Cold shower for the Blues. The players of the France team arrived this Tuesday, June 29 at Le Bourget in the rain. Few supporters were there to greet them. After the immense disappointment of their elimination against Switzerland this Monday, June 28 in the round of 16 of Euro 2020 on penalties, no applause sounded for the return of the 2018 World Champions. of death, no nation emerged alive from the round of 16, the Blues suddenly collapsed despite a high-level team on paper.
Despite the return of Benzema and his two braces against Portugal and Switzerland, the Blues, who led 3-1 ten minutes from the end of the match against the Swiss, were not sure to control the score against the overexcited Helvetians who knew how to take their chance. After his missed penalty, Kylian Mbappé apologized to French supporters on his social networks. “Very difficult to turn the page. The sadness is immense after this elimination, we could not achieve our objective. I am sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed. Find sleep will be difficult but it is unfortunately the vagaries of this sport that I love so much, wrote the French striker.
The France team will have to pull itself together very quickly to be ready from September 1 with the reception of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the qualifications for the 2022 World Cup.
A game that exceeded expectations! This France-Portugal delighted all football fans with a festival of goals and twists. Mission accomplished for the Blues who top their group after their 2-2 draw against Portugal on Wednesday 23 June. They will therefore face Switzerland in the round of 16 this Monday, June 28 at 9 p.m. in Bucharest, Romania. The match started badly for the Blues who, because of an elbow from Hugo Lloris on Danilo, saw the Seleção open the scoring on a penalty shot by Cristiano Ronaldo. Fortunately, a slight foul from the shoulder of Semedo in the area on Kylian Mbappé gives a penalty this time to the French. Karim Benzema takes responsibility and equalizes just before half-time. A nice revenge after a missed penalty in a friendly against Wales.
The dynamic changes on the restart and we believe the game is over when in the 47th minute Karim Benzema offers himself a double with a magnificent cross shot which hits the post and enters the Portuguese net. Portugal retreated and the Blues were attacking but a handball from Jules Koundé allowed the Portuguese to equalize 2-2 thanks to a new penalty, the third of the match. The score will remain there after this match with twists which see the two teams return to the locker room on a draw. “There is a lot of pressure around me which is normal. (…) The most important thing is that we qualified. (…) I feel such expectation from the whole country, this which is normal for me after five or six years of waiting, so today I managed to score I will enjoy it with everyone,” said Karim Benzema after the match.
What is the stake of this France-Portugal for France? After their draw against Hungary (1-1) this Saturday, June 19, France faces Portugal this Wednesday, June 23 for its last match of the group stage of Euro 2021. Without playing, the France team s is officially qualified for the round of 16, this Monday, June 21, thanks to the results of the other groups. However, this match against the Portuguese is not without play for the Blues. Progressing to the round of 16 in third place, second or first place will have an impact on their future opponents.
If the Blues, current first in Group F (with four points in two matches), remain so in the event of a victory against Portugal, or a draw if Germany does not beat Hungary at the same time, they will face Ukraine or Switzerland. If the Blues finish second in their group, they will then face England. This will be the case if the French team draws against Portugal and Germany beats Hungary, or if they lose against Portugal and Hungary draws in Germany or wins, but retains a lower goal difference to the French. Third possible scenario, the Blues finish third in their group. This will be the case if they lose against Portugal and Germany beat Hungary, or if they lose against Portugal and Hungary beat Germany with moreover a superior goal difference to the French. They will then face in the round of 16 of the Euro the Netherlands or Belgium. Nations at a higher level which would constitute the worst adversaries for the French.
“The French team would have ended up with six points, I would have had the same thought as there because the impact would have been negative on the ranking, DD told a press conference. I’m not going into a calculation, you have to respect the game”, reacted Didier Deschamps, who does not intend to take this match lightly. Indeed, France holds with this match the possibility of taking its revenge of the Euro 2016 final by eliminating Portugal. Indeed, if Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates lose by more than two goals against the Blues, they will be eliminated from the competition.
