Adil Rami Is Under Most Pressure for France Following Cameroon Match

France got their final European Championship preparations off to a successful—although unconvincing—start on Monday with a 3-2 win over Cameroon at FC Nantes’ Stade de la Beaujoire.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Blaise Matuidi, Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud and West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet got the goals for Les Bleus, who edged their African opponents thanks to a moment of free-kick magic from Payet late on.

Although it was a victory for Didier Deschamps’ men and the crowd in western France was clearly behind the players, it was an unconvincing performance from the French, and there are questions over the defence after a sloppy display at the back.

Speaking with journalists after the final whistle, the 1998 FIFA World Cup- and Euro 2000-winning captain admitted that there is room for improvement in the rearguard:

Cameroon played in a new system with power and pace in midfield and up front. There are things we can improve defensively but this was our first match after a long period without competition for certain players. It was the first match that Adil Rami and Laurent Koscielny played together in a long time and we were up against a quality side. I wasn’t expecting a perfect performance. In terms of positives, we scored three goals and had a lot of chances. Technically we can improve but the frame of mind is there. To win a competition, your defence is very important but the main thing is to score one more goal than your opponents. I don’t want to stop the team from pushing up the pitch, even if that exposes the defence from time to time.

Deschamps mentioned Sevilla’s Adil Rami and Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny, and the French tactician was right to acknowledge that it was a far-from-ideal showing from the central-defensive pair.

Of all of the concerning performances in Nantes on Monday, Rami’s was by far the most pressing, as the 30-year-old looked woefully off the pace at international level.

Making his first appearance with Les Bleus since June of 2013, it was not the best comeback, and Deschamps will not have been filled with confidence by his replacement for the injured Raphael Varane of Real Madrid.

Rami played a part in both Cameroon goals, failing to track FC Porto’s Vincent Aboubakar for the first and then misjudging his clearing header to allow Schalke 04’s Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to score a second equaliser for Hugo Broos’ men.

Thankfully, another former Lille OSC star—Payet—spared Les Dogues’ ex-defensive bastion his blushes with a spectacular free-kick winner moments after the visitors had pulled level for a second time.

Speaking with Canal+ after the match, as reported by …

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