Never seen before: France star rips into team after World Cup debacle | OneFootball

In the turbulent 4:6 defeat against England, the French especially endured a first half to forget. After just 45 minutes, Didier Deschamps’ team was already trailing 0:4. 

Adrien Rabiot therefore found clear words for his teammates after the final whistle. In an interview with 'BeIN Sports', the Milan star, who himself played the full 90 minutes, spoke of a "pretty embarrassing" performance. With some players, he said, he had observed behavior he had "never seen before." He added: "It’s disappointing, because it was the last game to make an impression."

But why did the team perform like that? The disappointment over the semifinal exit against Spain could have been one reason, Rabiot admitted. The final bit of determination had been missing, "but there was still a job to do until the end – and we can’t just mess it up like that." Strong words from the Frenchman, who at least saw "a bit of pride" in his teammates’ reaction in the second half. 

That still could not change the overall verdict on the match. Because in the first half, "certain behaviors were unacceptable." 

His coach Deschamps even took the defeat in his final match after 14 years as national team coach on himself. "The fact that we didn’t manage it is of course my fault, we should have done more in the first half," said the 57-year-old.

He also commented on his halftime team talk: "I got angry, as sometimes happens with me." Aurélien Tchouaméni confirmed after the game that he got through to his players. 

"We were ashamed as a team. We knew we weren’t doing what was necessary, and it could have been even worse," said the Real star, adding: "We all pulled ourselves together again. The coach gave an extraordinary speech so that everyone could refocus, and after that things went better."

On his coach’s farewell, he said: "He inspired the French people, and now a new coach will come in. We will do everything we can to keep improving and, above all, to win titles." So that a half like that will not happen again. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 CHANDAN KHANNA - AFP or licensors