French evolution!

12 October,2024 08:53 AM IST |  Budapest  |  AFP

Boss Deschamps hails young, new-look France side for breezy 4-1 win over Israel in the absence of superstars Mbappe and Griezmann

France midfielder Christopher Nkunku celebrates scoring against Israel in Budapest on Thursday. Pic/AFP


Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio

France shrugged off Kylian Mbappe's absence and Antoine Griezmann's retirement to comfortably overcome Israel 4-1 in the Nations League on Thursday.

Eduardo Camavinga and Christopher Nkunku set France on their way with first-half goals in Budapest, where Israel are playing all their home games due to the security situation in the Middle East. Didier Deschamps named a squad that for the first time since 2016 did not feature either Mbappe or Griezmann.


Didier Deschamps

Mbappe was left out of this game and Monday's tie in Belgium to allow the France captain time to regain full fitness after a thigh injury. While the Real Madrid star's absence is only temporary, Griezmann's is permanent after his decision to quit the international scene last week.

Griezmann's exit signalled the end of an era for the French side that won the 2018 World Cup and reached the final four years later in Qatar. Yet there was plenty to like about Deschamps' new-look line-up captained by Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni - this win, on the back of victory over Belgium after an opening loss to Italy, leaving France second in Group A2, one point behind Italy.

Deschamps was quick to emphasise the "significant potential" of his young squad. Deschamps reflected: "I've got a positive analysis - four goals, it's been a while since we did that. We were serious and diligent, with a lot of enthusiasm."

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
france Kylian Mbappe israel budapest qatar sports news football
Related Stories