Camavinga, Nkunku, and Barcola shine as France secure a 4-1 victory over Israel in European Qualifiers.
Introduction
France won comprehensively against Israel as both teams showed flashes of brilliance in their Euro Qualifiers match, which they won 4-1. Eduardo Camavinga had scored early on in the game, leaving a rather tame effort from the French midfielder fumbled over the line by Israel’s goalkeeper Glazer, but his reaction to a set-piece goal left considerable surprise in his play. Despite Israel’s best efforts to recover, France’s dominance, especially in midfield, was too much for them.
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Camavinga’s Early Goal and France’s Fast Start
It was the ideal kind of start French manager Didier Deschamps would have liked. Out on the right wing, Ousmane Dembélé was involved in the build-up, going through with a wonderful dummy pass which helped France find a seam in Israel’s defense early. Glazer mishandled a harmless effort by Camavinga and presented France with the lead, his first in a competitive match for Les Bleus since October 2020.
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Israel had hardly any time to get back into the match after being caught off guard by that initial blow. They did have an okay shape in defense, sometimes a 3-4-2-1 when they didn’t need to but a static 5-4-1 every time they were threatened. Gandelman and Gloukh were the two midfielders attempting to take advantage of finding a hole or two created round lone striker Baribo, while the entire French midfield was marshaled by Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni, bringing them back.
Israel settled into the game gradually despite this slow start. Gandelman, who has come into stellar form this season with nine goals in ten starts across all competitions, again rose to the task this time with a well-placed header, assisted by Gloukh, bringing Israel back into the game and a moment of hope to the visitors.
But France quickly regained their flow and were back in charge of the game. Camavinga, a participant in almost every one of France’s good phases, worked for Christopher Nkunku here, finding him through to restore France’s advantage. Peacefully, amongst his defender, Nkunku rounded him inside the box, placed the ball coolly past the goalkeeper, and into the net for the 2-1 lead.
France’s Control in the Second Half
Going into half time, Deschamps would have been pleased with the performance of his team. Israel, though disciplined, never really posed much of an attacking threat. Baribo, their lone frontman, found it a tough ask to really break through France’s very solid defensive line. For Israel to take anything from this game, it needed more penetration in the final third, which never really came to the fore.
France came out of the half strong, dominating the game through their midfield. Hernandez still threatened from the left flank while combining with Nkunku and eventually Dembélé, but seriously stretched Israel’s back line.
Israel could not help but pass Gloukh and Abu Fani in their search for an equalizer, but France held firm at the back.
Guendouzi and Barcola Seal the Victory
France were the better team in the last half, but failed to put up the same level of energy they did in the first half of play. Israel could not feed their front men, including those that came off the bench to replace Peretz and Khalaili, which made it tough for them to gain an inch on the field.
But France secured the game late in the match with two late goals. The third goal for France came by Matteo Guendouzi. This was after a good run at the right time, crossing it. And then, Bradley Barcola finished things off with a composed finish to make it 4-1. Throughout the game, Israel’s defence had worked well; hence they could not hold against France’s relentless pressure.
Conclusion
A Convincing Performance by France
Les Bleus were hugely in their debt for a Camavinga early goal, slotting in the perfect second ball to his side. Israel threatened for a spell, but France never really looked like letting their grip slip, and late goals merely papered over the cracks of a well-deserved victory.