French evolution!

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

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.”

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