France defeated Brazil 2-1 in Boston for the first game of their March international break US tour.
France’s national team manager Didier Deschamps had plenty of firepower at his disposal, except the injured Bradley Barcola. To compensate for the winger’s absence, Hugo Ekitike was deployed as a left-sided attacker. The Liverpool striker looks to have cemented his place into France’s World Cup squad thanks to an all-action display, capped with a great goal after the hour mark.
On the opposite side, Michael Olise carried his Bayern Munich form into the international stage with moments of brilliance, a remarkable work rate and another assist. As for Ousmane Dembélé, the PSG No. 9 surprisedly featured a free-roaming attacking midfielder, who even dropped deeper sometimes to help France’s build-up. He still managed to assist Kylian Mbappé, who is now one goal short of Olivier Giroud’s all-time record for France goals.
Dayot Upamecano started tonight’s game to near-perfection with controlled agression and clever interventions to snuff out Brazil’s counter-attacks. The Bayern Munich man has his work cut out with Carlo Ancelotti fielding Gabriel Martinelli, Vinicius Jr., Raphinha and Mattheus Cunha from the start. Unfortunately, the Bayern Munich man’s afternoon was cut short in clipping Wesley ten minutes into the second half.
The referee upgraded his initial decision to a red card, which forced Deschamps’ hand into introducing Maxence Lacroix probably earlier that he would have liked. The Crystal Palace centre-back could have done better for Bremer’s goal. As for France’s right-sided centre-back, Ibrahima Konaté also looked shaky. Plenty to ponder for Deschamps, although William Saliba’s spot seems safe.
Although picking a red card in a friendly game is never a good look, Upamecano’s sending off proved a litmus test for Les Bleus to showcase their mental and physical attributes. On the latter, Deschamps could be pleased with what he saw with Les Bleus rallying to double their lead. The second goal neatly embodies their team spirit with a brilliant team move against the run of play, despite a player off.
Brazil ramped up the pressure in the dying minutes to salvage a draw, but they still could not find a way past those resilient French players, who dug in to keep their result. Togetherness and mental strengths are necessary qualities to go far in international tournaments, and France are far from lacking in those attributes.
