France coach Didier Deschamps has confirmed he did not substitute Milan striker Olivier Giroud in the first half of the World Cup Final because of an injury. ‘I was not satisfied.’
The tactician made history with a double substitution after 41 minutes of the Final, with Argentina already leading 2-0 through a Lionel Messi penalty and Angel Di Maria strike.
Both Giroud and Ousmane Dembele were hauled off, but while Dembele put in a poor performance, the Milan centre-forward had been struggling with a knee injury and was in doubt to feature.
Speaking to TF1 after the defeat on penalties, with France able to claw it back to 2-2 and then 3-3 in extra time, Deschamps was asked about the reasons behind those changes.
“If we had been 3-0 down, we couldn’t have complained. We didn’t do the right things for an hour, but then with a lot of courage, energy and quality, we pushed Argentina to the limit.
“If I made those changes so early, it’s because I was not satisfied and I felt convinced we could do better. That doesn’t mean the players who went off were more guilty than the others.”
This explains why Giroud was seen reacting furiously on the bench after his substitution, throwing and kicking a bottle.
The irritation continued, because Giroud was also later booked on the bench for dissent.
France were affected by a flu outbreak in the last few days, which saw Adrien Rabiot ruled out of the semi-final.
“We didn’t have all our strength due to various reasons, which I won’t go into. We managed to overturn a very complicated situation thanks to our quality and character, but it was not enough.”
France have always ridden their luck , and thank goodness today it finally ran out.
No Frenchmsn will ever be compared to Pozzo! Messi made sure of that!!
I find out the France coach is poor in tactics. Osman Dembele shouldn’t play for this much. Giroud shouldn’t be substituted. The problem has been how to manage the game of Di Maria. The game difference is Angel Di Maria not Lionell Messi.
Penalties made sure of that and fifa don’t kid yourself
France’s behaviour in this tournament was exemplary. Cannot say that about the other team.
Take away 6 Starters including the current Balon D’Or winners, and the sickness their players went through the last week, I want to see how other teams would have performed.
@ Dawit Asregedew
“ I find out the France coach is poor in tactics”
I guess a couch potato like you knows more than a World Cup winning coach