France boss Didier Deschamps was careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Croatia, leaving the reigning world champions without a win in their two UEFA Nations League outings so far this campaign.
France looked to have moved on from the dispiriting 2-1 loss to Denmark on Friday when former PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot struck early in the second half (52') of Monday's clash with Croatia in Split, but Andrej Kramarić's penalty (83', pen.) levelled it up late to leave Les Bleus in third place in League A's Group 1.
"This result brings regrets even though we were a bit incoherent in the final stages," admitted Deschamps after the final whistle. "We had the overall control, with two chances to make it two-nil, but we conceded a little too many situations to this Croatian team at the end. The lines were stretched. But it was consistent overall. We could also have avoided losing possession on many occasions. I can't be completely satisfied even if there are many more positives."
France's next chance to really get on the board in the competition comes on Friday 10 June, when they face Austria at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, with the final match of the bloc - once again against the Croatia of Rennes midfielder Lovro Majer - to follow on Monday 13 June. Kylian Mbappé, kept out of the Croatia match as a precaution after being subbed off with a knee complaint at half-time in France's loss to Denmark, is likely to feature in one or both of France's upcoming clashes.
