On Friday at the Stade de France, Adrien Rabiot’s short pass found Lucas Da Cunha in the centre of the pitch, back to goal. His first touch was heavy, Alessandro Bastoni nipped in and beat Maignan with the inside of his left foot. 1-1, and the first goal France have conceded under Zin\u00e9dine Zidane.<\/p>\n
Da Cunha went back over the scene on T\u00e9l\u00e9foot on Sunday, without an excuse in sight: \u201cI get caught straight away and everything happens too fast, there is no time to do anything. Of course I am disappointed to have lost that ball.\u201d The mechanism is a basic one: when you drop in to offer an option off a short build-up pass, you scan over your shoulder before the ball arrives. Da Cunha came short to help Rabiot without looking; Bastoni read the pass and jumped on the touch. One second, one point gone. Some of the coverage has also questioned Rabiot’s pass. Da Cunha looks for no excuse, and Zidane for no culprit: \u201cWhen there is a mistake, it is everybody’s fault. I really like this player, he has a lot of personality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zidane had said on Sunday that he would rotate again for the fourth match of this window, and the confirmed teams follow: Da Cunha does not start. In midfield, Manu Kon\u00e9 sits as the holding midfielder with Eduardo Camavinga and Maghn\u00e9s Akliouche around him; Est\u00e9ban Lepaul plays between Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9, with Guillaume Restes in goal. Romelu Lukaku leads the Belgium line.<\/p>\n
France, on seven points, host Belgium, on six, at the Stade de France tonight, kicking off at 7.45pm UK time. The quarter-final spot is sealed this evening if they win and Italy fail to beat T\u00fcrkiye in Bologna, at the same time. The market has not moved: 1.57 at Bwin for a France win, the same price as at the opening.<\/p>\n