World Cup 2018: France vs Denmark, 5 best and worst players
So, this World Cup finally served a goalless draw in its platter, not to mention one of the dullest matches of this edition of the tournament too.
With the Round of 16 qualifications somewhat confirmed for both the teams, the players slowed down the tempo of the game and there was hardly anything noteworthy throughout the duration of the 90 minutes.
Denmark hardly looked to attack, as their primary objective was to ensure a draw that would seal their spot in the next round of the tournament.
Didier Deschamps had rung in the changes, making as many as six variations in the starting XI from the game against Peru.
Players such as Samuel Umtiti, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Lloris were rested and there was an obvious dip in the performance of the team from a collective perspective too.
France might not make so many changes yet again further in the tournament, and they would hope that their star players would have utilized this break to a good extent to be fresh for the knockout stages of the tournament too.
Here, we discuss five best (trust me it’s difficult to take them from this game) and worst players from the encounter between the top two teams of the group C.
#5. Worst: Thomas Lemar
What exactly was Lemar doing in this game would remain clouded for a while now? Thomas started on the left flank, but did not provide any attacking zip through the wide areas.
He failed to burst into the box at the correct situations and was often much reserved and compressed for someone who was given the freedom to provide some zealous moments from the wing.
He did not cut in to take shots, neither did he use his left foot to churn crosses for Olivier Giroud.
In the second half, Lemar was shifted to a more central area to control the tempo of the game and to add up numbers at the middle of the park. He was stitching decent passes, but nothing penetrative enough to rip past the Danish defence.
For the majority of the game, Thomas was a spectator on the field, often falling short of his duties and hence it isn’t a big surprise now regarding why he has been unable to break into the starting XI of this team.
His lack of creativity deprived France of breaking through a resolute Danish backline, and we might not see much of Lemar going ahead in the tournament now.