It arrived in March for the French team to go through the month with much heavier soles, to sow some doubts that stuck to them until the end, and to not know much more about themselves, under the influence of the higher news of the clubs, a little bit of weariness, or the natural coaching of a coach constrained to manage resources. But the American week that has just passed happily swept away this old trend, as the same values and momentum accompanied the victory against Brazil (2-1), on Thursday, in Boston, and the clear success against Colombia (3-1), on Sunday night, in the suburbs of Washington.
The eleven different starters chosen by Didier Deschamps lived up to the place that the coach gave them, on this tour, and to the one he hopes to see them occupy next summer, in the region, while the real business of the late American afternoon will be the formidable offensive force of the Blues, accompanied or provoked by the 4-2-3-1 system to which the coach anchors. What we saw on Sunday is part of the logic and seduction of a system that brings together benefactors of the ball, in Plan B as in Plan A, and which stunned the Colombians, who were down 3-0 after less than an hour of play.
Maxence Lacroix, absolute revelation of the week
After being disappointed, the striker came, facing so many blue attacks that were thought eternal, we must remember caution, and the old belief that you don’t become a world champion with your attack, especially in a country that clinched two stars with a striker with zero goals. But the promises are there. For everyone? That’s a good question, because we must not dismiss the possibility, under the double effect of experience and arithmetic, that some winners from Sunday night could be the losers on May 14th. Since these future winners, or better, if compatible, faced different stakes, their evening in Maryland will not have the same consequences for everyone.
For example, Désiré Doué showed in the statistics what he did not show in the game, but did not strike hard enough, overall, to outshine Hugo Ekitike’s or Bradley Barcola’s star, for example, in the starting lineup, while Maxence Lacroix, absolute revelation of the week, showed the coach that he could count on him, without being sure of convincing him to bring him back across the Atlantic, in two and a half months, considering the competition at his position. The coming weeks will be difficult and uncertain for the players who sit on the margin, a little inside, or a little outside.
It was time for Marcus Thuram
This second French team had the considerable merit of playing with a lot of intensity and technical quality, quickly finding a common language, around Rayan Cherki’s ability to find enlightening passes, to intervene on the three goals, and to survive his own waste. But what changed his life is the arrival of statistics in Marcus Thuram’s international career, for which it was probably time: just before it was too late, the Inter striker was involved in Doué’s fortunate first goal on a deflected shot (30th), he scored the second on a perfect cross from Maghnes Akliouche (41st), and he provided the assist for Doué’s double (56th), after a perfect transition that involved all four attacking players. Thus unfolds the seduction of a system, around which the American week of the Blues revolved, without deviating for a single minute, even after the coaching.
Finally, Colombia had a chance for 3-2, true, in the final moments, but two huge chances for Ekitike (83rd, 90+3), who missed Olise much more than Mbappé, on the second one, could have increased the score as well. It will be time now to evaluate the winners and losers, the traditional sport of spring, worldwide. For the Blues, the data is quite simple: to the list of 25 who made the trip, three injured players must be added (Saliba, Koundé, Koné) who will be at the World Cup, and that is already too much. But over the sequence, the French team is a winner, after playing twice away, which also prepared them for a World Cup where the voice of their supporters will be lost in the crowd.
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