Olivier Giroud has complained of a lack of service from his team-mates despite scoring two goals in France's 3-0 win over Bulgaria on Wednesday evening.
With Karim Benzema having been forced off late in the first period due to taking a knock in the thigh, fellow striker Giroud found the net twice in the second half to seal victory in their final friendly before the Euros.
Still, Giroud feels that he could have had more than just a double on the night had his compatriots made better, more efficient decisions in attacking phases.
What was said?
“I was a little quiet because sometimes I make runs and the through-balls aren't forthcoming,” Giroud told l'Equipe after the match.
“I'm not saying that I always make the best runs, but I always look to offer solutions in the box.
“With two good balls supplied from Ben [Pavard] and Wissam [Ben Yedder] I finished well, but we could have scored more goals if we had been more efficient.”
Didier attempts to defuse
Many sought to question whether Giroud was calling out Kylian Mbappe for being too individualistic on the ball rather than playing for the team, but coach Didier Deschamps moved quickly to defuse the situation.
“It's always the same,” the France boss told a press conference. “The attacker will say: 'I'm making runs, but it's on the midfield to supply me'. Then the midfielders will say that it is the attackers' fault.
“Sometimes, yes, the pass isn't forthcoming, but sometimes it's down to individual movement. But this is not a criticism of Kylian or whoever.
“I spoke to Kylian at half-time too,” Deschamps added. “Olivier doesn't have the same profile as Karim, he's more of a target man, a pivot. In the first half, the three (Benzema, Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann) could interchange and end up in any zone.
“After that, if they choose to do an individual action when they could have made a pass, it's the game that forces them to do so. It's up to them to choose.”
The Goal view
David Hernandez of Goal France says: “Mbappe was forced to move a little more to the left after Benzema's exit and can, as he sometimes does at PSG, cause irritation by performing certain actions from wide that are too individual.
“We knew that with the offensive potential present in this group, there would inevitably be disappointments. We just didn't think that egos might be affected so quickly when the Euros haven't even started yet...”
Further reading
- Boost for France as Benzema injury not serious
- Who are favourites to win Euro 2020?
- Euro 2020 Top 100 players to watch