The second game on Thursday starts at 17:00 and pits a favorite versus an underdog, as France takes on Peru in Ekaterinburg.
The reviews for France’s performance against Australia were not positive. Although they did win, Didier Deschamps’ men were far from the level required to win a World Cup. Tolisso and Pogba were outplayed by Mooy and Jedinak, which is definitely not a good sign. The coach also opted for Ousmane Dembele over Thomas Lemar and Nabil Fekir, which can’t be criticized per-se. What can be criticized is the decision to play Dembele on the left and Griezmann in the middle, knowing that the Atletico forward is much more apt as a winger with the freedom to roam inside. Playing him behind Olivier Giroud seems like a more logical solution.
Benjamin Mendy’s and Djibril Sidibe’s speed was missing on the flanks, where Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard were good, but not great. We’ll see whether Deschamps makes any changes. For now, he’s not revealing anything.
”I will have 11 (players) against Peru,”
”It may be the same, it may be different ones, but those three attacking players played as they should play. I have a good group. Each of them has his say among the 23 players.”
Meanwhile, Raphael Varane realizes that some mistakes were made and the important thing is to learn from them.
“Some things were not done that well,”
“We’ve made our assessments. We have talked among players. We’ve talked to the coach. We know where we want to go for the next match.”
As lucky the French were with that fluky second goal, as unlucky the Peruvians were against Denmark. They were aggressive, passionate, but when it came to the finish line, they couldn’t convert. The loss puts them in an unfavourable position, as they need points versus France to realistically stay in contention. Their style of play will not change regardless of who they face, because that’s who they are as a team. It’ll be interesting to see whether Ricardo Gareca decides to insert Paolo Guerrero into the starting lineup. Edison Flores, Francisco Cueva, Jefferson Farfan and Andre Carrillo were all very active and had significant impact on the team’s play versus Denmark.
France will look step it up a notch by shifting into second gear and improving on that underwhelming game one display. Peru doesn’t have Australia’s coordinated midfield, so that’s one place where Les Bleus should have the advantage, especially if Blaise Matuidi starts in favour of Tolisso. Sorry Peru! I like you, but you shouldn’t have allowed Denmark to beat you.
Prediction
France 2-0 Peru
Odds
France 1.55
Draw 4.20
Peru 7
