After defeat at home to Italy and a win over Belgium, the overarching ethos remains the same: substance over style By Raphaël Jucobin for Get French Football News The crowd in Lyon was in an unforgiving mood. Just under 24 hours after the country closed out an unforgettable summer of sport, the unwavering home support that had carried French athletes in Paris since the end of July largely dissipated as the men’s football team lined up in Lyon to face Belgium. All of Didier Deschamps, Kylian Mbappé, Mattéo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola were booed by sections of the home support when their names were announced in the lineups. The most hostile reception was reserved for Barcola’s introduction in the second half, with the player’s departure for Paris Saint-Germain more than a year ago still leaving a bitter taste for locals. Continue reading...

Injuries and change of coaches have left Italy forward struggling to fulfil his own lofty ambitions Federico Chiesa hoped Euro 2024 would be a platform to relaunch his career. In a TV interview on the eve of the tournament, the Italy forward spoke wistfully of how a knee injury sustained within six months of helping his country win the previous edition had knocked him off course. “After Euro 2020 I had a chance to position myself among the top footballers in the world,” he said. “Instead I tore my cruciate ligament and had a long period of rehabilitation. My objective is to get back among the very best.” It did not happen this summer. Chiesa played well in Italy’s opener, a 2-1 win over Albania, but struggled along with the rest of his teammates as the Azzurri were dominated by Spain. Benched for the final group game, against Croatia, he failed to make a mark after returning to the starting XI for the last-16 loss to Switzerland. Continue reading...