Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot both started as France’s World Cup journey came to a surprisingly tame end in Dallas.
France went into the semi-final against Spain as the favourites in the eyes of most pundits and bookies, but it was La Roja who put on a tactical masterclass to book their place in what will be only their second ever World Cup final.
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Spain managed to keep the front three of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise quiet, while at the other end Mikel Oyarzabal scored a first half penalty before full-back Pedro Porro sealed the victory with second half goal.
Maignan started in goal and played the full game. He guessed the right way for the spot kick but didn’t really get near it, while there was little he could really do about Porro’s second. Rabiot meanwhile got an early yellow card and was taken off at half-time for Manu Kone.
GOAL gave Maignan a 5 out of 10: “Didn’t keep much out but can’t be blamed for the loss.” Rabiot meanwhile was given a 4: “Booked nine minutes in and couldn’t recover. He’s had much better games this tournament, but was weak on and off the ball before being subbed at half-time.”
Meanwhile, L’Equipe (via Sky) gave Maignan a 4 for his performance and Rabiot a 5, despite the aforementioned. The paper used a picture of a dejected Kylian Mbappe on their front page and the headline of “Fallen star” – adding the team were “powerless” to stopping Spain.
It was announced yesterday that Maignan and Rabiot will be given vacation until August 12 after the tournament, on which date they will join the rest of the team at Milanello when they return from their tour of Australia, Indonesia and Poland.
They (have) saved us five days of the transfer window by losing, this works to our benefit…
How have this saved us 5 days?
Think about it, what if they wish to leave? It really isn’t that complicated.
Lol they dont. They still have match for 3rd place. But hey brain isnt your strong suit.
My exact thought lol
*I (have) never said
Who gives a damn about the third place? I have never said they will/would available to Amorim straight away, they will appear at Milanelo one month from now but they can take their minds
off the World cup after the last night’s defeat & elimination and slowly start thinking about the
club they’re playing for which is/was something
they (have) put aside for a while.
To leave Milan, not the NT.
Not a good advertisement for those hoping to attract attention using the WC. The morale of the story…work more talk less…and dont bite the hand that feeds you…
*cough cough* Leao
“Maignan and Rabiot will be given vacation until August 12”
This is the problem with swapping managers – especially ones with such wildly different philosophies, in a World Cup year.
Don’t get me wrong it was the right call, but the reality is we may be a little lost at sea for a few games, and a certain type of fan is going to have to hold on tightly to their toys until then.
How many games will it take until we see calls for Gila and Ramos to be sold? I’d give it 5.
Maignan with a score of 4 is petty. He only had 1 blunder pass when he was put under unnecessary pressure (by the defender) and it didn’t result in a major issue. I don’t see why he would be scored that low. He was one of the players with most touches, while the team was already losing with 2 goals…
Rabiot and the rest of the midfield were eaten alive by the Spanish midfielders. As a supporter of the French team in this World Cup, last night felt like Allegri was on the bench and I was watching any of the last several matches of Milan…
France was flat AF. Spain was probably the first real competition they faced and Deschamps had zero answers. Zidane can’t take over soon enough.
I have no idea how you motivate a team to play for third.
Lucas Digne looked like Gary Neville out there, completely out of his depth, Make-A-Wish footballer. They should’ve started Theo even with all the bad publicity. You can’t be PC when it comes to winning.
France were a delight to watch with some very good matches and not surprised to see them in the semi finals. There is no disgrace to lose to a super talented Spanish squad who happen to be current Euro Champs. Our players return with heads high after dominating and entertaining performances. If they did get by Spain, that would be 3 WC finals in a row.
France didn’t play defense when they needed to. Deschamps should have yanked Maignan before he became The Reason for disaster. Disaster Is Exactly what Maignan is and was. Needs to be Permanently Replaced ASAP.