Match stakes, team composition, statistics… All the information you need to know before the 3e League of Nations day between Austria and France this Friday evening.
Special envoy to Vienna
Where to follow Austria-France?
The Blues begin their third match in the League of Nations this Friday evening against Austria. A meeting to follow with our colleagues from TF1 from 8:45 p.m., but also live commented thanks to our journalist Teddy Vadeevaloo, as well as our special correspondent, Baptiste Desprez. As a reminder, the France team lost against Denmark (1-2) on Friday at the Stade de France, before snagging the draw in Croatia on Monday (1-1).
What to expect from the choices of Didier Deschamps?
According to Thursday evening’s camera, Didier Deschamps will indeed retain the four-defender scheme seen in Croatia (1-1) on Monday, but only three players should chain a new tenure: Moussa Diaby, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Benjamin Pavard. For the rest, “DD” turns everything upside down, with in particular the return of captain Hugo Lloris in goal or the Hernandez brothers in defense. A defense in which Ibrahima Konaté will try to demonstrate that he can be as comfortable on the field as he was in front of the microphones for his first press conference in Blue.
Entered during the game in Split, the ex-Marseillais Boubacar Kamara will also have for the first time the honors of the starting lineup. The new Aston Villa player will be associated with Aurélien Tchouaméni, future Real Madrid player and who will play a third game in a row among the holders of Deschamps. He is the only one in this case. On the wings, former Parisians Kinsgley Coman on the left and Moussa Diaby on the right will be lined up from the start, with a Benzema / Griezmann tandem in front.
The probable 11 of the France team :
Lloris – Pavard, Konaté, L. Hernandez, T. Hernandez – Diaby, Kamara, Tchouaméni, Coman – Benzema, Griezmann
Read alsoLeague of Nations: “It was hard to believe, it felt like a montage”, laughs Lloris about the hole in the Viennese lawn
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In what state of mind are the Blues?
Revengeful. After the two bad results at the Stade de France and in Split, the world champions know they have to win Friday night against Austria. Any other result, depending on that between Denmark and Croatia, would complicate qualification for the Final Four of a competition where they are the defending champions. ” We are back to the wall in this group phase, the match tomorrow (Friday) becomes very important if we want to qualify “, recognizes Hugo Lloris, back in the French goal. Before concluding this (endless) streak on Monday in Saint-Denis against a new duel against Luka Modric’s band, the Blues must put in one last effort and finally find a taste for success. The absence of a victory would look bad even if the France group is worn out by an XXL season. His opponents too.
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What about the “hole controversy» on the lawn of Vienna?
Asked about this subject Thursday at a press conference, Hugo LLoris preferred to smile, advancing the fact that he thought that ” it was a photo montage while viewing the sequence. Didier Deschamps gave him a terse answer and trusted UEFA, which validated the maintenance of the match on Wednesday evening after a meeting. Reminder of the facts: Monday evening, after Austria-Denmark, the players discovered the existence of a hole at the level of the central circle. Images from Austrian television quickly sparked controversy over the state of the pitch and the reception of the world champions. In the end, if the lawn is not in excellent condition, the offending part has been changed. During training on the eve of the match at the Ernest-Happel stadium, some players and staff members from both teams went to check the quality of this part of the pitch. Between smile and questioning. Hoping that everything goes normally on Friday evening, without injury or new controversy.
What is this Austrian selection worth?
1er Last June, Ralf Rangnick (63) officially became the coach of the Austrian national team. And the least we can say is that he made a success of his debut. For his first match at the helm of the Red and Whites, a week ago, his players easily won against Croatia (0-3). This Monday, however, they lost against Denmark (1-2), without having been unworthy. Despite the emergence of a talented generation, symbolized in particular by David Alaba who has just lifted the Champions League again with Real Madrid, Austria has not participated in the World Cup since 1998, and the edition organized in France. And the Red and Whites will not be present in Qatar at the end of the year for the 2022 World Cup since they were eliminated in the play-offs against Wales (2-1).