France, in difficulty in the first period, won 2-1 in Belgium in a match of the 4th day of the Nations League A (group 2), this Monday, October 14 at the Roi-Baudouin stadium in Brussels.
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A double from Randal Kolo Muani allowed the French team to keep the upper hand over Belgium (2-1) and end October with two welcome successes in a period of turbulence. As in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup (1-0) and the 2021 Nations League (3-2), as at the Euro (1-0) and as in the first leg (2-0), the Blues once again gave a lesson in “winning” to the Belgians, in a match that was nevertheless balanced.
The Blues are getting closer to the quarter-finals
With the success against Israel on Thursday (4-1), these six points allow the Blues to approach the quarter-finals of the current edition, and coach Didier Deschamps to breathe a little. The coach is rewarded for his unwavering loyalty to “ RKM”, in difficulty at PSG, but author of his first double in Blue, a serene penalty (35th sp) and a superb uncrossed header on a cross from Lucas Digne (62nd).
In the months following the World Cup in Qatar, Deschamps made Randal Kolo Muani his official center forward, but he struggled to take over from Olivier Giroud. The fault lies in technical shortcomings, particularly in playing with their backs to goal. But Kolo Muani, then tossed to the right, or even the left, never gave up.
Captain Kylian Mbappé watched this match from Madrid. He posted a photo of a TV screen broadcasting the match just after a photo of his return to training at Real Madrid, in an Instagram story.
Although he is reassured on an accounting level, now five steps ahead of the Red Devils with two matches remaining in the groups, Didier Deschamps still has a lot of work to do. The defense had a difficult evening. William Saliba played his worst match in Blue. He cost a penalty on a huge slip causing him to mow down Loïs Openda, who had nevertheless missed his catch.
The only satisfaction with Kolo Muani was Bradley Barcola, hard-hitting and full of ease, causing the penalty for a gross handball by Wout Faes. The Blues opened the scoring against the run of play, with their usual success against the Belgians.