Deschamps urges France to find shooting boots at EURO 2024

France manager Didier Deschamps expressed the need for his team to improve their goal-scoring abilities during EURO 2024.

Despite ending their group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw against Poland, Deschamps believes that the knockout rounds will provide a fresh start for his side.

France secured second place in Group D with five points, trailing surprise leaders Austria. They have now advanced to the last 16, where they will face the runners-up from Group E, consisting of Romania, Belgium, Slovakia, and Ukraine, all of whom have three points each.

France began their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Austria, thanks to an own goal. However, they struggled to find the back of the net in a goalless draw against the Netherlands and their recent draw against Poland, where Kylian Mbappe scored from a penalty.

Deschamps is concerned about their lack of goals and hopes that they can regain the impressive scoring form they displayed during the qualifying matches.

Deschamps emphasized the need for his team to be more clinical and score more goals. He remains positive and believes that they can improve as they enter a new phase of the competition.

In their match against Poland, France took the lead through Mbappe's penalty after Ousmane Dembele was fouled in the penalty area.

This goal marked Mbappe's first European Championship goal since returning to the team wearing a face mask after breaking his nose in the opening match against Austria.

Deschamps emphasized the importance of Mbappe returning to action, despite the challenges caused by wearing a mask.

He mentioned that the mask made it difficult for the France captain, especially when sweating, as it stings his eyes and requires him to wipe them.

However, Deschamps acknowledged Mbappe's eagerness to play and believed that the game would benefit him.

France faced setbacks when Lewandowski equalized with a penalty, which he had to retake due to Maignan coming off his line.

Despite having 19 shots, France struggled to score against Poland's goalkeeper Skorupski, who was named man-of-the-match.

Deschamps expressed that he was not disappointed, highlighting the team's effort until the end and acknowledging the need to credit the opponent's goalkeeper for his performance.