Why are France so bad?! Kylian Mbappe & Co. facing Euro 2024 knockouts gauntlet as Didier Deschamps feels the heat after England-esque group stage

It's odd that Deschamps was so reluctant for so long to make William Saliba the cornerstone of his defence - and yet so willing to persist with Dayot Upamecano. Unsurprisingly,such blind faith in the error-prone Bayern Munich defender was punished against Poland,with Upamecano giving away the penalty that cost France top spot in Group D.

Granted, Deschamps' options were restricted by an injury to Lucas Hernandez, while Ibrahima Konate had effectively lost his starting spot at Liverpool by the end of last season to Jarell Quansah, but Upamecano has long been the quintessential 'accident waiting to happen'.

Indeed, it's just so telling that Kim Min-jae and Eric Dier were Thomas Tuchel's preferred centre-back pairing at Bayern, with Upamecano not trusted to play more than a minute of the Champions League knockout ties against Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Deschamps, thus, has a massive decision to take on whether to stick with Upamecano against Belgium. Chances are, he will, but it's even more likely that it will prove a mistake.

Is Adrien Rabiot suffering from a crisis of confidence?There was a bizarre moment in the draw with the Netherlands when the midfielder elected to try to tee up Antoine Griezmann for a goal when he should have taken the shot on himself.

It was an incident that has rather typified Rabiot's poor decision-making to date. He's been by no means terrible - he's won the ball back regularly, kept it moving and created more openings than most of his team-mates - and yet he still looks nothing like the brilliant box-to-box midfielder that played such a pivotal role in France's run to the 2022 World Cup final.

Rabiot's struggles could not have come at a worse time either, with Aurelien Tchouameni clearly still affected by the injury that saw him miss the end of Real Madrid's campaign. The midfielder has looked quite strong defensively, but his perhaps understandable caution in possession has led to calls for Deschamps to replace Tchouameni with a more progressive passer, such as the prodigiously gifted Warren Zaire-Emery or Youssouf Fofana, and move the revitalised N'Golo Kante back in front of the back four, where the veteran does most of his best work anyway.

Something has to be done, at least, because while Kante has been France's player of the tournament so far, the make-up of the midfield is just not right.

Griezmann has obviously played a part in the midfield malfunctioning.France's hybrid hero from the 2022 World Cupis usually the perfect link-man, a creative No.10 that works as hard as No.6, but he's been well below his best in Germany.

He's been wasteful in front of goal,most notably against the Netherlands, and sloppy in possession. In that sense, he could have little complaint about his demotion to the bench for the Poland game. However, his absence only underlined his importance to Deschamps' team. France may have continued to carry a threat out wide, but they sorely missed Griezmann's guile and energy in central areas.

Maybe he's suffering from tiredness. Fatigue could well be a factor for a 33-year-old at the end of a long season. It's certainly a demanding role he plays. However, France need Griezmann back in the starting line-up - and back at something close to his brilliant best - if they're to get the better of Belgium.

How do you solve a problem like Ousmane Dembele? You don't, probably. You can't.At 27 years of age, he's unlikely to ever change.

Against Poland, we saw just how dangerous Dembele can be. He repeatedly blazed past Jakub Kiwior before eventually drawing a desperate challenge out of the Arsenal man that allowed Kylian Mbappe to give France the lead from the penalty spot.

Time and time again, though, Dembele failed to pick out a team-mate after beating his man, while he also wasted France's best chance in the first half after being put in on goal by Kante, meaning he's still waiting for a first-ever goal at a major tournament.

Surely, Deschamps is now wondering if Dembele is more of a hindrance than a help? He's already given the ball away 47 times in three games - more than any other French player. It's high time the coach considered another option on the right wing.

The hope was that Olivier Giroud had one big tournament left in him, but his lack of game time would suggest that Deschamps thinks the 37-year-old can no longer be relied upon to lead the line, at least from the start.

France's all-time leading goal-scorer has seen just 45 minutes of action to date - and that's in spite of the fact that Marcus Thuram performed so atrociously up front in the draw with the Dutch that he wasn't even returned to the left wing for the Poland game, but instead dropped to the bench.

Deschamps says he's not concerned about his misfiring forwards; that he'd be more worried if the team weren't creating chances. But the fact of the matter is that France have yet to score a goal from open play in Germany - which is seriously shocking when one considers that no team scored more goals them at the 2022 World Cup.

It's obvious that France's hopes of kickstarting their campaign hinge on getting the best out of Mbappe. But how to do that?

The Real Madrid-bound superstar has yet to hit top form in Germany, but there have been mitigating circumstances, chief among them the broken nose he suffered against Austria that saw him sit out the Dutch game,a dour draw that only further emphasised his importance to his national team.

Indeed, it's no coincidence that Mbappe has been responsible for France's only two goals to date. It was his cross, after a penetrating run into the area, that Austria's Max Wober headed past his own goalkeeper, while his penalty against Poland was taken with his customary confidence and composure.

The question remains, though, where would the masked man be best deployed? Even when Mbappe starts through the middle, he consistently drifts wide. Indeed, all of his most dangerous moments against the Poles came after linking up with the immensely exciting Bradley Barcola or the best attacking left-back in world football, Theo Hernandez.

There is an argument to be made, then, that Mbappe should be put in his preferred position on the left, with Barcola on the right and Giroud through the middle. The latter may no longer have the legs for 90 minutes, but he at least offers a focal point to the France attack and we already know that Mbappe adores playing off the MLS-bound No.9.

No matter what, Deschamps will obviously err on the side of caution. He has always preferred pragmatism to panache, meaning wholesale changes in personnel and approach are highly unlikely.

A new tournament is about to begin, though, and if France are to win it, it's essential that they play with greater freedom, fluidity, courage and conviction than we saw from them in the group stage.