The reigning world champions made a strong impression. For their first match in the competition, the Blues were up to the task and won against Germany 1 to 0. The French team largely dominated the Mannschaft with a fluid game of great intensity. The Blues benefited from an own goal from Mats Hummels to score the only validated goal of the match in the first period (20th). In the 66th minute, Kylian Mbappé scored after a superb curling shot before referee Carlos del Cerro Grande canceled his goal for offside. In the 85th minute, it was a second goal, this time from Karim Benzema, which was once again disallowed for Mbappé’s offside.
The refereeing of the match by Carlos Del Cerro Grande was hotly contested. Benjamin Pavard took a violent knee from Gosens in the 49th minute by Gosens and was unable to get up, stunned, for a few minutes. The referee did not even give a yellow card to a gesture that could have been grounds for exclusion. Rüdiger, marking in the back of Pogba, seemed to bite the French midfielder without anything being whistled there either. Hummels’ tackle on Mbappé in the 78th minute, when he was completely overwhelmed by the PSG striker, can also spark debate. Many believe that there was a fault because there was contact and that a penalty should have been whistled. Didier Deschamps’ players thus join Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal at the top of the pool. They had won earlier 3-0 against Hungary.
It was the last meeting before the successful start of the competition for the Blues. The France team won 3-0 at the Stade de France against Bulgaria this Tuesday, June 8 for their reunion with the French public. The opener was spectacular with an acrobatic return from Antoine Griezmann in the 30th minute slightly deflected by a Bulgarian.
The evening got complicated when Karim Benzema was injured after a poor reception following an attempted header. After being strapped in the right thigh, the Real Madrid striker left the pitch but remained in the stands to be taken care of by the medical staff. Didier Deschamps, however, seemed not to be very worried at the end of the meeting. “It’s a crutch, he took a good hit on (…) the muscle above the knee,” he said, dismissing the hypothesis of muscle discomfort. “He stopped because he felt that it was hardening so there is no risk to take anyway. The medical staff is at his bedside,” added the coach of the Blues.
It was Olivier Giroud who took his place and scored two goals in the 83rd and 89th minutes of play. A big victory that left the Blues optimistic before their start in the Euro tournament in Munich against the team of Germany on Tuesday June 15.
Large victory of the Blues against Wales. For its first preparation match before the Euro against the Welsh, the French team responded. The Mbappé-Griezmann and Benzema trio lived up to expectations. The PSG striker opened the scoring in the 35th minute of play before Giezmann came to drive the point home with a superb curled into the skylight in the 48th minute. After a shot on the post from Benzema, Dembélé showed realism and scored a third goal in the 79th minute of play. He thus scored his 5th goal in the tricolor jersey for his 25th match in the selection. If he did not score and miss a penalty, the return of Karim Benzema remains very convincing. The Madrid player did not give in to the pressure after more than five years of absence in Blue. “Tonight, I played liberated, like the football I love”, explained the player to the media of the France team after the meeting.
Despite a lack of efficiency against the goal, he remains satisfied with his performance. “I would have liked to score too, but football is like that, he continues. Sometimes you score, other times you don’t. But the main thing is that we won,” said Karim Benzema . He is also happy with his combination with Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann. “I tried to move, to join forces, to shoot, to do what I know how to do on the pitch. It went well, the main thing is that we won with style. It’s been a long time since I played with these players, it feels good and we’re going to tweak the automation in training so that it’s even more beautiful and we score even more goals”, concludes the striker of Real. Automation that can still be perfected on June 8 at the Stade de France against Bulgaria before the start of the competition on June 15 against Germany.
The kick-off of this Euro 2021 will be given on Friday June 11, 2021 in Rome. It will end on the day of the final which will take place on Sunday July 11 in London. Originally scheduled from June 12 to July 12, 2020, the European Championship has been postponed for a year due to the pandemic. For the first time, the football competition will not take place in a single country but in 12 different nations. France will start their group stage against Germany in Munich on June 15, before facing Portugal and Hungary in Budapest on June 19 and 23.
