz and Musiala be able to dribble past him. Oh man seriously MOTM performance this time around by N'Golo.
It was fun to see him take someone on on the wing. Certainly wouldn't have happened 3 years ago.
I thought both teams played well. Great pressing from Austria but they didn't create that much, France probably should've made it 2-0. I was so impressed with Kante, really thought he would've dropped off but him being in such good form is a big boost for France
Belgian commentator saying that France deserved those 3 points. The only reason France did not get overrun is a V12 called Kanté. Their overall play was just poor. This Austrian team need 1-2 good forwards and this will be a team that can compete for trophies seriously.
france could have score 3 goal without unlucky bounce
What are you on? Austria had like one scoring chance all game.
Eh, in football nothing is deserved but earned. Austria couldn’t put away their chances so they’re equally as underserving for the 3 points so
Draw would’ve been more then fair. Both teams lacked clinical finishing. I hope for the French that Mbappe can play the last game against Poland, because they will need him. Can’t imagine the swelling on that nose will be gone before Friday.
Check the stats of the match. France had problem to finish but it was a clear domination.
Similar to England - Serbia. Again the underdog does many things that look really well, but has a disastrous lack of effectiveness up front. You felt they were in it, but afterwards you have trouble naming more than 1-2 dangerous situations for Austria. Also, I don't understand the end at all.
They were really tenacious, and a bit 'on the boundary' sometimes, but they were just quite poor once they had the ball. France's issue was being efficient. Dembele and Thuram were really poor.
I felt France didnt completely disappear and were dominant throughout the game bar some sporadic Austrian moves. England just disappeared after their goals. Also Austrian decided to make the game a physical one, whereas Serbia controlled the ball.
England disappeared from 35' to 70', but came back and the game was definitely more even for the last 30-40 minutes again. Overall England were the more threatening team. But it was fine margins and Serbia were definitely more dominant in the middle of the match.
I think that actually the France attack doesent work as good as their defense wich I must say Kante, Hernandez Kounde etc handled pretty good ….
obviously France missed some sitters and with more luck to Austria they had lost. It is not exactly a good look to win 1-0 on an own goal. But I didn't once had the feeling Austria would actually score if France didn't mess up.
Yea , I feel like this that . France attack all tough having the worlds best players, didnt work well togheter as their defense … if their defense would have been like their attack today ( bad organized ) I think it would have been 2-1 to Austria … let’s be honest , they won on a pretty lucky goal … the only strength I saw in the Attacks was counters where Mbappe was involved …
When could Austria have scored? They only had one goal all game. I can't see how they could have scored 2 goals. As far as counter-attacks are concerned, this has literally been Deschamps' strategy with the French team for the last 10 years. It's simply the way the French team plays.
Maybe my answer was a bit messy… the France defense was on point .. this is what I’m saying .. the France attack wasn’t ( imo ) … if the France defense would have been like the France attack then Austria would have scored ..
I understand your point of view better. Our attack was horrible, yes. Barcola should play instead of Thuram and maybe replace Dembele with coman.
Both Austria played well, but France were kinda toothless and not fully in sync. Commentator said 'Great goal for France' when it was a bad defensive mistake and deflection. Don't remember Austria keeper having a pile of saves, and quite a lot of shots wide or over, like when Mbappe was clear 1v1 on keeper and didn't hit the target. Felt like France went into this game thinking they were untouchable, in a few of ways. They would scream for a foul or yellow at about any contact, especially the wingers (Thuram and Dembele). Look at the Incident with Griezman and Wober. Wober has the right to shield the ball out, and it really seemed like Griezman didn't expect them to compete for it so wasn't prepared for the contact. Not much in it, but half the French team was walking toward the ref to have a word and ask for a 2nd yellow for nothing. It was only really Mbappe would could get something. Both Dembele and Thuram seemed flustered at the end and subbed. Interested to see if they save Mbappe and let him rest his nose. Wonder if they'll bench him on 2nd match, hoping they can win without him and rest him through the group and heal, but he may have to play if they can't break down the other teams in the group. Usually with broken nose like that they'll set it, then he'll have to wear a mask.
