Brazil-France (1-2): solid, the Blues offer themselves a prestigious victory

Like nesting dolls, the Blues come out of a surprising friendly evening where their gala outfit remains their real jersey. There were three matches. One dominated by the Blues in the first period. Another marked by the thunderous and biting awakening of the Brazilians after the break and that at 11 against 10 from the 55th with the expulsion of Dayot Upamecano as the last defender who annihilates a goal action. With their backs to the wall, the Blues displayed the mental resources that build great teams and forge the resilience dear to Luis Enrique, of which his PSG team is a beautiful translation.

The first match will have our preference for the analysis of Didier Deschamps’ men in a usual context. With their four attackers arranged differently depending on whether France had the ball or not, the Blues made it possible to appreciate several playing identities.

They mainly controlled the ball thanks to superior technical quality in Brazil but they were also able to score in transition with an assist in the form of a record gift or not far from Kylian Mbappé launched in depth for the 0-1, and to a unit from Olivier Giroud and his 57 goals.

An offensive team and Tchouaméni in form

Didier Deschamps, barring a last minute change, is therefore preparing to end his mandate as coach of the A with the most offensive team he has ever fielded. He allows himself this audacity which he has installed for more than a year but which we had not necessarily imagined because the efforts without the ball are produced and Aurélien Tchouaméni displays a form of barracuda this season, closer to Mister T than to the predatory fish, until this climax at the moment which offers a Dantesque end to the season for Real Madrid.

The variety of the French game and the quality of its sequences contrasted with the stereotypical principles of Brazil, systematically seeking its attackers behind the Ibrahima Konaté – Dayot Upamecano hinge. Despite some heaviness, it did not falter and the only Carioca danger came from distant strikes from Raphinha (replaced at the break) or Gabriel Martinelli. Brazil didn’t show anything very Brazilian when the Blues multiplied one-touch combinations reminiscent of the now buried Auriverde leg.

The awakening of the Seleçao

The second meeting will also leave its mark because after half-time, the Blues underestimated the Seleçao’s capacity for revolt, going from asleep to enraged in fifteen minutes. Upamecano will remain the one who least feared this shift by committing a mistake that is unlike him and will cause his exclusion. But the Bayern Munich defender gave us a third match that was just as worth it, with a new goal after a new sequence of possession that was quite perfect and concluded with a second dive this evening, Hugo Ekitike this time.

Despite the changes – Dembélé came out after the red, Mbappé in the 66th – the Blues never disunited. Above all, they have preserved this faith which will lead far if it is maintained. In inferiority, they showed qualities of great training, calm and sure of their strength.

However, a World Cup is nothing but twists of fate, refereeing decisions with serious consequences, constant twists and turns, sometimes unbearable overtime where nerves must remain strong, etc. Keeping one’s thoughts clear in the storm is worth all tactical systems.

At 2-0 and with one less, the partners of N’Golo Kanté, second captain of the evening (or of the afternoon from Boston) seemed to disgust the Brazilian initiatives, massively supported by a community much larger than the French contingent (there are 9,000 of them in the capital of Massachusetts). Bremer will give a little pep to the final minutes after a goal following a set piece. But hope always wears the same colors, those of France.