UEFA Nations League - Netherlands 2-0 France: 5 Talking Points

#3 Les Bleus' defensive experiment backfires

Varane (far right, no. 4) was France's best defender on a night to forget for the World Cup winners

Although questions will be rightly asked of Deschamps' team selection and substitutions made, the defensive personnel is something out of his hands. As previously mentioned, injuries to key players meant that both Umtiti and Hernandez - starters in Les Bleus' backline - were unavailable here.

That Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy, typically seen flying down the left-hand side for the Premier League champions, just underwent successful knee surgery adds to the injury woes that Didier had to deal with pre-match on this occasion.

Even still, this defensive experiment backfired and in a big way. Holland created chances at will and although they were collectively brilliant, it made for worrying viewing from France's perspective. Just how easily they conceded possession at times or gave their hosts an opportunity to create chances, was not good enough.

Presnel Kimpembe, despite his ability, was shaky. Everton's Lucas Digne, who has impressed this term in England, was encouraging in attack but struggled to cope with the Dutch attacking onslaught at times. Benjamin Pavard, who is normally so mature and composed, was anything but.

The only defender who covered himself in glory was Real Madrid's Raphael Varane, who coincidentally has struggled for form this term. He too was far from perfect, but during a game they were conceding chances with relentless frequency, it's to be expected.

Kanté's 7 tackles was unsurprisingly a game-high, though N'Zonzi's inadvertent involvement for Wijnaldum's goal set the tone.