JOSE MOURINHO believes France manager Didier Deschamps made one crucial error that led to his team’s shock Euro 2020 elimination.
Les Tricolores, who were considered by many as the favourites to win the tournament, crashed out of the competition after losing to Switzerland on penalties.
Les Bleus looked set to qualify for the quarter-finals after Karim Benzema’s brace and Paul Pogba’s screamer cancelled out Haris Seferovic’s opener.
But then Deschamps decided to take off Antoine Griezmann, who had been very influential, and replaced him with Moussa Sissoko on 88 minutes, shortly after Seferovic’s second goal.
Mourinho claims that was a critical mistake as managers shouldn’t remove their best players from matches that could go to extra-time.
And the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss was proven right, as Mario Gavranovic equalised shortly after.
The game went to penalties where Kylian Mbappe failed to score the deciding spot-kick as Switzerland knocked out the reigning world champions.
Mourinho told talkSPORT: “I believe France had a little bit of fun, which in football I think you must have after the game, not during the game. They had fun too early.
“They were playing fantastic, the way they changed the result, amazing, Benzema’s first goal was incredible, Pogba’s third goal was top. But then I think they had a little bit of fun.
“I also believe Deschamps made one mistake that I think about many, many times.
“When you’re in a game where there’s a possibility of extra-time you have to be very careful with the changes you make.
“When you make a change on minute 89 and you take off one of your best players, Griezmann, who was playing amazingly well and you change Griezmann for Sissoko.
“If this is a points game without extra-time that’s OK.
“But when there’s the possibility of extra-time that’s a big game because then you make that change, they equalise in minute 91 or 92, you go to extra-time and then you want to shoot yourself because you left Griezmann out of extra-time.
“Then in extra-time you have the unlucky situation you cannot control of Benzema getting injured or feeling something and you lose your two top attacking players.
“And then during extra-time you never felt France could win it because they didn’t have the power to do it.
“I think in this moment that Deschamps knows he made that mistake, which is something that can happen to every one of us, but experience helps us.
“When you have extra-time as a possibility still open you don’t take off one of your best players.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
