– It has been a difficult month when it comes to results. We lacked energy and strength against the teams we met. We lost a little self-confidence along the way, but it was mainly because we were worn out. When you play so many matches, it gets tough, says the French national team captain Didier Deschamps after the match, according to the BBC.
Croatia frustrated the rotating French team, where the stars Benzema and Mbappé certainly played the whole match.
The star trio in the Croatian midfield consisting of Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovacić and Marcelo Brozović dominated from the first minute.
After five minutes of play, Karim Benzema gave the home team a 1 – 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right.
The French were furious but on the replays showed that Ibrahim Konaté stepped on Ante Budimir on the hamstring. Mike Maignan in the France goal had his fingers on Modrić’s penalty but was defeated.
Not expelled
One of the snacks is likely to be whether Matteo Guendouzi should have been expelled or not. About twenty minutes in, he elbowed Josip Brekalo in the face, but the referee and the VAR room chose to free the young Frenchman.
Croatia was the clearly better team in the first half, but at the beginning of the second, France picked up the pace and Croatia were depressed.
When Lucas Digne fell in Croatia’s penalty area, the French shouted for a penalty, there was contact but the referee blew for a kick.
France’s best goal chance came in the very last minute when Croatia were about to score an own goal, but goalkeeper Ivica Ivusic was quickly down at the post.
It was the first time since 2020, in 23 matches, that France did not score in an international match, then it was Finland who zeroed Les Bleus.
Denmark tops
Denmark tops the group after its 2-0 win over Austria. Two goals in the first half by Jonas Wind and Andreas Skov Olsen became too much for Austria.
Danish national team captain Kasper Hjulmand is said to be satisfied as the Danish team continues to impress after the European Championship semi-final last year.