Didier Deschamps was under a bit of pressure heading into France’s Round of 16 clash with Argentina, but his players stepped up in Kazan.
Despite picking up two wins and a draw, the three performances prior to Saturday had been slightly underwhelming considering the amount of talent in the French squad.
However, we saw what their attacking players are truly capable of as they came from 2-1 down to record a rampant 4-3 win over Argentina and reach the quarter-finals.
Going forward, Kylian Mbappe was simply too much for the likes of Nicolas Otamendi and Marcos Rojo, but just as key to Les Bleus’ victory was their defending.
Whenever you face Argentina, you must devise a plan to stop Lionel Messi, and France manager Deschamps has revealed each exact way he went about doing just that.
LEO MESSI V FRANCE
In what may be the final World Cup match of his glittering career, Messi didn’t have a constant influence on the game but still registered two assists.
France v Argentina: Round of 16 – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia
The first was fortunate as his shot hit Gabriel Mercado and wrong-footed Hugo Lloris, but the second was an exceptional ball to Sergio Aguero, whose header sparked a nervy finish.
Overall, Messi wasn’t able to perform at his very best and that was in large part due to Deschamps masterminding a way to keep the Barcelona star quiet.
THE FOUR WAYS DESCHAMPS STOPPED MESSI
Following France’s thrilling win, Deschamps brilliantly explained the four main tactics he used to stop Argentina’s all-time leading scorer.
“I think my Argentinian counterpart (Jorge Sampaoli) wanted to give him (Messi) more freedom to come behind our central midfielders,” he said, via Marca.
“But we adapted to neutralise him. (N’Golo) Kante was always marking him. We had two chances; stopping him getting on the ball, which we did a lot.
“And when he had it, we had to have one (player) on him and one just off him. He was subject to a unique vigilance.”
Deschamps, who won the World Cup as a player in 1998, continued: “We knew the connection between (Javier) Mascherano, (Ever) Banega and Messi.
“If you want Messi to have less influence, you have to block the other two.”
So, the keys to stopping Messi were having one player mark him, another very close to him, preventing Mascherano and Banega getting on the ball to find him, and of course, N’Golo Kante.
While Messi and Argentina now lick their wounds after a disappointing tournament, Deschamps’ France prepare for a quarter-final tie against in-form Uruguay.