Didier Deschamps admitted France were not doing things “perfectly” at Euro 2024 and accepts they need to start scoring goals if they want to claim the trophy next weekend.
Les Bleus advanced to the semi-finals last night with a penalty shoot-out win over Portugal after a dour, goalless 120 minutes in Hamburg.
A French player has yet to score from open play in the tournament with a Kylian Mbappe penalty and two own goals sufficient for them to reach the last four.
Deschamps said: “We need to score more goals. When you score more goals, you can manage things. [Otherwise] we are at the mercy of our opponent.
“It was a very tense, tight match. It could have gone either way, even if we had a more laborious end to the match in extra time with less of the ball. There was fatigue, too. It’s decided on small details but I’m happy for the group. They pushed themselves to the limit and swung it to the right side for us.”
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It is unlikely the performance will placate the French media already questioning Deschamps’ defensive approach but the 55-year-old is unlikely to bow down to external pressure.
He added: “We have reached the semi-finals and that is an achievement, even if people expect us to. For me it is pride in my players, even though not everything has been done perfectly. I would like to seize this moment and make the most of it.”
France will meet Spain on Tuesday and Deschamps will be hoping Mbappe is fit after taking a whack on his broken nose before being substituted at the start of the second period of extra time.
“He was tired,” Deschamps said. “[Kylian] is always very honest with me and the team, when he feels he doesn’t have the capacity to accelerate.
“We cannot lose a player but with everything that has happened, the trouble with his back [before the tournament] and the trauma with his nose, he is there. He is not in his top form but, with his efforts, he felt very tired.”
