France ended 2024 with an unexpected recovery in the UEFA Nations League, which was completed on Sunday with a 3-1 victory away to Italy. Adrien Rabiot scored a headed goal in each half as Lucas Digne excelled with a role in each of France’s three goals as Didier Deschamps’ men trailed the Azzurri on goal difference in Milan.
Andrea Cambiaso’s effort appeared to have kept Luciano Spalletti’s side top of League A Group 2, but Les Bleus just crossed the line despite Thursday’s goalless draw against Israel. It ends the calendar year on an unlikely positive note, although it does not completely eliminate the numerous concerns about the French national team at the moment.
What the result does indicate is a more positive qualifying campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will finally start next spring. Such strong performances from the likes of Rabiot and Digne bring the kind of positivity to Deschamps and his France side that has been in so little supply of late.
Most of the talk around Les Bleus focuses on the absence of captain Kylian Mbappé, but results like this illustrate that there is currently the necessary talent pool available. It will take time to build a chemistry similar to that with which France achieved success in Russia in 2018, but there are indications that the country could start to develop in qualifying.
The Nations League is admittedly not the best barometer for international supremacy, given the large number of top countries that are still far from full strength. However, recovering from an opening 3-1 defeat at home to Italy and ending the season by mirroring that result to top the group is something to work with.
Rabiot returns to full fitness and playing sharpness after joining Olympique de Marseille in his homeland, while Digne’s partnership with Aston Villa now extends to the French side. Deschamps seems to have opted for a central defensive duo of William Saliba alongside Ibrahima Konate, with Jules Kounde more or less as right back.
Digne has put pressure on Theo Hernandez with this attacking display, while the combination of Rabiot with Manu Kone and Matteo Guendouzi behind Christopher Nkunku has also shown promise. Certainly, the attacking duo of Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram remains a complicated proposition and underlined the continued need for a reinstated Mbappe.
However, if you can rely on the likes of Mike Maignan to pull off huge game-winning saves as late as he does, there are clearly some pretty substantial building blocks in place. Mbappe’s reintegration will go a long way in determining whether Les Bleus can loosen the shackles that led them to the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
Deschamps remains absolutely the master of his own destiny with this recovery under his belt as 2024 draws to a close and it would be a surprise to see him step aside despite growing frustration with his tactics. It’s still inconceivable that he’ll be forced out as long as the league shows remain convincing on paper and he’s earned the right to say when his time in the role is up.
Not everything is rosy for France, as this year has shown, but the one thing that cannot be disputed is that this team has the talent and that is without the likes of Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Aurelien Tchouameni and Lucas Hernandez. The collective mentality and attitude of the players on display at San Siro after the final whistle suggests that Les Bleus can still show a new face in 2025.