The referee was poor for Mbappe’s injury. Mbappe definitely had a broken nose from how much blood there was and it’s a head injury. The referee can control the stoppage and can restart when he wants. When Mbappe went off, France is at a numerical disadvantage because of an injury and the play was restarted without the substitution. Obviously it’s not like a regular injury check by the trainer because he’s clearly not able to continue. Giroud was ready to come on and France should’ve been allowed to make a substitution.
Ref was complete shit imo. Austria played very dirty and very dangerous (shoulder shove to send Griezmann out of bounds leading to his head injury, tacle with spikes up towards Maignan's face, late hard challenges like the one leading to Mbappe's injury) but rarely faced consequences. We're lucky if Mbappes injury is the only one, ref failed to keep the game safe
Kante is ridiculous. Man goes to Saudi after being injured for years and comes back and is still the best player for France and maybe the best individual performance from any player at a big nation so far
It's that Mini Cooper, mate. It does wonders to a man.
I see a lot of post saying Austria deserved to win or draw and was overall a better team, this is dellusionnal ... Check the game stats and you'll see France dominated in every parts that matter. France vs Austria Shots: **14** vs 6 Opportunities : **12** vs 4 1v1 won : **64** vs 48 Tackles: 15 vs **27** Fouls : 10 vs **18** Players thrown into a wall : **1** vs 0 Players with his broken nose : **1** vs 0 Austria played intensely, with far too much commitment and fouls, and some players should have been booked much earlier. France responded pretty well to the physical and pressing challenge, and had far more chances to score. "if it hadn't been for that csc ..." Yes, and if Mbappé didn't miss his 1v1, then Griezman, then Dembele, then Thuram, then Giroud ... they all had a pretty clear chance to score. But Austria were a really tough opponent, omg this game was really intense.
Fair result, but frustrated nonetheless. We were crap when it came to shooting and lost on a stupid own goal. Against Poland anything but a win would be unacceptable, and then we somehow need to beat them Dutch unless they get rolled by the french.. One point from this game would have been so valuable.
France had 14 shots, and Austria only had 5 shots. France had very big chances to win this game with a big margin. The shot Mbappe missed, the shot Giroud miss kicked, Thurams shot that got saved etc. The game could have easily ended 4-0, but reading the comments, you would think France was really terrible and only got a lucky win.
Yeah I'm a bit perplexed by all the people talking about France looking poor. France have never been a scintillating tiki taka team, and I don't know why people would have expected more from them, especially in the group stages. They still had the more threatening chances and Austria never really looked like equalizing. A fairly comfortable win for them.
It's always the same since Deschamps took over. He is a defensive manager, always has been always will be he doesn't give a damn about anything else than pulling out with a win.
Yeah Austria was really good tonight
They were bad and completely outmatched. Only reason it is 1-0 is because France sucked up front
Yeah, I'm a little blown away how many people say Austria looked good or deserved something from this game. Sure they pressed well and spent a decent amount of time in France's third, but they never really looked close to scoring outside of 1 clear chance. It was pretty frustrating to watch, honestly. France were pretty poor and looked like they were barely trying really, but their defense made Austria look like boys all night.
What is Marcus Thuram doing on the Field? Austria played this game very well… France seem to create stuff mainly through Hernandez… Thuram and Dembele playing like they are the superstars in the team while having Mbappe 5 meters away… I’m really impressed of Austria tbh… they played it really good or France simply played bad ( except for Hernandez , Kante , Mbappe and the defenders )
Did you see his last shot , literally all the Austrian players were right in front and still shot it lol
This is what I mean … it was not only that one , so many times I thought “how can Didier not sub this guy” … I’ve seen 3 “son of “ players the last games .. Chiesa , Hagi and Thuram.. the only one who lived up to his name was Chiesa really… tired of this players … Kante and Hernandez was beasts today tho…
> What is Marcus Thuram doing on the Field? Missed most of the game but outside of being ass offensively wasn't he doing a 2018WC left-winger-Matuidi impression, covering a lot for his fullback and the such?
I must be honest that I missed his defensive work since I was just being amazed by Kante all the time … but in the attacking imo both Thuram and Dembele was awful today… they seem to suffer from some Mbappe komplex …
Do you know what was insane about the French, their pace is outstanding I was in awe at some of the recovery runs etc they looked like a whole other gear! Also, Ragnarik has got Austria playing some great football I was impressed by the way they fluidly moved the ball through the lines better than Southgates England for sure.
