France continues to muddle in the Nations League. The reigning world champion played a 1-1 draw against Austria on Friday, so that the team of national coach Didier Deschamps only has two points after three rounds. Croatia was 0-1 too strong for Denmark in the other game in Group 1 of Division A in Copenhagen.
The French even seemed on their way to defeat after a goal from Andreas Weimann in the 37th minute, but in the final phase Kylian Mbappé prevented an Austrian victory.
Due to the loss of points, France, which won the Nations League last year, is last in the group. Despite the loss, Denmark leads the pack with six points. There is still one round to go before the summer: France will play Croatia at home on Monday and Denmark will take on Austria in Copenhagen.
After France’s draw (1-1) against Croatia last Monday, Deschamps emphasized that there was no reason to panic. The national coach sees the Nations League matches mainly as preparation for the World Cup in Qatar and so he wants to try things out.
Standings group 1 Division A
- 1. Denmark 3-6 (+1)
- 2. Austria 3-4 (+2)
- 3. Croatia 3-4 (-2)
- 4. France 3-2 (-1)
Disappointment with the French afterwards.
Disappointment with the French afterwards. Photo: Getty Images
France starts with Boubacar and Kamara
The French therefore again did not play in their strongest line-up against Austria. Mbappe started on the bench, while there was a starting place for players such as William Saliba, Boubacar Kamara and Moussa Diaby.
With Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann, Frankijk started with world-class strikers, but they didn’t get any great opportunities before half-time. On the other hand, Austria scored in the 37th minute. Marko Arnautovic, who played his 101st international match, served Konrad Laimer and he gave a low lead. Weimann tapped in (0-1).
After the break, Kingsley Coman was close to the equalizer. The Bayern Munich player fired over and an attempt by Benjamin Pavard was saved by Austrian goalkeeper Patrick Pentz. When it was still 1-0 after 63 minutes, Deschamps decided to bring in Mbappé. That paid off in the 83rd. The attacker of Paris Saint-Germain shot beautifully in the short corner (1-1). Mbappé then almost helped the French to a win, but the substitute’s shot ended via keeper Pentz on the crossbar.
Joy to Croatia after the 0-1.
Joy to Croatia after the 0-1. Photo: Getty Images
Pasalic shoots Croatia to victory
Denmark was still without points in the Nations League after two rounds, but it went wrong against vice world champions Croatia on Friday. In Copenhagen, the Croats won 0-1 after national coach Zlatko Dalic brought Luka Modric into the team after the break.
Mario Pasalic scored the only goal of the game in the seventieth minute on a pass from Andrej Kramaric. After the 0-1 Denmark did everything to equalize. That seemed to work in the final phase, but substitute Jonas Wind was offside and so the goal was disallowed.