France struggles to hit top gear as World Cup 2022 looms; Deschamps seeks answers

A reshuffled France drew 1-1 away to Croatia in their second UEFA Nations League game on Monday, four days after an opening defeat by Denmark.

Image Credit: UEFA Nations League Twitter

It was expected to be a repeat of the World Cup 2018 final. France, who clinched the coveted trophy four years ago, and Croatia, who created history despite falling short at the final hurdle, came into Monday's UEFA Nations League showdown feeling they had something to prove. However, the result would not please both sides, especially Didier Deschamps' side, given that their World Cup title defence is just a few months away.

In their second Nations League game, a reshuffled France drew 1-1 away to Croatia four days after a disastrous 2-1 home loss to Denmark. Over the weekend, Zlatko Dalic's players were comprehensively beaten by Austria 3-0 in an embarrassingly one-sided affair.

On Monday night, France and Croatia shared the spoils after Andrej Kramaric's penalty cancelled out Adrien Rabiot's opener. The draw did neither favour; they now face an uphill battle to reach the Nations League finals.

World champions France were without stars Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema at the start as coach Deschamps made ten changes to Friday's team. Deschamps went back to 4-4-2 after opting for a 3-5-2 against Denmark, with several starting players under ten caps, including Moussa Diaby, Matteo Guendouzi, Christopher Nkunku and William Saliba.

"We had overall control with two chances for 2-0, but we conceded a few too many situations to this Croatian team at the end," the France boss said post-game. "The lines were stretched, but it was consistent overall. We could also have avoided the loss of possession at times. I can't be completely satisfied even though there are a lot more positives."

"We must also take into account the merit of the opponent. We also gave them the opportunity to equalise with this penalty. There are also all the changes at the end of the match. There were less than 200 caps in the team selected against Croatia. This is no excuse, but there are fewer automatisms," Deschamps added.

Image Credit: Getty Images (File Photo)

With one point out of a possible six, the French boss insisted that while Les Bleus are not out of Nations League calculations, November's World Cup in Qatar requires experimentation in preparation for their title defence." We are in contention. But with one point out of six, we are not in the best of moods. They are also preparing matches to anticipate what awaits us at the end of the year. You have to see different things, players, and systems," he said.

Image Credit: UEFA Nations League Twitter

"There were a lot of forced changes with worries and injuries. Compared to my starting lineup, I still have the same concern about putting each player in the best conditions. We can always improve in defensive animation, but we can have problems with three, four or five [in defence]. I'm not frozen for the next game. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up. I want to have more answers," Deschamps concluded. France next travels to Austria on Friday before hosting Croatia next Monday. Denmark will look to maintain their perfect start in home games against Croatia and Austria on the same days.