In spite of a hard-fought battle with Argentina, France have lost the World Cup on penalties. Find out Last Word on Football’s France player ratings after the World Cup final.
France Player Ratings vs Argentina
Hugo Lloris – 6
An easy one to feel bad for Hugo Lloris. Nothing he could do about the penalty and left desperately undefended for the second goal. He’s been unfortunate more than anything else.
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Jules Kounde – 3
Had a horrendous night at the hands of Angel Di Maria, who looked absolutely phenomenal. Although he was playing out of position, you’d hope for at least some resistance from such a reputable defender.
Rafael Varane – 5
Absolutely terrorised by Argentina early on, but got more solid as the match went on. As France improved, the centre-backs came with them.
Dayot Upamecano – 4.5
Still looked ill in spite of returning to France’s starting lineup. Got better as the entire team grew in confidence as a whole.
Theo Hernandez – 3.5
A presumable cornerstone of the plan to stop Lionel Messi, he wasn’t successful. Drawn into poor positions with the second goal in part due to the incredible amount of space left behind for Alexis Mac Allister.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 4.5
Looked somewhat out of his depth, as the French defence was unable to link up with the attack. Got a burst of energy from the goals that got him back into the game.
Adrien Rabiot – 4.5
Incredible lack of control in the middle of the pitch, with Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez dominating physically and mentally. Took more control at the latest stages.
Read More: The Best World Cup Semi-Finals Ever
Antoine Griezmann – 4
Did very little of his controlling football that we’ve become accustomed to in this World Cup. With France outnumbered in the midfield, Griezmann looks like the victim of a tactical deficiency from Didier Deschamps.
Ousmane Dembele – 1.5
Horrendous. Gave away the penalty that opened the scoring and had absolutely no presence down the right-hand side. Yanked off in the first half and it’s easy to see why. Saved from a 1 because at least he didn’t get a red card.
Kylian Mbappe – 9
Took his penalties well and scored an incredible first-touch volley to bring France into the match. Got better as time went on and Argentina tired, with creative players around him getting better too. The entire reason this match was even close.
Read More: Argentina’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Olivier Giroud – 3
Had zero impact on the match. Les Bleus didn’t have a single shot in the first half, and the striker’s usual ability to create chances from nothing very clearly wasn’t on display today.
Marcus Thuram (Substitute) – 7
Got an excellent assist for the second France goal, giving the match far more impetus than it should have had. A clear improvement over Olivier Giroud.
Randal Kolo Muani (Substitute) – 7.5
Provided life to the French attack in the second half, winning the penalty well (in spite of it being incredibly soft). Staked a claim to the berth over Ousmane Dembele after the change worked out.
Kingsley Coman (Substitute) – 7
Added energy and inspiration to Les Bleus, drifting across the pitch from left to right as and when needed. An excellent tactical change from Didier Deschamps.
Edouard Camavinga (Substitute) – 6.5
Came in at left-back when Argentina were already looking to sit back, so had relatively little to do until France came back into it. Was solid enough throughout.
Youssouf Fofana (Substitute) – 5.5
Came on in extra time to replace Adrien Rabiot, and didn’t have too much to do in that time. Offered fresh legs and movement in the middle.
Ibrahim Konate (Substitute) – 5
On in the dying embers when there was very little defending to do.
Axel Disasi (Substitute) – N/A
On when there was very little football left to play.
Last Word on Football recognise Qatar’s human rights abuses and instances of corruption taking place throughout the nation and in the background of the World Cup. Learn more about some of the issues surrounding the World Cup here.
