69 minutes.
That’s all Anthony Martial played for France at Euro 2016.
Having completed his first season at Manchester United – scoring 11 goals in 31 outings – Martial was expected to form part of an exciting, attacking trident with Antoine Griezmann and target-man Olivier Giroud.
As it played out, Martial hardly played at all.
The 20-year-old was reduced to a support role and, as the tournament progressed and his appearances stayed fleeting, Martial looked increasingly forlorn.
Deschamps copped some flak for benching the £35m youngster but held firm as France reached the final before losing to Portugal.
Martial has hardly set 2016/17 alight for United but he bagged his first ever international goal in a midweek France win over Italy. After the game, France coach Didier Deschamps was asked why he went with the likes of Giroud and André-Pierre Gignac rather than Martial. He responded:
“He was the first one who was not satisfied. I spoke with Anthony about this Euros. He arrived there exhausted because he had a very long season. He’s a young player, he has to go through moments like that.
“He was expecting more from the Euros and me too. But, the things were more difficult. He has to learn from this to progress.”
Many French football fans will argue that Deschamps should have backed the young striker to replicate his club form at the Euros. He is doing it now but he is doing it as coach of a side that lost a European Championship final.
