Gonzalo Fuentes via Reuters
Two Liverpool players were in action for France on Friday night as they drew 1-1 at home with Italy in the UEFA Nations League. Jeremy Jacquet started the game at centre-back, while Bradley Barcola came off the bench in the 76th minute for Désiré Doué.
France took the lead through Michael Olise in the 70th minute, with the winger continuing his good form, but Italy fired back with a leveller through Alessandro Bastoni.
Les Bleus pushed for a winner initially but found themselves hanging on after Dayot Upamecano was sent off six minutes from time. Upamecano was given a second yellow card just 11 minutes after his first. Italy looked much more likely to score late on, and the referee pretty controversially blew the full-time whistle with Italy surrounding the France box and having an overload, leading to some frustration from Italy stars.
The result keeps France at the top of their Nations League group, one point ahead of Belgium, who made easy work of Turkiye. Italy are in four points and very much still in the race in third place. Turkiye look likely to suffer relegation in this campaign, currently four points behind nearest rivals Italy.
After the game, GOAL rated the France performances, and Jacquet was given a 6/10. They reasoned: "A solid enough performance on the flank, providing the structural width needed in Zidane's 4-3-3. He was disciplined in his positioning, contributing to the team's high possession numbers but rarely ventured into high-risk attacking zones."
Reuters/ Jason Cairnduff
Meanwhile, Barcola was given a 5/10 for his cameo off the bench. They wrote: "Came on alongside Camavinga but struggled to get into the flow of the game as France were forced into a more reactive stance following the dismissal of Upamecano."
Barcola's cameo in numbers
Key passes: 1
Touches: 9
Dribbles: 1
Unsuccessful touches: 1
Passes: 6
Pass susccess: 83.3%
GetFrenchFootball gave Jacquet a 7/10 but did not rate the substitutes. They added: "The Liverpool centre-back looks very much at ease in France’s back-line. He’s as much able to clear the danger as he is to pick up a line-breaking pass with an uncisive move. He was so close to what would have been a stunning goalline clearance to prevent Bastoni from restoring parity."
France are next in action on Monday when they face Belgium in a game that could go a long way in deciding who wins the Nations League group. Although, seeding is the only real relevance to winning the group, with second place teams in League A groups also progressing to the final stage of the competition.
Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz