The Albany Gazette - France show they can ditch flair and win a different way in World Cup quest

This World Cup so far has been lit up by the return of French flair, with Les Bleus possibly performing better than they have at any major tournament since Zinedine Zidane inspired them to glory at Euro 2000.

Deschamps has had a richly successful 14-year reign in charge, but he is usually a pragmatic coach who prioritises substance over style.

That has changed over the last few weeks in the United States, as he appears to have decided he can hand the keys to his many brilliant attacking players in his last tournament before stepping down.

But after scoring 13 goals across first four matches, they had to ditch the flair and win in a different way in their 1-0 last-16 victory against Paraguay on Saturday.

It took a Kylian Mbappe penalty in the 70th minute in Philadelphia to settle a niggly contest in which Paraguay set out to put everyone behind the ball and wind up their opponents.

Somehow the South Americans escaped without a single booking from a game described by French sports daily L'Equipe as "a fight that you shouldn't show to your children".

"If we have to get our hands dirty, we'll get our hands dirty. We've no problem with that," Mbappe said after the game, which was also played in sweltering conditions with late afternoon temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

The lesson for their future opponents is that you can try to frustrate France and get under their skin, but it might not work as a strategy.

"Their main quality is fighting, but we showed that the France team is not only about playing nice football. Anyone who wants to go to war with us, now they know what to expect," said Rayan Cherki, the Manchester City forward who came on as a late substitute.

- Morocco challenge -

Bradley Barcola said he had "never played in a game like that, getting kicked and pushed in the back that often".

France have won all five games at this World Cup, led by captain Mbappe who is level with Lionel Messi as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals.

Their attacking firepower is extraordinary, but their defence is also formidable, with the pace and power of William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano in front of a top-class goalkeeper in Mike Maignan.

Les Bleus have conceded just two goals, one a late consolation in their opening match against Senegal and one against Norway.

Nobody in the French camp can be getting carried away, however, as up to now they have played only one opponent in the top 30 in the FIFA rankings. That was Senegal, who are 15th.

Now they must take on seventh-ranked Morocco, who represent a different level of opposition altogether.

It will be a fascinating remake of the 2022 semi-final in Qatar which France won 2-0. The presence in the Moroccan ranks of gifted French-born midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who captained the France Under-21 team as recently as March before switching allegiance, adds to the intrigue.

But France have nothing to fear. They have now reached the quarter-finals in four straight World Cups under Deschamps.

In his first major tournament, they lost to eventual winners Germany in the last eight in Brazil in 2014, before they won the trophy in Russia in 2018 and reached another final four years later.

Saturday's hard-earned victory at Lincoln Financial Field was the 19th at a World Cup for Deschamps.

He has already overtaken West Germany's Helmut Schoen as the coach with the most wins at the tournament overall, and intends to keep the run going all the way to the final on July 19.

After all, the main thing France have been good at under Deschamps is winning.

(D.Lewis--TAG)