It is hard to argue against the suggestion that France have the best squad in international football – but managing such a wealth of talent is far from straightforward, as Didier Deschamps has proved over 11 years in charge.
Since taking the France job in 2012, Deschamps has continually reinvented his sides, extracting the most from a huge pool of players. More impressively, he has earned a reputation for doing so mid-tournament, tweaking his system game by game to land on formulas that win World Cups or come very close. This familiar pattern appears to be emerging in Qatar, too.
“Deschamps reinvents France's system mid-tournament to maximise Mbappe after qualifying and opening game friction”
Deschamps has prioritised getting the most from Kylian Mbappe, now 27, who prefers to be involved in the game rather than serve solely as a last‑line runner – as he did so brilliantly as a 19‑year‑old in France’s 2018 triumph. Fitting Mbappe as a number nine while making the rest of the team tick is Deschamps’ big challenge.
In qualifying, Deschamps built a logical if unusual system – on paper a lopsided 4‑2‑4 or 4‑2‑3‑1. Hugo Ekitike played on the left, with Mbappe dropping deep and pulling wide, close to the Liverpool forward. Ekitike from the wing, or Ousmane Dembele from a more standard number‑10 position, could move into centre‑forward roles. Michael Olise played on the right wing.
For the opening World Cup game against Senegal, Deschamps set France up in a similar manner, with Desire Doue replacing the injured Ekitike. The system fitted players in the roles they perform for their clubs: for Real Madrid, Mbappe plays as a striker with license to roam, particularly to the left; for Bayern Munich, Olise hugs the right touchline; Dembele, for Paris St‑Germain, acts as a roaming false nine who can drop deep – hence Deschamps fielding him just behind Mbappe.
However, as the Senegal game progressed, points of friction emerged. Off the ball, France defended in a 4‑4‑2 shape with Mbappe and Dembele up top; Olise defended on the right of midfield. Under instruction, France pressed high – but the distances between the attackers and the midfield two of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni were too great. Deschamps looked to fix things – fast.
With each match, the French manager is reshaping his side, searching for the formula that will take the 2022 runners‑up one step further. The question now is whether he can re‑balance his attack without dulling Mbappe’s brilliance.