The inner workings of the French national team are apparently boiling over. Now a power struggle could even be brewing
In the end, things ended somewhat conciliatory. The 2-0 win over Belgium on Monday evening at least concealed a little of what had gone wrong with the French national team in the days before – especially after the 3-1 defeat to Italy. “This defeat hit us hard,” said Ousmane Dembelé. The mood in the team was therefore “a bit tense”.
Quite an understatement – at least if you believe the French sports newspaper L’Equipe. It had already reported a few days ago that goalkeeper Mike Maignan had thrown a tantrum in the dressing room after the Italy game. The keeper is said to have been particularly displeased by the star-like behavior of some of the players. And even though he is said not to have mentioned the name, the target was clear according to the report: captain Kylian Mbappé.
Not only the players, but also the journalists present at the French team’s headquarters in Clairefontaine had already noticed in the days leading up to the game that Mbappé, while fulfilling his duties as captain, made what the report described as a “sluggish, almost switched-off” impression during his first training session since his move to Madrid and did not do much for the group.
This was one of the reasons why the majority of the team rallied behind Maignan after the Italy game, who was already considered the team’s secret spokesman during the European Championship in Germany. “When he speaks, everyone listens,” said Aurelien Tchouameni – now a team-mate of Mbappé in Madrid – about the goalkeeper. Is there a power struggle brewing?
Not enough tactical work: Mbappé criticizes Deschamps
According to the newspaper, Mbappé is said to have taken his duties more seriously again after the Italy game and led a long team meeting. “We just had to say a few things to each other,” confirmed defender Jules Koundé after the Belgium game. The meeting is also said to have been about Maignan’s comments, but the focus was mainly on coach Didier Deschamps and his staff. Mbappé’s main point of criticism: the lack of tactical work in the Equipe Tricolore’s training sessions and the lack of clear instructions to the players.
Deschamps has been weakened at the latest since the team’s once again poor performances; he is no longer the undisputed world champion coach. While the French federation never tires of backing him, the media and fans are hailing him with criticism. At the start of the match against Belgium on Monday, the 55-year-old was booed by the crowd in Lyon. The team’s hierarchical structure appears fragile
So it is also reasonable to assume that Deschamps did not hand the captain’s armband to Maignan against Belgium, when Mbappé was only on the bench at the start, so as not to further undermine his attacker’s fragile authority and fuel the potential power struggle. Instead of Maignan, N’golo Kanté led the team onto the pitch – officially because he is the player with the most international caps. But he is also someone who is considered to be particularly reserved and has never appeared as a leader. Quite unlike Maignan.
The fact that so many internal details are now being made public is likely to fuel further dissent. At least the victory against Belgium has bought the team some time. Until the next meeting in October