The Blues suffered a big setback last night against Denmark for their first Nations League match, of which they are title holders after their success against Spain in the final in October 2021.
An unexpected hitch but not so surprising when we look at the history of the meetings of the French team over this period of the year since the arrival of Didier Deschamps in 2012.
The Basque coach’s first summer tour sees Les Bleus travel to South America to face Uruguay and Brazil. A journey punctuated by two defeats, including a slap received against Brazil in Porto Alegre (3-0) a few days after the Uruguayan setback (1-0).
The France team was then in the early stages of its post-Knysna/Euro-2012 reconstruction phase.
The ordeal of years out of competition
The following summer, as the World Cup approached, the Blues remained undefeated without, however, encountering serious opposition. The draw at home against Paraguay (1-1) is still a stain.
During the World Cup, the Blues lost with honors in the quarter-finals against Germany (1-0).
Despite the revelation of last summer in Brazil, the Blues lost their luster and chained poor performances in 2015.
The month of June is no exception to the rule. Already in March, Brazil had come to outclass the Blues in Saint-Denis. First largely beaten by Belgium on June 7 at the Stade de France (3-4, with two goals at the end of the match to save the honor), Deschamps’ men hit rock bottom in Albania a few days later (1- 0).
Faced with glaring defensive shortcomings, Deschamps resolves to strengthen his team even if it means abandoning the offensive animation.
In 2016, the Blues recorded their best month of June. A first success against Scotland (3-0) prepares France for the Euro at home. The Blues are making an almost perfect run. Only Portugal put an end to the Blue dream in the final, on a strike from Eder which many still have the bitter memory of.
As in 2015, the Blues are experiencing a complicated post-competition June punctuated by a 2-1 defeat in Sweden counting for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
World champions the following year, the Blues plunged back into 2019 with an insipid performance in Konya in Turkey (2-0), compromising their chances of qualifying for Euro 2020. They recovered a few days later against the very modest team from Andorra (0-4).
The Covid having been there, the Blues will not have time to grope this time. Barely 18 months after the Euro, they are back on track on the world stage in December to defend their crown in Qatar.