Deschamps Calm As France Faces Goal Challenges Ahead Of Poland Game

France manager Didier Deschamps remains calm despite his team's recent struggles in front of goal as they prepare for their final Euro 2024 group game against Poland on Tuesday. Les Bleus are joint-top of Group D with four points and need to avoid defeat to secure progression to the knockout stages.

France's only goal in the tournament so far came from an own goal by Maximilian Wober in their 1-0 victory over Austria. This was followed by a goalless draw with the Netherlands, where France failed to score despite having 15 shots. Kylian Mbappe was only fit enough for the bench due to a broken nose.

Deschamps addressed concerns about France's lack of goals, stating, "I am not concerned. 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."

Regarding Mbappe's fitness, Deschamps added, "Everything is going in the right direction; he is recovering from the shock, there is the haematoma part which will diminish each day, he will get used to his mask, which modifies the vision a little. But he is fine."

Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) June 21, 2024

Poland became the first team eliminated from Euro 2024 following France's draw with the Netherlands. They lost their opening matches to the Netherlands (2-1) and Austria (3-1). Robert Lewandowski missed the start of the tournament due to a hamstring injury but appeared from the bench against Austria.

"We are depressed by this result, but we still have one more game in our group, and we need to put our best foot forward and try to win three points," Lewandowski said.

Players to Watch

France: N'Golo Kante

N'Golo Kante was a surprise inclusion in Deschamps' squad after a two-year absence from the national side. His performances have earned him Player of the Match awards in France's opening two games. The midfielder has made more major tournament appearances without losing than any other European player, with France unbeaten in all 17 games he has played across Euros and World Cup (W12 D5).

Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 21, 2024

Poland: Piotr Zielinski

Despite Poland's early exit, Piotr Zielinski remains a key player. He has been directly involved in more shots than any other Poland player at Euro 2024 (11 – seven shots, four chances created) and completed the most passes for his side (68) across the first two rounds.

Match Prediction: France Win

This will be only the third meeting between France and Poland in a major tournament and their first at the Euros. Poland won a third-place play-off match 3-2 at the 1982 World Cup, while France triumphed 3-1 in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup.

Including all competitions, France are unbeaten in their last eight meetings with Poland (W4 D4), since losing a friendly match 4-0 in August 1982. Les Bleus need to avoid defeat to qualify for the knockout stages and are unbeaten in their eight games in the group stage at Euros under Deschamps (W4 D4). Their last such defeat came on MD 3 versus Sweden at Euro 2012 (2-0), under Laurent Blanc.

Meanwhile, Poland have lost both of their games at Euro 2024 so far but have never previously suffered three defeats in a single group stage at a major tournament. They have lost their final group stage match in three of their four previous appearances at European Championships, except for a 1-0 win against Ukraine in 2016 – their only time reaching the knockout rounds of the competition.