Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-1 France: 5 talking points as Les Bleus eke out unconvincing win | FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2022

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs France. Source: @goal (Twitter)
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs France. Source: @goal (Twitter)

#3 Didier Deschamps' 4-4-2 set-up for France is underwhelming

France vs Moldova - UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier
France vs Moldova - UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier

France are blessed with creative, pacy and world-class forwards and midfielders like Kylian Mbappe, Antonie Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Kingsley Coman, Paul Pogba and Tanguy Ndombele. But Didier Deschamps's newly-introduced 4-4-2 does not seem to cut it with this crop of players.

N'Golo Kante was obviously a big miss in midfield, as Adrien Rabiot and Pogba formed the midfield pivot. Meanwhile, Thomas Lemar and Griezmann came in between the lines, with Mbappe and Coman holding the width and attacking the halfspaces.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the majority of the game, had absolutely no problem in dealing with some of the best players across the globe, while their goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic had to face only two shots on target all game.

For France, the 4-2-3-1 still appears to be the best option going into the Euros this summer, but Deschamps seems to have doubts over Olivier Giroud. Maybe it's time to deploy Anthony Martial up front or call up Alexandre Lacazette, someone who has been in top form since the turn of the year.


#4 Kylian Mbappe and Kingsley Coman have disappointing outings

France vs Ukraine - FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar Qualifier
France vs Ukraine - FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar Qualifier

The France duo of Kylian Mbappe and Kingsley Coman, on paper, is arguably one of the most potent in the world. But for some reason, the pair has been quite underwhelming for France in the past three games. Bosnia and Herzegovina handled the two wingers quite convincingly on the night.

Throughout the 90 minutes, Coman and Mbappe only completed a mere four dribbles, with 50% of them coming in the final ten minutes of the game. Known for their quick feet, both were contained by the likes of Sead Kolasinac, Darko Todorovic and Anel Ahmedhodzic.

With key Champions League fixtures coming soon, Mbappe and Coman would need to get themselves back on track and firing on all cylinders.


#5 Antoine Griezmann produces a clutch outing

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs France. Source: @brfootball (Twitter)
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs France. Source: @brfootball (Twitter)

With his 35th goal for his country, Antoine Griezmann is now fourth in the list of France's all-time goal-scorers, one clear of the retired David Trezeguet.

Yet again, it was a Griezmann goal that made the difference between the two teams. While Bosnia and Herzegovina's centre-backs were busy man-marking Olivier Giroud in the middle of the box, Griezmann effortlessly got away from his marker before heading home at the near post, beating Ibrahim Sehic with ease in the 60th minute.

The former Atletico Madrid star has been relentless for France in the past few years. The 30-year-old started all three games for France during this international break, completing 240 minutes on the pitch in less than ten days.

While he's also known to be one of Ronald Koeman's favourite for his work ethic and attitude on the pitch, Griezmann's managers need to make sure the striker doesn't run out of gas as the business end of the season approaches.

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Edited by Bhargav
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