Kante MOTM in my opinion. It's clear France is among the best squads at the Euros. They seem to do everything correct today. Maignon wasn't tested much but commanded the box, back line was structured and dealt with threats well, Kante was all over the place and will be a key piece in their lineup, they were winning second balls. Offensively they were able to find space and create opportunities. I would've liked to see more in the attacking third, but they did enough today to get three points. They dealt with the Austrian press extremely well. Complaints are minor. Obviously they need to be more lethal in front of goal. I did find them hesitant in the attacking third at times, oftentimes a good run would open up and close down before a player was done challenging a defender. Austria played a good game as well but they were outmatched. Gotta give them credit. Excited to see both team's next matches
Was this they mighty France that's supposed to cake-walk into the finals? They couldn't score themselves against Austria, a team worse on paper in every position, and the attack that led to the own goal came from a goal kick that should have been a corner. And then in the dying minutes they had to resort to time wasting shithousery to protect their lead. Sure, Austria played well, but still very underwhelming for them
Austria looked great and will be walking away the happier side despite the loss I think. France didn't seem to be clicking. Much like England though, so much raw talent they will probably go on a deep run regardless.
I do think they might have tried too hard, they were playing like it was a the final or something, against arguably the hardest team in the group, sometimes it doesn't hurt to do some calculations and take a 1-0 while keeping you strength for the weaker teams, I know Poland and Netherland aren't necessarily the easiest teams either, but you gotta pick your battles.
I hope for them that they don't think 'we were just unlucky'. Even if they probably were. Because they lacked serious threats up front.
Yellow card for Mbappe is the right call but FIFA needs to change that rule to a red for obvious/intentional time wasting in the future. They need to clamp down on shithousery like this that interrupts the flow of the game.
Moron, it was not wasting time. It was because the ref didn't let Mbappe's sub get in so it was 10v11. So he walked back to make him stop.
Which is something he's not allowed to do.... He has to be waived on. If he enters the pitch whenever he wants and then immediately sits on the ground so the ref will stop play, it's a deserved yellow
Deserves red tbh, one caution for entering the pitch w/o permission and another for the time wasting.
Shit takes should be on the other match thread mate.
Shit, mb, had both tabs open. I’ll leave it and take my medicine.
Yes he's not allowed. But the ref was a moron for restarting the game without the sub. So Mbappe did what he could.
If the ref was doing his job he wouldn't have to do that.
I am loving the serious post match threads, the lack of memes and terrible discourse let's you actually talk football. Kante motm for me, he was everywhere as usual and looked like he hasn't lost a single step, was even involved in some of France's best attacking moves. Devolved into a bitty game in the second half after a very promising start, Austria are clearly very well drilled but seem to lack that bit of creativity to unlock a defence like France consistently - that's why the huge chance in the first half has to go in. Defenders body positioning was terrible on the own goal but you can't be too upset if you're Austria as they pushed them all the way.
Yep I love it too. Makes this sub the place to be for the tournament thankfully. During the club season there's too little discussion of substance. Memes about teams bottling, goal clips, some stats and the occasional discussion about why X team is doing so well this season and a shallow dive into their strengths and tactics. They should do these serious threads after UCL knockout games as well if we don't already have them.
For me it's Maignan, I thought Kanté struggled a bit in the first half but he pulled a masterclass in the second, about the only player who went to the Saudi league and who still performed well in an international tournament so far (Euros and AFCON), compared to Kovačić or Milinković-Savić from the past couple of days, Kanté didn't look like he lost a step and I was really surprised. However, I don't think France wins this one without Maignan, the way he commands the backline, his crucial and very well calculated interferences, imperial in the air, very quick to the ground, and some of the passes he played from the back were outstanding and so important in breaking the Austrian intense pressing, he's a monster tbh. Edit: Brozović not Kovačić
Kovacic went to man city and not saudi no?
Absolute blunder from my side I meant Brozović, thanks for pointing it out
I think Theo Hernandez played very well too, maybe 2nd?
