June 13, (THEWILL) – After losing 1-0 at home to Croatia on Monday, France’s Nations League title defence is over as they cannot mathematically make it out of the group stage.
Didier Deschamps’ team had been below par in their first three games of the month, losing one and drawing the other two, and they were no better against a tenacious Croatia at the Stade de France.
With a needless early penalty conceded, which Luka Modric took full advantage of five minutes in, they showed to be their own worst enemy. On another poor day for the reigning world champions, the hosts’ effort was plenty of bravado but lacking in nuance, with clear-cut chances tough to come by.
The penalty was awarded when Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate badly tripped Ante Budimir, and after a lengthy VAR review, the penalty was given allowing Modric to squeeze his kick past Mike Maignan.
However, in the end, Croatia still created the better chances as the minutes dragged on, with Lovro Majer and Nikola Vlasic forcing Maignan into saves. At the final whistle, the visitors had avenged their 2018 World Cup final defeat to Les Bleus.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
