The French national team has been the ‘favorite’ to win the tournament, but they’ve been struggling.
Didier Deschamps’ men are coming off a 1-0 victory over Belgium in the Round of 16 at Euro 2024 on Feb. 2. The victory came courtesy of an own goal. Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen scored an own goal in the 40th minute with the score tied at 0-0. With a narrow victory, France advanced to the quarterfinals.
They’re in the quarterfinals, but the mood is not good. From the start of Euro 2024 to the quarterfinals, France hasn’t looked like a contender. Three goals in four games. A 1-0 win over Austria in the first leg of Group D, a 0-0 draw against the Netherlands in the second leg, a 1-0 win over Poland in the third leg, and a 1-0 win over Belgium in the round of 16. They were the lowest-scoring team in the quarterfinals.
Furthermore, none of the three goals were created by France. Against Austria, it was an own goal by Maximilian Böhber. Against Poland, Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot. An extremely lackluster offense has been a problem. France will face Portugal on June 6 in the quarterfinals.
A senior member of the French national team has criticized France”s performance. João Micouda is the one to speak up. The midfielder has played for Bordeaux, Werder Bremen, and more. He was a member of the French national team from 1999 to 2004. He was a member of the Euro 2000 winning team.
This was the heyday of the French golden age of artistic soccer. France won the 1998 World Cup and conquered Euro 2000. The strongest lineup 19가이드 ever assembled. Led by Art Sacco’s conductor, Zinedine Zidane, the team’s golden generation included Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Didier Deschamps, Liliane Touraine, Patrik Viera, and Fabien Barthez. It was the strongest team France had ever had, dominating the world.
Miku remembered those days. “I’m not impressed with the French team at Euro 2024,” he told France’s L’Equipe, “I’m not impressed with the French team at Euro 2024. The game is boring. The French national team needs to do better,” he said.
“I miss the French national team at Euro 2000. We won every time. I don’t know if the current generation will remember that team from 20 or 30 years ago, but I’m talking about 1984, 1998, 2000, because when you look at your seniors, you can do more. They talk about their history, and they have a lot more to add,” he explained.
“But if the current players are more aggressive, if they play a little bit better, I think they can win,” he added. Deschamps must have passed on to his players the mentality of never giving up and persevering to the end. Even if it’s not good now, the opportunity will come,” he said, encouraging the juniors.