Didier Deschamps' French team just defeated Germany with a score of 2-0 in the 2025 Third Division match. The goalscorers were Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise - two of the top attacking stars in Europe at the moment.
Previously, in the semi-final against Spain (4th to 5th in France), the three players who scored were Kylian Mbappe, Ryan Cherki and Randal Kolo Muani (another goal was conceded by Dani Vivian). This is a tournament where Les Bleus strikers made a strong impression in the final stages when they appeared in 5 goals of the home team in the semi-finals and finals.
Scoring is the responsibility of the striker, so it is no surprise that all 5 goals of Les Bleus came from this line. However, after the last two matches, fans only mentioned the front line of the French team and did not highly appreciate the factors participating in defense.
Coming to this Nations League, Deschamps introduced countless of Europe's top attacking stars. In addition to Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Michael Olise ( Bayern Munich) also has Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue (PSG), Ryan Cherki (Lyon), Marcus Thuram ( Inter Milan). These are prominent names in the recent European football season. In addition, names like Randal Kolo Muani (Juventus) or Bradley Barcola (PSG) are also at a good level.
Meanwhile, in defense, Deschamps must have been... very frustrated to call back Clement Lenglet (Atletico Madrid). On the right wing, the appearance of Pierre Kaluku (Juventus) also left many doubts. On the opposite wing, Theo Hernandez (AC Milan) can no longer maintain his top form, only Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool) is the most reliable factor.
In this tournament, France lacks many defensive stars. In Deschamps' 4-man system, in terms of form, he has not had 3 other main players besides Konate: Wiliam Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano ( Bayern Munich) and Jules Kounde (Barcelona).
With the above factors missing, especially the midfield with Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni could not cover well, the French defense was easily penetrated by Spain 4 times, before Mbappe had a goal to reduce the gap on the penalty spot.
The French team won the 2018 World Cup, reached the EURO 2016 final and played well in the following major tournaments thanks to the midfielder pair Paul Pogba - N'Golo Kante. When the pair retreated temporarily, the "Roosters" had no one capable enough to cover the defense. Rabiot is just a mid-level player and Tchouameni has not been able to reach Kante's level.
Therefore, when the midfield is weak in terms of coverage ability, combined with a defense with too many mid-level stars, France's failure in the 2025 Nations League is not uncomfortable. They did not concede a goal against Germany in the third place match, partly because the home team was too weak in attack, almost relying on Florian Wirtz for creativity, partly due to the breakthrough from Karim Adeyemi.
A bright, shiny attack with many stars will not be able to form a successful team, Deschamps understands this very well. Therefore, in the final campaign against France at the 2026 World Cup, Deschamps must find new versions of Pogba, Kante or Griezmann.
At the same time, he should also pray for the defensive pillars to have no problems before the biggest festival next summer. Otherwise, a superior attack is not enough for France to stand firm if the lower line continues to play as badly as it is now.