We now know the 26 French players selected for Euro 2021. Didier Deschamps struck a blow by announcing the selection of Karim Benzema after five years of absence. After having expressed his pride in “this return to the France team and the confidence” granted on May 18, the Real Madrid striker spoke about this unexpected return on May 25 in an interview with Team. He thus explained to have “always considered a Blue”. He assured that relations with Didier Deschamps “I always got on well with him and, after three minutes, everything was back to how it was before. Whereas it had been more than five years since we had met” , said the 33-year-old player. We will finally see what the unprecedented Karim Benzema-Kylian Mbappé association will give.
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (OM), Mike Maignan (Lille). Defenders: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern), Léo Dubois (OL), Raphaël Varane (Real), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Clément Lenglet (Barça), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern), Lucas Digne (Everton), Jules Koundé (Sevilla FC).
Midfielders: N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea), Paul Pogba (Man. United), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham), Thomas Lemar (Atlético).
Forwards: Marcus Thuram (Mönchengladbach), Kingsley Coman (Bayern), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Antoine Griezmann (Barça), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Karim Benzema (Real), Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Ousmane Dembélé (Barça) .
Their return to school began this Wednesday, May 26 for the Blues who met for their preparation for the Euro in Clairefontaine. A preparation which will be punctuated by two friendly matches: June 2 against Wales in Nice and June 8 at the Stade de France against Bulgaria. It will be just a week before they enter the competition against Germany on June 15. The Blues are not complete since players are still in the race for European titles. Indeed, Paul Pogba will play this Wednesday, May 26 the final of the Europa League against Villareal. Chelsea players Olivier Giroud, N’Golo Kanté and Kurt Zouma will play in the Champions League final this Saturday, May 29 against Manchester City.
Group A: Turkey – Italy (21:00, in Rome)
Group A: Wales – Switzerland (3:00 p.m., in Baku) Group B: Denmark – Finland (6:00 p.m., in Copenhagen) Group B: Belgium – Russia (9:00 p.m., in Saint Petersburg)
Group D: England – Croatia (3:00 p.m., in London)Group C: Austria – North Macedonia (6:00 p.m., in Bucharest)Group C: Netherlands – Ukraine (9:00 p.m., in Amsterdam)
Group D: Scotland – Czech Republic (15:00, in Glasgow)Group E: Poland – Slovakia (18:00, city to be defined)Group E: Spain – Sweden (21:00, city to be defined)
Group F: Hungary – Portugal (6:00 p.m., in Budapest)Group F: France – Germany (9:00 p.m., in Munich)
Group B: Finland – Russia (3:00 p.m., in Saint Petersburg) Group A: Turkey – Wales (6:00 p.m., in Baku) Group A: Italy – Switzerland (9:00 p.m., in Rome)
Group C: Ukraine – North Macedonia (15:00, in Bucharest)Group B: Denmark – Belgium (18:00, in Copenhagen)Group C: Netherlands – Austria (21:00, in Amsterdam)
Group E: Sweden – Slovakia (3:00 p.m., city to be determined) Group D: Croatia – Czech Republic (6:00 p.m., in Glasgow) Group D: England – Scotland (9:00 p.m., in London)
Group F: Hungary – France (3:00 p.m., in Budapest) Group F: Portugal – Germany (6:00 p.m., in Munich) Group E: Spain – Poland (9:00 p.m., city to be defined)
Group A: Italy – Wales (6:00 p.m., in Rome)Group A: Switzerland – Turkey (6:00 p.m., in Baku)
Group C: North Macedonia – Netherlands (6:00 p.m., in Amsterdam)Group C: Ukraine – Austria (6:00 p.m., in Bucharest)Group B: Russia – Denmark (9:00 p.m., in Copenhagen)Group B: Finland – Belgium (9:00 p.m., in Saint PETERSBOURG)
Group D: Czech Republic – England (21:00, in London)Group D: Croatia – Scotland (21:00, in Glasgow)
