World Cup warm up: France vs Peru - Will Deschamps ever get it right for Les Bleus?

Is Didier Deschamps the right man to lead France to major tournament glory? It’s been a question asked of Deschamps ever since he replaced Laurent Blanc in the wake of their Euro 2012 disappointment. It’s now been six years and he has done little to suggest he can get the best out of another golden generation of French talent.

After crashing out in the quarter finals of the 2014 World Cup during Deschamps’ first major tournament in charge of France, the 49-year-old did manage to guide France to the finals of Euro 2016. However, France succumbed to defeat in extra-time against an underwhelming Portugal side that lost star man Cristiano Ronaldo to injury after 26 minutes.

France extended Deschamps’ contract in October to see him through until Euro 2020 but his position will surely be under threat if Les Bleus labour in Russia this summer. Not only that, but Zinedine Zidane’s shock departure from Real Madrid at the end of May has only heaped more pressure on his former team-mate. 

Based on France’s performance against Australia in their first match of the 2018 World Cup it would be even more of a surprise if Deschamps lasted until Euro 2020. It has been the case for some time now, but Deschamps’ main issue is finding a system that gets the best out of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann simultaneously.

Griezmann finished Euro 2016 as top scorer (six goals) after flourishing in a No.10 role behind Olivier Giroud in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The Atletico Madrid was at the heart of everything good about France that summer, but his positioning restricted Pogba’s influence on proceedings.

It is well documented that Pogba performs best in a three-man midfield, with the added security of an additional midfielder, Pogba is given the license to go forward with sufficient cover behind. The 25-year-old is at his best when breaking forward through midfield using his power and athleticism, but that can be lost if he is burdened with too much defensive responsibility.

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France started their 2018 World Cup campaign in a 4-3-3 formation. Pogba was selected in his favoured midfield role and Griezmann was played through the middle with Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe flanking either side. Deschamps wanted his front three to be as fluid as possible against Australia, but it only seemed to prevent France from building any meaningful rhythm.  

Griezmann gave France the lead from the spot but was surprisingly substituted after 70 minutes when the score was 1-1. France eventually ran out 2-1 winners against Australia, but Deschamps was not impressed and is set to tinker with the system when they play Peru on Thursday.

Deschamps has been tipped to revert back to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Griezmann back in the No.10 role that he performed excellently two years ago. With Dimitri Payet not at the tournament due to injury, Deschamps has also struggled to find someone capable of deputising on the left flank. Dembele didn’t convince against Australia and now Blaise Matuidi is set to be given the nod against Peru.

It speaks volumes about Deschamps that he is still chopping and changing his formation in search of the solution to get France firing on all cylinders. Another underwhelming performance on Thursday will do nothing to ease growing pressure on the France head coach and Peru will be desperate to get some points on the board after dramatically losing against Denmark in their group opener.

Writer Predictions: 

Martin Laurence - France 1-1 Peru

Ben McAleer - France 1-1 Peru

Josh Wright - France 2-1 Peru