Zidane identifies France's recurring weakness after four Nations League matches

Three victories and a draw in four matches: France’s first gathering under Zinedine Zidane ended with a positive record, with the Blues topping their Nations League group. But the manager pointed out a shortcoming that ran through the entire campaign.

On Monday, France nearly paid the price for their attacking deficiencies. Trailing 1-0 entering the final quarter of an hour after Dodi Lukebakio’s opener shortly after the half-hour mark, the Blues ultimately overturned Belgium 4-1 thanks to an intense second half. Ousmane Dembélé, in particular, made several costly turnovers in decisive areas.

« We need to occupy the box. We lacked that in practically all four matches, except perhaps at the end today. We lacked that when there are overlaps, crosses, little through balls. But that will come little by little, » Zidane said after the match.

The manager also stressed the need to improve verticality: « We need to improve on verticality, on the speed we put into the final 20, 30 metres, it’s clearly an area for improvement across all four matches. » He nonetheless tempered his remarks by praising the collective response: « We managed to produce an extraordinary second half. We didn’t have a very poor first half, that’s not it. We lacked many things, but we managed to turn the match around and that was good. »

The Blues will have the chance to secure qualification for the next phase in their next match against Italy on 12 November, after the 1-1 draw conceded at Stade de France on Friday.