No catastrophism, even less worry. But that does not mean that the Blues did not take on Thursday evening in the bays of San Siro, before leaving for Bordeaux, with a view to the match against Turkey on Sunday. Final meeting of the selection in 2026. Players, enterprising and attractive for an hour, Zinédine Zidane's men subsequently sank, never to resurface again against Italy (3-1). A drop in speed that raises questions. And ask questions. Attempt to explain.
“At times, you have to be a little more combative, more cunning too,” explains Adrien Rabiot, who suffered like the others at the height of the Italian storm. This is part of the learning process for some. There are some who have very few caps, but who played with courage. That’s also what international football is: it’s ninety minutes and it’s a booster shot. As the coach said, there is nothing alarming, it’s part of the journey. We will remember what we did very well and what we did less well, especially without the ball. We were sometimes a little naive. In the first half, we lacked efficiency, we could have finished 2 or 3-0. »
The absence of executives counted in the management of the second period
An opinion shared by Jérémy Jacquet, more feverish in Milan than during his debut last month: “We came across a team that plays very well in the low block. The first two goals are the same, from crosses. We didn't know how to be really offensive. We tried to play, but I don't know how many shots we attempted. We lacked efficiency at the top and bottom. » Translation: in both surfaces. With the missed opportunities to double the attack and revealing too much fragility defensively.
Zidane, who refused to point fingers at individuals, refused to say anything else on Thursday. “It’s part of learning, things that we must improve,” he says without lamenting the absence of many executives and a still very tender French team. When we were in difficulty, we didn't know how to react, stay within our playing framework. We became dispersed, especially defensively. »
It’s a shame, because there was plenty of room. But the road is very long. There is nothing to worry about
Rayan Cherki
Positioned as a sentinel and rather attractive before the collective bankruptcy, Lucas Da Cunha provides his reading of the match. “It’s true that we are a young team, but I don’t think that changes many things,” submits the Como midfielder, guilty of a bad pass on the penalty caused by Dayot Upamecano. We try to apply the coach’s instructions as much as possible. We didn't have any success and it showed. We faced a low block, it was difficult and we came away frustrated. »
Interesting in his movement, his ball grips and his vision of the game at the height of French domination, Rayan Cherki also gave up and lacked realism in his last gesture when doubling the lead. But the Citizen refuses to feel sorry for himself, even if he sometimes got annoyed and raised his arms to the sky on the undignified lawn of San Siro.
“It’s a match that will allow us to learn a lot of lessons,” he said at the final whistle on TF1. Everything couldn't be perfect, we tried to do the best we could with the conditions. But we are obviously very frustrated. There were certain moments in the game where we didn't play fast enough for each other. When we found each other quickly, we put them in danger. It’s a shame, because there was plenty of room. But the road is very long. There is nothing to worry about. »
