PARIS: France failed to retain the title of UEFA Nations League as their hopes to qualify for the final four were shattered after a home defeat by Croatia in a Group A1 match, here at Stade de France Stadium on Monday.
France’s eagerness to secure their first win in the competition remained unfulfilled as Croatia avenged the World Cup Final loss to rule the World Champions out of the League.
Luka Modric scored the penalty in the fifth minute after Ante Budimir was knocked down inside the area by Ibrahima Konate, which remained the lone goal of the match as Karim Benzema’s side failed to take down the lead.
France have now lost two and drawn two games in the competition to finish at the bottom of Group A1 with two points.
Meanwhile, Denmark top the group on nine points – two points ahead of Croatia – after a 2-0 win over Austria.
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SPLIT: Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric netted the ball in a late penalty to make the reigning World Champions France wait for their first victory of the ongoing UEFA Nations League.
The reigning world champion France are still searching for their first triumph in the tournament as the side, once again witnessed the game slipping out of their hands in the closing minutes as the home side forced a 1-1 draw.
Following the team’s 1-3 defeat against Denmark, the manager Didier Deschamps made changes to the Playing XI with Aurelien Tchouameni the only player, who managed to keep his spot. Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe, on the other hand, also remained as the substitutes.
In the first half of the match, France received a number of chances as Christopher Nkunku saw a goal called back for offside. Moussa Diaby and Tchouameni also had a chance each but the Croatian goalkeeper Ante Budimir responded for the home side and made multiple saves for his side.
Despite having enormous firepower on the bench, France finally managed to make the scoreboard move in the 52nd minute as Adrien Rabiot’s left-footed strike dodged the Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
However, just like against Denmark, France lost their way in the match as Jonathan Clauss took Kramaric down in the penalty area and a quick VAR check resulted in the favour of the home side.
Kramaric, despite having the pressure of a second consecutive defeat for Croatia, kept his nerves calm and netted the ball comfortably to give both teams their first points in the tournament.
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