"It's crap football" - Former Netherlands player hits out at France manager after goalless draw at Euro 2024

Former Netherlands player Pierre van Hooijdok lambasted France manager Didier Deschamps for his tactics in the 0-0 draw between the two sides at Euro 2024 on Friday (June 21). The former Benfica forward lamented the Frenchman's reluctance to bring on attacking substitutes until late on in the game.

France were missing talismanic forward Kylian Mbappe in their squad for the game. The 25-year-old suffered a broken nose after a collision with opposition centre-back Kevin Danso in Les Bleus' 1-0 win over Austria (June 18).

The Dutchman claimed that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) duo Randal Kolo Muani and Bradley Barcola and Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman could have been great options for Deschamps off the bench.

Speaking to French media outlet L'Equipe, He said (via EuroFoot on X):

"Deschamps put [Adrien] Rabiot when he could have put Kolo Muani, Barcola, Coman... with all this available, it's crap football."

Even without Mbappe, France's offensive stocks looked impressive going into the game. Barcola, Kolo Muani and Coman were in great touch in training and in practice matches.

The former scored a hat-trick while the latter two scored a goal each in a mid-tournament friendly against German second-division side Paderborn's Under-21 team on June 20.

Deschamps started the game with Inter's Marcus Thuram, Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and PSG's Ousmane Dembele in attack. Thuram and Griezmann missed multiple big chances to score but stayed on the pitch until late on.

The manager decided to use just two of the five allowed substitutes, taking Dembele and Thuram off for Coman and Olivier Giroud in the 75th minute. However, it was too little too late as the game petered out and ended goalless.

France manager Didier Deschamps defends his side's performance in draw vs Netherlands

The France manager defended his side's performance in the 0-0 draw vs Netherlands at Euro 2024. He came under immense flak for his hesitation to bring on attacking substitutions but dismissed the criticism and said that his side just needed to improve their offensive consistency.

The 55-year-old said (via GFFN):

"It is just the name of the game. Sometimes, you have countless chances and don’t hit the back of the net and sometimes, it is the other way round. I would be worried if there were not any chances. Efficiency at high-level football is important and it is something we can work on."

Explaining his decision to leave superstar attacker Kylian Mbappe on the bench for the whole game, he added:

"Every day he is making progress but today, after what happened yesterday and before that, I thought it was wise to leave him on the bench. I am not concerned [about his fitness]."

Up next, Deschamps' France take on Poland in their final group stage game at Dortmund's Westfalenstadion on June 25. A win in that game would be enough to secure their passage to the knockout stage.