Match Report: Lacazette Leads Hungry Reserves to Impressive France Win

It had to happen somewhere, sometime, but here? That Alexandre Lacazette’s first goal for France was scored at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, the home of Lyon’s bitter rivals Saint Etienne (he was accordingly booed when he touched the ball in the early stages of Sunday’s game with Denmark), was a delicious moment of irony that was not lost on the man himself. 

“It’s strange, but I’ll take it all the same,” he said post-game, having opened his account for the senior side at the sixth attempt. It was certainly a happier occasion than his last visit, for the derby with his club in November, when Lyon lost 3-0 and Lacazette missed a penalty.

This was a night, however, when everything flowed – not just for Lacazette, but for France and their experimental young front line in particular. Following the deflating loss to Brazil at Stade de France on Thursday, Didier Deschamps made eight changes to his starting XI to face Denmark.

The chances are that the bulk of these alterations would have been made anyway, but the pulsating nature of France’s first half couldn’t help but lay down the gauntlet to some of Deschamps’ rested, rotated or dropped starters.

The coach chose not just to go with Olivier Giroud up top, but to support him with an ultra-attacking supporting three of Lacazette, Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann as France morphed from Thursday’s 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. Lacazette “could have felt frustrated on the right”, as Bixente Lizarazu told L’Equipe after the game, with his senior career really having taken off since moving in from the flank to replace the departed Lisandro López at centre-forward for Lyon. He has 38 goals in 59 Ligue 1 starts since switching from right to centre, compared with 8 in 42 before.

That was, not, however, the case, with Lacazette and Payet (a man who is a touch more comfortable in the surrounds of the Geoffroy-Guichard, as he acknowledged after the match) swapping positions at will, with Les Bleus’ final third working as fluidly as Deschamps could have envisaged.

Many in the squad – and those hoping to break into it – will look upon Euro 2016 as a career-defining tournament, but one would imagine that Payet will feel even more so. Having flickered promisingly for France but never really made himself indispensible, he must know it’s now or never, having turned 28 on Sunday.

The good news is that he’s never looked brighter. Payet leads the way in Ligue 1’s assist table with 12, one short of his best-ever with Lille in 2012/13, a campaign in which he also scored 12 (as compared to 6 this season). It is some response from a man Marseille were desperate to sell in the summer.

Against Denmark, he laid on 5 key passes and got off 3 shots of his own in a sparkling display. On this evidence, Payet is not just a must for the squad, but a credible contender to be considered as the starting playmaker ahead of Mathieu Valbuena, even if his former clubmate has rarely let Les Bleus down.

Payet’s ability to dovetail with his partners was what impressed most. The opening goal was netted emphatically by Lacazette but was merely the culmination of an outstanding move, started with Giroud’s flick, continued by the Lyon man and taking in Payet spiltting the defence for Griezmann, with Lacazette finishing after the Atlético Madrid man’s effort was superbly saved by Kasper Schmeichel. It was the best football that France have played since thrashing Switzerland at the World Cup.

If the forward line showed what potential and power in depth France have, the positive impressions were not limited to this part of the pitch. Geoffrey Kondogbia, revived in recent months after a difficult first season at Monaco, was also impressive. He is mainly thought of in a defensive capacity, with many arguing that he is too one-footed to effectively bring the ball out of the centre circle into attacking areas.

Kondogbia rebuffed that charge here, with his astute pass to Giroud creating a second goal that was as aesthetically pleasing as the first. This is clearly not a part of Kondogbia’s game that is his forte – he has provided 4 assists in 3 seasons of top-flight football with Monaco and Sevilla – but it is an aspect that shows promise. His key pass rate of 1.2 per game in Ligue 1 this season is by some distance the highest of his fledgling career to date.

The Sevilla connection was also on display further back, with Benoît Trémoulinas enjoying a good night. Playing the whole 90 minutes, the left-back had 59 touches, more than any of his defensive colleagues and more than all of the front four apart from Payet. Heavy involvement is always a sign that the 29-year-old is feeling good, and at his best.

Regenerated and renewed in the second half of last season on loan at Saint Etienne – after a short and unsuccessful stint at Dynamo Kiev – Trémoulinas has continued his excellent work in Andalucia this season, despite being hindered by a series of minor injuries. He has a WhoScored rating of 7.00 for Unai Emery’s side in La Liga and 7.31 for his Europa League performances (in the latter case, 4th in the squad). Of all those drafted in, Trémoulinas arguably holds the strongest argument for a regular starting place.

The side that opens the finals tournament in just over 14 months time will be very different to Sunday’s, of course. As well as the voluntary changes made by Deschamps, it must be remembered that captain Hugo Lloris, Mathieu Debuchy, Yohan Cabaye and – crucially – Paul Pogba all missed both matches this week, and their absences were felt.

Yet Deschamps now has clear evidence that there is genuine competition for places beyond mere lip service. It promises to be a battle royale over the next year or so.

Who impressed you most for France against Denmark? Let us know in the comments below