France coach Didier Deschamps admitted that his team couldn’t cope with the physical approach of their opponents after Les Bleus lost 2-0 to Ukraine in their World Cup play-off first leg on Friday.
The result in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium left France in a desperate situation ahead of next Tuesday’s decisive return match at the Stade de France with a place next year’s finals in Brazil at stake.
A well-organised Ukraine suffocated France’s main attacking threat in Franck Ribery and took a deserved second-half lead through Roman Zozulia before Andriy Yarmolenko made it 2-0 from the penalty spot late on.
“The first half was quite even. We had chances in the second half but getting the first goal gave Ukraine energy,” said a despondent Deschamps.
“It is confirmation that this team are not easy to play against. They are committed but have quality too. We have to congratulate them. They are in a favourable position. It is up to us to recover well and try to turn things around.”
“We struggled because of their commitment. Ukraine defended aggressively and committed fouls. They are a solid side.