France came into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as the runners up in 2006 and with expectations to have another run deep into the tournament again in South Africa. This time France were without the presence of 2006 Golden ball winner Zinedine Zidane, Claude Makalele, Fabien Barthez and Lilian Thuram due to retirement but they were still led by Raymond Domenech. This time round France had the 12tholdest squad at the tournament with an average age of 27.4.
South Africa 2010:
Vs Uruguay 0-0 (D) Vs Mexico 2-0 (L) Vs South Africa 2-1 (L)
In the match against Uruguay France adopted a 4-3-3 formation. When counter attacking Jeremy Toulalan holds his position just in front of the centre backs to allow Diaby and Gourcuff to join the attack.This gave France more opportunities to create overloads and better scoring opportunities, but they failed to take advantage of these opportunities.
This scenario came up a few times in the match but more often than not France tried to be patient in their build up play but a lot of the time Uruguay’s defensive shape caused France to force passes to Anelka some being successful but quite frequently he was under a lot of pressure from the Uruguayan centre backs.
In the defensive phase of play France adopt a shape more in line with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Diaby dropping in along side Toulalan to provide better cover in midfield and a better screen in front of the back four.
In the second group match against Mexico, Domenech decided to play a 4-2-3-1 along with a tactical (Malouda for Gourcuff) change to suit the system.
France were outworked for the duration of the match and that work rate forced the French players into rushing passes or passing to players who were heavily marked. France also tried to get the ball to the furthest forward player as often as possible but with Anelka playing as a lone forward he was often heavily marked by the Mexico centre back partnership of Moreno and Rodriguez.
In terms of defensive shape France were found in similar shape to the previous match but this time they were getting caught out on a more regular basis against Mexico due to their high tempo play and directness. The midfield was often dragged in and then one switch of play has left the French full backs overloaded.
At half time during the match against Mexico Nicolas Anelka confronted Domenech and challenged his tactics. Anelka was subsequently dismissed from the squad, which resulted in many squad members, including captain Patrice Evra, boycotting training in the lead-up to the final group stage match against South Africa.
This led to France entering the final group match against South Africa with a very slim chance of advancing from the group and a number of key players unwilling to play. France went on to lose 2-1 and failed to qualify for the knockout stages. Domenech was subsequently sacked after a disaster of a tournament.
Brazil 2014
After the disaster at the 2010 World Cup Raymond Domenech was replaced by Laurent Blanc who took France into the 2012 European Championships but again the tournament did not go to plan with France being eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the quarter finals. Didier Deschamps replaced Laurent Blanc following Euro 2012 and going into the 2014 World Cup expectations were not very high, the squad had changed greatly since the previous World Cup in South Africa with the squad having an average age of 26.7 which was the 8th youngest at the tournament and was also one of the least experienced with the 3rd least caps among the squads in Brazil.
Didier Deschamps had identified 4-3-3 as the system to get the best out of his team with a host of versatile players who could fill a number of roles within the system such as Moussa Sissoko, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann who allowed for some fluidity and tactical flexibility. Deschamps also sorted out the team’s defensive shape to make the team harder to beat and to provide a strong base for their talented attacking players to benefit from.
By having a creative player like Yohan Cabaye playing the 6 role allows for scenarios where he gains possession of the ball and when he drives into the final 1/3 he has the quality to pick out a team mate in space which in this case was Benzema who makes it 2-0.
Olivier Giroud was brought in for the match against Switzerland with Benzema moved onto the wing, this created a physical presence for the focal point of the France attack. Giroud opened the scoring from a corner which rocked Switzerland to the point where Matuidi extended the French lead a minute later. With Giroud in the team he fills the role of a target man and gives the team a player to make runs off as he has the ability to occupy more than one defender due to his physical presence. France went on to beat Switzerland with a comfortable score line of 5-2.
In the last group game with France already qualified for the knockout stages Deschamps made a number of changes against Ecuador and the drew 0-0 which was enough for France to top the group and play Nigeria in the last 16.
Nigeria adopted a deep defensive line to limit France’s scoring opportunities from close range and to limit the to speculative shots from range. France struggled to break this down until deep into the second half.
France’s perseverance paid off when Paul Pogba capitalised on a goalkeeping error to put France 1-0 up and substitute Antoine Griezmann forced a Joseph Yobo own goal in stoppage time to secure a 2-0 victory and a place in the quarter finals.
Deschamps decided to start with a front three of Griezmann, Benzema and Valbuena to have a greater threat on the counterattack against an attack minded possession dominant Germany team.
