Defending champions, the Blues have started this new edition of the League of Nations badly. Didier Deschamps’ men lost on the wire against Denmark (2-1). Karim Benzema had however launched the Blues shortly after the break before the former player of the Girondins de Bordeaux, Andreas Cornelius, scored twice. Kylian Mbappé, slightly injured, was replaced at half-time.
Starting off their #NationsLeague campaign with a win against the defending champions pic.twitter.com/2kesDRTfzZ
— UEFA Nations League (@EURO2024) June 3, 2022
In front of the 75,800 spectators at the Stade de France, the Blues recorded their first defeat of the season, the first failure since the Euro last summer. Without Didier Deschamps, who left with his family in mourning after the death of his father, but with his deputy Guy Stéphan at the helm, the French team showed up at kick-off with a typical team. She first stammered her football in the first ten minutes, chaining several technical blunders.
Mbappé and Varane, physically affected
The blue house, however, showed solidity with the precious help in the midfield of Aurélien Tchouaméni and N’Golo Kanté, author of a strike on the post (80th). They were also able to count on a very fit Karim Benzema despite his 46 games played this season with Real Madrid. It was he who opened the scoring after a swaying dribble in the Scandinavian area on a heeling service from Christopher Nkunku, who came into play at the break to replace the injured Kylian Mbappé.
The exit of the Parisian, like that of Raphaël Varane at the hour mark, is the big black spot of the evening in Saint-Denis. The 23-year-old striker, grimacing, sat down on the lawn and requested the intervention of the medical staff just before half-time. Suffering from the left knee, he was replaced by Nkunku “as a precaution”, according to Guy Stéphan. Outside the stadium, and unlike last Saturday for the final of the Champions League, no incident came to disturb the event.