France’s forward line has been struggling to deliver in front of goal during the Euro 2024 tournament. In their last-16 win against Belgium, Kylian Mbappe was seen adjusting his mask, indicating his discomfort while wearing it. However, he is not the only one in the team facing issues. France has scored only three goals so far in the tournament, none of which have come from open play. This lack of scoring has been a topic of concern in press conferences, but manager Didier Deschamps remains defiant.
Football is all about entertainment, and goals play a crucial role in that. France’s low scoring record makes it hard to argue with the criticism that they are boring to watch. Compared to other teams in the tournament, they have scored the fewest goals, with just three. Hosts Germany, on the other hand, have scored ten goals and seem to be building momentum. All of France’s goals have come from either own goals or penalties. Deschamps acknowledges that they need to improve in this area and believes they have the capacity to do so.
Facing a cautious and respectful Belgian side, France may have been fortunate to scrape through. However, as they progress further in the competition and face more confident opponents, their attackers will need to step up and start delivering. Former England midfielder Izzy Christiansen believes that luck may not be on their side for much longer and they need to take ownership of their performances.
Deschamps has tried different approaches to improve their attacking efficiency, including benching Antoine Griezmann and tweaking the formation. One potential solution is getting Mbappe comfortable with wearing a protective mask on his broken nose. Mbappe’s movement against Belgium was promising, but his finishing was lacking. Deschamps emphasizes that Mbappe needs to get used to wearing the mask because he might have to wear it for a few weeks or even months.
France will be hoping that Mbappe can adapt to the mask quickly and regain his scoring form. They need their attackers firing on all cylinders as they enter the quarter-finals of the tournament.