Germany took an early lead through a Mats Hummels header but France kept their composure and did not crumble, they maintained their defensive shape with organised pressing with certain players covering specific areas on the pitch, for example the image below shows that Matuidi covers the left side of the midfield, Pogba covers the right and as you can see below Cabaye covers the middle and wherever the ball goes the player covering that area is tasked with pressing when the ball enters that area.
France really struggled to break down Germany’s organised defensive approach as the spacing between their players allowed for passing lanes to be cut off and to eliminate passing options or allow them to intercept forward passes.
France were unable to produce a goal and were eliminated by the eventual champions Germany, but this can be taken as a major step in the right direction after the major disappointment four years earlier.
Russia 2018
After making great progress in their last outing in a World Cup France entered as one of the pre-tournament favourites with the members of the 2014 squad four years more experienced and with new blood in the squad in the shape of Kylian Mbappe, Ngolo Kante, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard and many more.
The squad was the 3rdyoungest squad at the tournament with an average age of 26 and with an average of 26 caps per player. With this blend of experience and youth France were now ready to make a deep run into the tournament.
In the first group match against Australia Deschamps set his team up in a 4-3-3, the team was filled with pace and attacking talent as they looked to start the campaign with a win.
With Mbappe playing as a central forward his electric pace causes a constant threat with his ability in behind which gives France an out ball that can help them to get out of tight areas on the pitch.
France play with a lot of width in attack so that they can stretch the Australia team so that they can create more space for the French attackers which allows them to create more goal scoring opportunities in central areas.
For the second group match France changed to the 4-2-3-1 formation which would become the formation they would use for the remainder of the tournament. Giroud came in as the centre forward, Mbappe moved to the wing and Griezmann adopted the ‘number 10’ role. Similar to 2014 Giroud’s role in the team was not to be a goal scorer but to be the glue in the French attack and to accommodate the attacking talent playing just behind him and to allow the likes of Mbappe and Griezmann to see more goalscoring opportunities.
Similar to 2014 Deschamps decided to rest a number of important players with France already secured a place in the last 16 and to give them a rest prior to more testing matches to come in the knockout stages. France guaranteed top spot in the group with a goalless draw against Denmark.
In the last 16 clash against Argentina to combat the attacking threat on Argentina’s right wing Deschamps deployed Matuidi on the left side of midfield to provide Hernandez with defensive help. This tactic was deployed for the remainder of the tournament as the quality of the opposition increased.
Giroud again thrived as a target man by using his ability to hold the ball up is key in creating space for his team mates to drive forward into the space he has vacated. France’s attacking talent were able to outscore Argentina’s attack in a 4-3 victory to advance to the quarter finals.
In the quarter final against Uruguay France dominated possession and made the most of their goal scoring opportunities by scoring their only two shots on target from eleven shots compared to Uruguay failing to score from their eleven shots, four on target. France advanced to the semi final to play Belgium for a place in the Final.
To combat the attacking talent within the Belgium team such as De Bruyne, Hazard, Lukaku and Mertens, France adopted a 4-3-3 shape when defending so that they could nullify the space in central areas to limit the threat and creative power of Hazard and De Bruyne.
This also allowed France to press effectively in wide areas when the Belgium wingers got the ball, they did this by cutting off the options with the full back delaying the winger so the outside central midfielder and the winger could press and cut off the passing lanes in to the centre of midfield and back to the full back or centre back.
Samuel Umtiti scored the only goal of the game by taking advantage of Belgium’s zonal marking at corners with a bullet header in the 51stminute which was enough for France to book their place in the final.
Deschamps stuck to his tried and tested formula that had worked thus far in the tournament and named an unchanged team from the semi-final win against Belgium. Mbappe was a constant threat throughout the match and he was a regular outlet for France, he was also used to launch counter attacks and put pressure on the Croatian defence by putting them in 1v1 defensive situations that
When Croatia got the ball in wide positions France dropped deep inside their own box with Steven Nzonzi dropping in with the centre backs to offer some aerial support to help manage the threat posed by Mandzukic and Perisic.
France went on to win 4-2, the highest scoring final since 1966, and claim France’s second World Cup win. In the space of three World Cups France have went from being a team the left South Africa in disgrace, making positive steps in Brazil to taking the trophy home in Russia.
Didier Deschamps deserves a lot of credit for turning French football around, from his tactical decisions, management of his players and putting his trust in young players. Can this French team go on to dominate international football for years to come or is another disaster on the horizon?
By: Brandon Falconer
Clips from Footballia.com