France 0-0 Canada: Les Bleus frustrated by Marsch's men

By Sports Desk June 09, 2024

France failed to round off their Euro 2024 preparations with a victory as they were held to a goalless draw by Jesse Marsch's impressive Canada side in Bordeaux.

With captain Kylian Mbappe starting on the bench after picking up a knock against Luxembourg on Wednesday, Didier Deschamps' team were unable to find a way through and were arguably fortunate to avoid an upset.

Antoine Griezmann saw a low drive tipped wide by Maxime Crepeau in the first half, but Canada went closer shortly after the restart as Liam Millar curled a shot against Mike Maignan's crossbar.

Olivier Giroud – playing his final home international before he calls time on his France career after the Euros – miscued on the volley before substitute Randal Kolo Muani somehow headed wide when totally unmarked late on.

Having entered the fray as a 74th-minute substitute, Mbappe tried to provide some inspiration with a mazy run in stoppage time, but his powerful drive was pushed away by Crepeau as Canada stepped up their Copa America preparations with a creditable result.

Data Debrief: No way through for Les Bleus

France will not be panicking just yet, with Mbappe's absence from their starting lineup an obvious factor as they struggled to break Canada down, but they will certainly need more in the final third when they face Austria in eight days' time.

They actually managed fewer final-third entries (40 to 50) than Canada, only hitting the target with four of their 13 attempts.

Ousmane Dembele attempted to provide some much-needed drive, attempting more dribbles in the first half alone (11, finished with 13) than in any other game for France. However, end product was lacking for both the winger and his team-mates. 

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    Mbappe played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid's 3-1 defeat to Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, and Deschamps did not say if the forward was injured.

    The France captain also missed Les Bleus' last two matches, being rested despite his return to fitness in time for the October international break, with Mbappe coming under scrutiny for his absence.

    The 25-year-old has struggled for form as of late, and although he has scored eight goals in 15 appearances since joining Madrid, he has hit the back of the net just once in his last six outings.

    "I've had discussions with him, it is a decision that I took for this block of matches only," Deschamps told a press conference on Thursday. "Kylian wanted to come."

    Meanwhile, Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier has received his first call-up, replacing Alphonse Areola in the squad. There are also recalls for Adrien Rabiot and N'Golo Kante as the injured Aurelien Tchouameni misses out. 

    France face Israel in the first of their two games on November 14 before finishing their Nations League Group A2 campaign against Italy three days later. 

    France squad in full:

    Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens), Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), N'Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).

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    Arne Slot believes hard work and intensity have been key to Liverpool's form ahead of their Premier League meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday.

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    Villa, meanwhile, go into this game having lost back-to-back games against Tottenham in the Premier League and Club Brugge in the Champions League.

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    "The first half we played like we were planning... It was a mistake," Emery said after that game.

    "It is difficult and here it is not strange. You watched the match and [Villa] playing, they finished exhausted. It was not intensity, it was that the match changed completely after our mistake."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

    No player has been involved in more Premier League goals than Mohamed Salah (12) so far this season, with seven goals and five assists. He has also had the most touches in the opposition box this term (96), while of players to have had 20+ shots, no-one has hit a higher percentage of them on target (67% - 20/30).

    The Egyptian has scored in four of his last five appearances at Anfield in all competitions, while he was also credited with two assists in the 4-0 victory over Leverkusen last time out.

    Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

    Only Erling Haaland (16) has had more big chances than Ollie Watkins (14) in the Premier League this season.

    While Watkins has only scored five league goals, with four of those coming from the big chances, he is still Villa's top goalscorer.

    MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

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    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Liverpool – 61.8%

    Draw – 19.7%

    Aston Villa – 18.4%

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    Enzo Maresca's Blues fought back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United last time out, and only Manchester City and Liverpool have beaten them since the Italian took over.

    We delve into the Opta data to preview Sunday's headline fixture at Stamford Bridge.

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    The likelihood of a draw is rated at 25.6%, but you sense Arsenal need to take all three points after seeing their hopes of winning the title drop to 4.4% in Opta's season predictions. Chelsea's own hopes are rated at 0.3%, with City (61.9%) still clear favourites ahead of Liverpool (33.4%).

     

    Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against Arsenal (two draws, six defeats), a 2-0 away win in August 2021. The Gunners have managed three victories in their last four league trips to Stamford Bridge (one draw) – as many victories as they recorded in their previous 20 visits (seven draws, 10 defeats).

    Arsenal have also won their last six Premier League London derby matches by an aggregate score of 22-3, winning six of those matches by five or more goals.

    One such occasion was a 5-0 rout of Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium last April, their biggest-ever margin of victory against the Blues in all competitions.

    Blues eye statement victory

    When the Premier League fixture list was drawn up, even the most optimistic Chelsea fan may have struggled to visualise the Blues sitting ahead of Arsenal in the table after 10 games.

    But Maresca's side have shown promising signs in the early stages of his tenure. Chelsea's last two Premier League defeats this season have come against last season's top three teams – 0-5 versus Arsenal in April, 0-2 versus City in August and 1-2 against Liverpool in October.

    They are unbeaten in their last 21 matches against all other teams, winning 14 and drawing seven while scoring 57 goals in total across those games.

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    He opened the scoring when the Blues last welcomed Arsenal to west London for a 2-2 draw last October, scoring his first Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge.

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    PLAYERS TO WATCH

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    Arsenal – Bukayo Saka 

    Saka has provided more assists than any other player in the Premier League this season (seven). 

    He has also either scored (once) or assisted (twice) a goal in each of his last three away games against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Sergio Aguero (2013 to 2017) and Javier Hernandez (2012 to 2018) the only visiting players to do so in four consecutive appearances.

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