If France desire a lesson in how to not maintain a second-round tie in opposition to outwardly reasonable continental friends, they simply want glance again 17 months. A Euro 2020 task in opposition to Switzerland in entrance of a Covid-reduced crowd in Bucharest did little to lift the heartbeat on paper and most likely that used to be the issue: even if they belatedly sprang into lifestyles going ahead it used to be a distinct tale on the different finish, a overdue cave in main court cases against a shootout and Kylian Mbappé lacking the decisive kick.
There are parallels with the duty they face in opposition to Poland on Sunday. Few actually be expecting a mystery, particularly those that have watched Czeslaw Michniewicz’s workforce during the last fortnight, and the chance is {that a} predicted slog would possibly elevate a sting. This time France must be totally switched on, heading the teachings rehearsed throughout ultimate 12 months’s post-tournament inquiry.
“We talked about that a lot, particularly in the months following the European Championship, and it is a factor that comes into play,” Hugo Lloris, talking on Saturday, admitted of the Switzerland defeat. “For such an important match you cannot afford to relax and lose your concentration. Everything has to work.
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That means slipping back into the well-oiled groove that took them emphatically past Australia and, not without a wobble or two, a Denmark side who have fallen by the wayside. They cannot claim to be leggy: Didier Deschamps was perfectly happy to take the post-match rap on Wednesday when a misshapen and patternless side lost to Tunisia, because all bar two of his preferred starters had been given most of the afternoon off. Mbappé, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembélé and company are among the most rested stars in a sapping, breakneck tournament and will be expected to make it count.
“You can’t just wait for your opponent – you have to be on the front foot,” said Lloris, who will equal Lilian Thuram’s record of 142 caps for Les Bleus when he retakes his place in goal. “We need to give everything and, when we get a chance, take these opportunities.”
They should in finding sufficient avid gamers within the shape to take action in opposition to a Poland facet “like defending” and can, particularly, hope some weight may also be taken off Mbappé’s shoulders, Deschamps mentioned. Sometimes it feels as though the Paris Saint-Germain ahead is content material to unravel the whole lot on my own however this is no trail to holding the trophy.
Perhaps it’s Griezmann’s time to step again up. He has featured in 70 consecutive video games for France, a exceptional feat, and world soccer has on occasion seemed a safe haven from patchy membership fortunes previously two years. But he hasn’t scored in his previous dozen, although that feels a harsh conclusion given the strange disallowing of a overdue equalizer after approaching in opposition to Tunisia; A repeat of 2018, when 3 of his 4 targets got here within the knockout degree, could be welcome.
Deschamps has discovered that the name of the game to cajoling the most productive from Griezmann is hard love or, a minimum of, tricky like. “I’m not going to talk about love but if you don’t like your players it’s going to be very difficult,” he mentioned. “If I don’t like them I don’t select them for the squad in the first place. For Antoine and some others we know each other and trust each other very well, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be frank with him and give him advice he might not always appreciate.”
The danger in that search for an all-round cutting edge lies in the potential for defensive neglect, as evidenced against Switzerland. That is particularly risky when you face Robert Lewandowski, who has served the thinnest of gruel in this Poland team but leaves no doubt through actions, deeds and words that his second and final World Cup means everything. Lewandowski was visibly emotional upon breaking his duck at this level against Saudi Arabia; The sands of time are running against him and every half-chance will be laden with meaning.
“You have to try and restrict his influence in the game,” Deschamps said. “The less he receives the ball, the less he can do. He’s a very clever player, technically very gifted, and he knows how to use his body. He didn’t get the ball a lot in the group stage but with just one chance he will be very dangerous.”
Putting aside the need for both teams to spread the burden, Lewandowski’s face-off with Mbappé has the potential to intrigue. “They are not the same age, or similar in other respects,” Deschamps pointed out, while acknowledging the piquancy of the tussle. He knows that denying Lewandowski oxygen should get half the job done for France; Should Poland smother Mbappé then, even considering France’s injury woes, there are further sharp instruments to call upon.
Lloris steered the conversation away from Mbappé and towards his own counterpart Wojciech Szczesny, who is having an outstanding tournament and contrived Poland’s only highlight against Argentina with an astonishing penalty save from Lionel Messi. “He is playing a magnificent tournament,” Lloris offered, and the thought occurred that if Szczesny is able to cause Messi pain he is able to inflict a repeat of last summer’s misery on Mbappé, too.
It makes sense, then, that France have been brushing up on their spot-kicks in training. “If a penalty is well taken a goalkeeper has little chance of stopping it,” Lloris said. “But there are goalkeepers who are very strong in this situation and sometimes they have little secrets they don’t like to share.”
France, who’ve England or Senegal of their quarter-final attractions, hope the thriller of that surprise within the Romanian capital has been comprehensively put at the back of them by the point the weekend is out.