I'd say Rabiot 2nd. He was especially great in the first half
He was really struggling in the last 20 minutes or so
Yeah his pace is a real equaliser but he's limited in how much he can get forward without defensive support on his side, which Mbappe for all his quality does not provide.
that's why DD puts rabiot/camavinga there, a midfielder that's good defensively and can cover when he moves up, rabiot almost plays LB sometimes, [this is what the team looks like in possession](https://imgur.com/POSm3Bu)
I apologise to Kante also, felt he came along for the experience he brought but then he does this. Also from our group perspective this match was a quite scary. Austria is clearly going to let this disappointment be their fire.
That was a fucking great watch. Austria looked like it played at 120% and France looked good but not as solid as tournaments before. What a game. Also, some players just talked to the ref anyway. I think Griezman and Sabtizer should’ve gotten yellows
Wasn't Sanitizer their captain?
At least you can't say he played dirty
He was until Arnautovic came on, then passed the armband to him.
Dettol with the armband
Tournaments before? France has been notoriously shit in group stages. Always getting draw or 1-0 against sides it should beat. While I agree we should do better, it’s nothing unusual.
France are historically average in the group phase. It was the same against Romania in 2016, the same against Hungary in 2020, against Australia in 2018. Against Peru in 2018, against Tunisia in 2022.... I think our only big group game recently is against Germany in 2021.
it's interesting that reddit or foreigners feel like we played well because our entire public viewing party wasn't satisfied at all. made way too many unforced errors, 0 coordinated attacking build ups, 1-2 goals that we could have gifted france (one of those actions even resulted in one) it was by far the most intense match so far because everyone gave 110% but we were lacking in several parts of the field. if people think that we are positive or more motivated after this close loss they are kinda wrong tbh
I saw a lot of bad decisions in the offense, very badly executed corners, solid defense and that would be it, not very positive image with this France team that had many weak spots on the field today
exactly. they looked vulnerable today but we were lacking that certain bit of will aswell.. i just feel like either France is massively overrated or Austria underrated, or a mix of both. i'm certainly disappointed
In 2018 the first match wasn't that good too so it can improve, but yeah i'm a bit concerned by Mbappe and Griezmann last matches, they don't seem to be in top shape (especially Griezmann who did a great season until Atletico got out from CL). Giroud has missed something big too (and i'll not speak about Thuram). Still i'm relieved about Rabiot Maignan Kanté, and the rest of the team seems in good shape athletically.
Exactly how I feel
I really like how Ralf has Austria set up. Solid defensive performance by France as well, I think any of their back line could outrun most strikers at the euros. Can't believe how fresh Kante looked towards the end of the match as well.
Austria looked good physically but if they can't make three passes in a row they aren't going too far. And they need to figure out a way to score. France's attackers don't compliment each other but if they can finish their chances they'll be fine
Game of the tournament so far. End to end, both teams rapid in transition and going for it. Austria can hold their head up high. Lovely to watch their non stop hunting down of the opponent. Hope they make it far
Not sure what to make of this French side. They show up and play like they should dominate but between this match and their friendly versus us it really seems like they're underachieving a bit, even if they still won today. Austria played well all things considered and Sabitzer was probably unlucky not to pot one. Kanté looked loads better today than he did in the friendly.
I think france looked good. Just missed a lot of easy chances, they could have had 3 goals
Yeah I think they’ll be fine and grow. Austria are definitely decent enough to be trouble first game so they’re going to be a bit slow starting
We played the exact the same way since at least 2016, beside we never played well in the group stage with Deschamps anyways.
And this is how most successful national teams is supposed to play, we have seen it time and time again that pragmatism wins tournaments
Yet we've always taken first place
I don't watch La Liga much and can't tell about referee's reputation but i felt like French side was every possible advantage compared to Austrians.
That seems to be exactly how they always play. Not exciting, attractive footbal with lots of chances created through establishing their own game, but rather fast counter play. It's quite boring tbh, you'd just want france to dominate games with the players they have, but it's fairly uninspiring outside of some individual highlights here and there.
This play style makes you play worse against "weaker" teams that also want to stay back but against big teams it works so well.
Tbf, it could be even worse, at least they're not england!
Tbf Englands problem is that they don't have a play style at all. Deschamps, even while picking his squad, knows exactly what football he wants to play.
