World Cup 2018: 3 Things that went wrong for Peru against France
Imagine waiting for almost three decades to see your nation participate in the FIFA World Cup, and then watch them bow out of the event after just two games.
This is what the Peruvians must have been going through when the final time whistle blew as France had won the match courtesy of a first-half strike by Kylian Mbappe.
France were almost flawless in the first half, but their South American opposition showed some sheer determination and tenacity to push the game to the edges in the second half.
This was insufficient in the end, and France’s experience and class were clearly visible as they absorbed the numerous waves of pressure that Peru posed. Ricardo Gareca’s men were regularly in the look of an equaliser, but the French backline stuck to their positions and exuded calmness amidst the chaos.
Here, we analyze the three things that went wrong in this game for the Peruvians.
#1 Dropping the intensity after an electric start in the first half
The French midfielders aren’t someone who instantly get into the groove of the game. Blaise Matuidi has slowed down a tad bit, and Paul Pogba takes his own time to settle perfectly into the proceedings of the match.
Hence, Peru seemed to have identified this minor glitch and were absolutely threatening in the first quarter of the hour.
They relentlessly attacked and forced France to move backward in the game. Many thought that the inevitable were to happen, and a goal for Peru at that stage of the game would have been well deserved.
Surprisingly though, they dropped this energy as the first half of the game progressed and allowed Pogba to settle into the game.
Moreover, the Peruvian midfielders did not seem to follow the positional instructions too as Pogba was awarded way too many half-spaces near the penalty box.
The Manchester United midfielder used these spaces to find out the accurate passes, which eventually troubled Peru as Kylian Mbappe struck a goal that was initially created by Paul himself.
If Peru would have continued with the same level of pressing throughout the first half, they could have had much better opportunities to trouble France from an attacking perspective.