Giroud played yesterday, so maybe he actually will play this tournament as well. In that case, Deschamps' love of target man will probably be the downfall of this team. By playing Giroud, he basically has to play two better strikers (Mbappe and Griezmann) out wide, and in doing show push Thauvin, Lemar, Fekir and Dembele (all better than Giroud) further behind in the pecking order.

Giroud has generally rewarded France for picking him.

It's not their quality that is the problem, Giroud or no. It's their bottle.

He generally rewarded us for picking him as well, but we replaced him with someone better.

Looks like France going with fluid attack of Mbappe, Griezmann and Dembele. Very exciting on paper.

Come on Aussies!!!

Is there anyone worth keeping an eye on in the Aussie team?

Allez les bleus!

"Allons enfants de la Patrie................. 

on paper, this shouldnt even be close...

Mirth wrote:

Is there anyone worth keeping an eye on in the Aussie team?

Rogic and Nabbout will interest some mid table PL clubs.

Other than that, Tim Cahill at 39 is still one of their best players.

Knew France would go with Dembele, Greizmann and Mbappé. Very exciting trio, hopefully they can make it work.

This France team looks super-exciting on paper.

Only player missing from that french team is Rabiot, potential in every position.

Jedinak wasn't messing around in winning that first header against Pogba!

Anyone else think the French midfield is a little too defensive minded?

No.

Their front three is as attacking as it gets and Pogba has plenty of offensive ability in midfield.

Think it's nicely balanced.

Depends how they're trying to play. It lacks someone to control the game, but if they can just get the ball forward quickly to the three up front then that might be enough.

Ricky1985 wrote:

Depends how they're trying to play. It lacks someone to control the game, but if they can just get the ball forward quickly to the three up front then that might be enough.

Yeah, I think that's what I meant. They're missing someone who can control the tempo - still they don't really need someone like that against Australia

I agree. Against Spain, for example, they could be in big trouble. They'd get run rings around.

Making Mbappé the focal point of this team is a move I didn't think Deschamps was a clever enough coach to make.

I think they're only a player of real character and experience in midfield away from being right up there for this tournament.

This game needs Australia to score first.
Very scrappy so far.

Why Deschamps has gone with Kanté sitting at the base of the midfield is beyond me. He has one trick and that's running and intercepting, how is he going to do that when he has to sit?

Without a player that is going to pull the strings--Pogba and Tolisso have been a waste of time so far--surley they need an unleashed Kanté to win the ball so they can attack quickly.

Rogic has good feet. Keeps it well under pressure.

The Aussies seem to have this under control. As exciting as the front 3 is the midfield can’t move the ball quick enough. No pressing either so a really slow tempo. Completely nullifying the front 3.

Dembele really needs to develop his first touch if he wants to become as good as people think he is.

Pogba is utter crap. 120m? More like a normal 22m midfielder to me

goon wrote:

Dembele really needs to develop his first touch if he wants to become as good as people think he is.

It's one of his biggest weaknesses, in my opinion. Just not reliable.

Get up Hernandez you cheat!

This game desperately needs Giroud and Fekir. Take Pogba, Dembele off

Somnorific first half

Ricky1985 wrote:

goon wrote:

Dembele really needs to develop his first touch if he wants to become as good as people think he is.

It's one of his biggest weaknesses, in my opinion. Just not reliable.

His close control is lacking too. It’s fine if you’re playing on the counter and have lots of space but when you have tight spaces to work in it doesn’t work. It’s why I personally prefer Martial.

Sainsbury is a quality defender. Hard to understand why he hasn't been able to get a move to a good league/team.

[Twitter]

No wonder it felt weird watching France

Clrnc wrote:

Pogba is utter crap. 120m? More like a normal 22m midfielder to me

Pogba isn't crap; he's a good player, with a good spread of skills. What elevates his status is the goals. When they're not there, you see the rest of his game for what it is; it lacks substance. A good incisive pass every 20 minutes isn't enough; he doesn't help his team wrestle control in between. He lacks purpose and aggression in everything he does.

Goals bamboozle people though in their analysis. They had a debate before the Spain game last night about who's the best centreback in the world right now. Lineker said he'd take Ramos because "he'll get you goals". I'm not saying Ramos isn't a great player, but, come on--that's not why he's a great centreback ffs! It's the same with Pogba--he's a central midfielder. There are 10 things he has to be good at before goal scoring comes into it. He could play exactly the same in the second half as he did in the first and if he puts one in the top corner, he'll be great again.

Hernandez sure does love the grass

Ricky1985 wrote:

Making Mbappé the focal point of this team is a move I didn't think Deschamps was a clever enough coach to make.

So you didn't think he was clever enough to make that decision but you of course were?

This is a forum so we're entitled to opinions and views on coaches and players but that's still a bizarre statement.

France miss width from their fullbacks

Ah fuck off

Peno from VAR. Looks correct tbf

Pity. We've been competing really well until this

VAR pen called.

I’ve always wondered about the follow through. Even if you touch the ball, if it’s so insignificant that it’s actually the act of bringing down the player that prevent the goal etc then shouldn’t it still be a foul?

That feels bizarre.