France was the best team in the Cup in the first phase. It is no longer and has a sin that can be deadly: it goes into blackout mode. Once per game, there is a drop in performance that allows the opponent to create chances and threaten your victories. Against Messi, that could decide.
On the other hand, Didier Deschamps’ team has enormous tactical awareness to impose their style. He knew he needed three strong points against Morocco.
The ball exit had to be perfect. Varane gave the pass for Griezmann to place himself behind Mazraoui, while the left-back worried about Dembélé. This failure, combined with the defense’s positioning error, allowed Theo Hernández’s goal in the 5th minute.
It would also be necessary to press the ball out and be precise in free kicks and corners. A serious error by the Moroccan coach, Walid Regragui, was to start the game with three defenders. Strategic mistake and also wrong bet on an injured player. The libero, Saiss, did not last more than 20 minutes. The entrance of midfielder Amallah coincided with the blackout mode. Morocco has improved.
Regragui was confident in the morning. A chance meeting with this columnist in the elevator allowed him to hear from the coach that he was going to win: “It doesn’t matter the rivalry. We’re going to win”. His overconfidence may have caused the tactical wobble. Even so, defender El Yamiq hit the crossbar in the first half. Morocco nearly equalised.
Their crowd put on a show, sometimes whistling to frighten France’s attacks, sometimes with choreographies. Arab fans joined in the first Cup in an Arab country. The Moroccan majority was joined by some Tunisians and Qataris.
From the stands to the field, pressure from Morocco increased in the second stage, to the point of even seeing a startled sigh from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, sitting next to Gianni Infantino, from FIFA.
France only managed to balance themselves with a little catimba, short passes, wasting time. It’s not France’s game.
Deschamps swapped Dembélé for Muani, the 26th in the squad, after cuts from injured players. There were people saying that the coach stopped calling the last name because there was no talent for that. Star is it. Muani is the leader in passing goals in the Bundesliga. He is not the scorer.
But the ball was left as a gift inside the small area, after Mbappé’s finish deflected in the defense.
France reminds Germany of 1990, which made the decision against Argentina. That team, led by Franz Beckenbauer, started thrashing Yugoslavia and the United Arab Emirates. It was a show.
In the knockout stages, he became pragmatic, sometimes bureaucratic. He beat the Netherlands 2-1, Czechoslovakia 1-0, England on penalties.
He reached the final against Maradona, with a badly injured ankle, overweight, a tired genius.
The difference is that Messi is a genius. Just a genius.
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