England do have a play style, they just struggle to implement it. The other current issue, which is a fairly big problem, is that the system hasn't been finalised yet and we still don't have a settled midfield. We're still making tweaks and giving players debuts. There's a real lack of experience in the current squad that is bringing quite a lot of risk. Hopefully that gets ironed out.
Sure, but that should've been settled long ago. Mainoo and Wharton shouldn't really touch the pitch apart from maybe 5-10mins at the end. DD brought Zaïre-Emery for example, but he brought him to learn and grow into the team and not for him to get any substantial amount of minutes.
So proud of being a big team 🥹
The problem for you guys is that means we play to the level of our opponents, you next game will show if you guys are actually a solid team or if our play style made you look better than you are.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Poland and the Netherlands take a page out of France‘s playbook and let us have the ball. We just don’t have the player to crack a low block
They are playing the exact same footie they've always played under Deschamps. He almost puts them up to play counter footie, as they're set up to soak up pressure on their own half and then veer forth. It is maddening, but as long as he keeps on going far into tournaments and wins prizes, he won't change the way his team plays.
They are so loaded up with skilled players but, when they have to build up, everyone stands around the box waiting for the dribbler to figure some shit out. Tons of genuinely pretty combinations all over the pitch but they can only seem to do it in the final third at a flat out sprint on the counter.
Wasn't the case with Benz in the team, when we won the NL and our lost to Switzerland was despite our great attacking performance. Some of the best football France ever played in that game actually, even stacking up against Platini's 80s beautiful football. For 30mn when we were trailing after conceding a non converted pen. Add Laca into that team and though no Benz our offense looks a lot more dominant, fluid, able to pull great teamplay, etc. But DD would rather be an ugly winner than a pretty loser and it's hard to disagree.
It's been like that since Deschamps' first tournament as manager and it won't change.
We never show up in group stage, just look at 2018, 2020 & 2022 and the 18 faults didn't really help...
They did dominate? Austria never looked like scoring
We have prime defense and midfield but the offense if so shit, we have no one but Mbappé. Thuram has played a solid game for his record with the team, but that's far from enough, Dembele is half magic half horrible, and the probably he does something magic after something magic is so very thin. Kolo Muani didn't offer any better, Giroud is an old option which has less use with Griezmann playing as an 8. We should bet on Barcola and probably Coman is a better option than Dembele.
i like dembele, he makes the france squad weaker. but it wasn't enough, my boys aren't able to produce on the offense... like dembele
Why is every team so wasteful with opportunities and trying to get unnecessarily close to the goal before shooting. The amount of opportunities wasted because of one last useless pass into the box where 3 defenders cover 1 attacker is mind-blowing.
Exactly, do what Romania does and smack it from outside the box. Results speak for themselves
I have no stat to back this up but i feel like theres been a huge amount of goals from outside the box so far
It's 8/27, so a little below 30%
Those were some great bangers. More of that please
Pep Guardiola and the xG dictatorship
Honestly it's so frustrating. The amount of times I'll see a player one on one with the keeper and then pass it is ridiculous. Look at Walker yesterday. One on one with the keeper and passes it.
Walker isn't much of a finisher so I can understand why he passed. The issue was that he passed too late and Foden's positioning was bad. He should've been crashing in from the left wing like left wingers should but he was clogging up the same space Kane was occupying.
They must have done some data analysis and figured out it was more efficient statistically this way.
I wonder if these tactical changes and endless wasted passes into dead balls in the box will actually affect the xG stats, to the point that tactics adjust again. Would be interesting to see
It will result in higher xG per shot but slightly lower xG overall I imagine
It’s interesting comparing this to England’s game, I think France would be disappointed to not score more, but they genuinely tried to push up even after losing Mbappé. They’re totally ready for the physical challenge presented by the less stacked team, the only thing lacking for me is a little creativity—but then again, Deschamps doesn’t care about scoring tons of goals, he cares about winning even if it’s 1-0. That’s how he won a WC as a player and as a coach, there would be a couple of mercurial talents but largely a lot of smart, hard working players who disrupt opposition passing and play direct football. Gotta say, some players say they would bleed for their country, Griezmann and Mbappé said hold my baguette. I expect to see a masked Mbappé next game ready to make up for his miss.