Defending champions France had their hopes of retaining the Nations League title crushed after they were beaten by Croatia in front of their fans. The defeat means they cannot reach next year’s finals. Real Madrid star Luka Modric gave the visitor’s the lead in the first five minutes of the game after Liverpool player Ibrahima Konate fouled Ante Budimir in the penalty box. The Real Madrid player stepped up and made no mistake as he scored the goal.
France Fail to Succeed Against Croatia even with top Strikers
With the likes of Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, and Christopher Nkunku who are the three top scorers in the four Europe’s major leagues could not find the net at the end of the day. France head coach Didier Deschamps and his men were left shocked as they loss yet another game in the Nations League. France are m is bottom of Group A1 on two points from four games.
The head coach of France said: “It was a difficult month of June in terms of results. We did not have the energy and the strength against teams who had more than us.” Deschamps also said: “We lost a bit of self-confidence along the way but it’s mostly freshness that we lacked. When you play so many games it is very very hard.”
Denmark top the group on nine points – two points above Croatia – after a 2-0 win over Austria. Jonas Wind scored from Joakim Maehle’s cut-back and then set up Andreas Skov Olsen to slot home their second. The final two rounds of games will be played in September with France hoping to avoid relegation to League B.
