Getting knocked out of the Euros as a prize for nominating Benzema? France coach under fire from critics

France surprisingly lost to Switzerland and had to say goodbye to the European Championship in the eighth round. Coach Didier Deschamps came under heavy criticism.

In France, the European Championship eight-final match against Switzerland was taken as a clear-cut affair, a clear-cut progression. That is one of the reasons why it was not given as much coverage in the media.

But the French media looked very different after Didier Deschamps’ charges fell out. And that reasons for criticism are obviously not very few.

The prestigious daily L’Equipe criticized the change of formation, in the group according to the local editors the 4-4-2 system worked perfectly, while the formation with three stoppers should have been a big handicap against Switzerland.

Rather surprisingly, Deschamps also receives a fair amount of criticism for calling up striker Karim Benzema, who was otherwise the French top scorer with four goals.

“Dropping out is the price for nominating Benzema,” some media in France agree. However, this is not meant in any way badly towards the Real Madrid star.

According to French journalists, Benzema’s inclusion in the squad should have happened either earlier or not at all. “Benzema is an F1 car and Deschamps is one of the best drivers, but everything didn’t align well enough,” agree the French.

Criticism also descended on the head of Clement Lenglet, who had a poor season at Barcelona. However, he made his first appearance in the starting line-up against Switzerland in the last six matches of the national team there.

The loss to Switzerland is seen as one of the worst results for the French national team in recent times. There are doubts whether Deschamps will remain coach for the upcoming World Cup.

Although Deschamps has a contract until 2022, it is not guaranteed that he will continue with the team.

Sources