Offside

The last matchday of Group A of the Nation League saw a battle against relegation for France, the World Champions against Denmark a team they can’t seem to defeat. The relegation of the France National Team relied on two factors, the first being they lose against Denmark and the second being Austria wins against the Croatians. The match seemed to be even with France having a bit more possession than Denmark. The Danes showed a lot of character and set-up some dangerous crosses in the final third, Denmark also seemed dangerous from the corners and it was quite evident that a goal was imminent. The French team, though pressed very high and had a great tempo, gave away a lot of loose passes which allowed Denmark to counter-attack. The first goal came at 34th Min when Damsgaard put up a low cross into the box which was scored by Dolberg with a little strech, the finish could have been much better nonetheless Dolberg got the job done. Dolberg was a legitimate threat up until that point and proved why he was a threat to the French defence which lacked the right positioning which allowed another goal just 5 minutes after the first one which was a great shot by Olsen, who was unmarked and received a low volley from Thomas Delaney inside the penalty box. The constant attacks by the The Danes left the high pressing Frenchmens at a very high risk, the defence was of no help and with Maignan out of injury the goal seemed to be vulnerable. Not to take away anything from Areola as he did provide some important saves but overall the result was not in the favour of France’s defence which could be the consequence of poor tactics and formation by the manager as well as few individual errors. Even though France lost but thanks to Croatia, it was Austria who faced relegation.