Desire Doue is our MVP as France beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League. Ousmane Dembele was quiet after coming on, while Bradley Barcola struggled.
In their second match of the international break, the French national team beat Belgium 1-0. Michael Olise scored the winning goal, and PSG winger Désiré Doué also delivered a strong performance. Let's take a look at all of France's players' performances.
Doué (8, MVP): The Parisian was the most impactful French player. From start to finish, until Olise's goal, he created numerous dangerous attacking situations. After a beautiful slalom through the defense, he unleashed a powerful shot that struck the crossbar (12th minute).
Early in the second half, he did the same with a roulette and a curling shot that grazed the post (52nd minute), among other chances where he left the Belgians for dead. Whenever he stepped up the pace, he made a difference, dribbling past opponents with ease in tight spaces and distributing excellent passes to his teammates.
One might regret his inconsistency, but he clearly impressed Zinedine Zidane's staff tonight.
Maignan (6): A rather difficult match to rate for the AC Milan goalkeeper, as he had relatively few saves to make. But as we know, good goalkeepers rise to the occasion when called upon.
And that's exactly what he did, making a save from Lukebakio (72nd minute) to prevent Belgium from taking a 1-0 lead. He also read the game superbly, leaving his area several times to break up Belgian attacks or restart play. Solid.
Kalulu (5): The right-back fulfilled his role without shining, without being out of place. He started strongly, showing determination to support his attackers, including a good cutback cross for Lepaul (4th minute).
Overall, he provided a focal point for the midfielders on his flank, which proved quite useful during periods of French dominance.
Defensively, however, the first half was difficult for him against an inspired Mika Godts, and he was caught out a few times, though he recovered in the second half.
Jacquet (7): The young Liverpool center-back made his debut in the French backline tonight. The Bondy native showed no nerves and delivered a solid performance.
Dominant in the box, he let nothing through. He made no mistakes and displayed impressive composure, considering his lack of experience with the French national team.
Lacroix (6): The Chelsea center-back formed a very complementary partnership with his teammate. There were a few minor hesitations in the first half, but overall a fairly good performance.
While Jacquet was solid in duels, Lacroix particularly shone in reading and anticipating the game, being well-positioned to intercept Belgian attacks.
Diouf (6): In his debut with Les Bleus, the Inter Milan player performed well. We saw that as soon as he had a bit of space in front of him, he looked to move forward very quickly, and the ball was his partner.
Da Cunha (6): He was also making his debut in the French jersey. You could tell he was eager to make an impact, often demanding the ball in front of the defense and supporting his central defenders whenever they had possession.
The Como player was highly efficient (83 successful passes out of 89), dropping deep to collect the ball and deliver it to the wingers or players further forward.
Camavinga (6): The most-capped player for Les Bleus at kickoff on Monday, the Real Madrid player had something to prove, given his complicated situation at the club level.
He seemed a little timid, or at least not very influential, in the first half, where he played fairly cleanly but didn't really contribute to the attack.
Akliouche (5): One of the new additions to Zinedine Zidane's starting eleven. The player, who arrived in Paris this summer, mainly played on the right wing and showcased his technical ability.
Very clean in his ball control, he constantly moved between the lines to offer options and inject dynamism into the French midfield. Incisive and goal-oriented, he nevertheless often lacked precision in the final pass. Lost balls, failed dribbles, and inaccurate passes turned a potentially excellent match into a rather average one, lacking real excitement.
Lepaul (5): The Rennes striker had a great chance to shine tonight, having managed only a few minutes in Turkey. He had a couple of chances early on, such as a missed shot in the box (4th minute) and a shot that was too central from a good cross by Doué (17th minute).
After that, his teammates gave him little service, leaving him somewhat isolated and lost between the two center-backs. Overall, he seemed rather uncomfortable on the pitch, displaying technical limitations that his teammates like Doué and Barcola don't. He was replaced by Ousmane Dembélé in the 68th minute. The Parisian, however, was relatively anonymous during his twenty-odd minutes on the field.
Barcola (5): On the left wing of the French attack, he repeatedly ran forward, and his speed allowed him to break down the much slower Belgian defenders.
He made some good runs, showed verticality, and made some interesting forward forays in the first half, but overall he was sloppy in the final third, particularly with his passes and crosses in the penalty area. He seemed to tire physically in the second half.
