Lucas Chevalier on France’s U21 Euros exit: “We were maybe less combative than Ukraine.” | OneFootball

France crashed out of the U21 Euros on Sunday night by losing to Ukraine in the quarter-finals. Les Bleuets were in the lead thanks to an emphatic finish from Lyon playmaker Rayan Cherki but they came undone when Mykhailo Mudryk and Heorhiy Sudokov inspired Ukraine to a comeback win. It was another underwhelming performance from France’s U21 side despite the abundance of talent on paper. Despite a tremendous record when it comes to home-grown players and academy training, France have failed to win a single U21 international tournament since 1988.

Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, who also disappointed last night after a convincing group stage, felt that Les Bleuets didn’t show enough to deserve their place in the semi-finals. “We’re very talented, but we fall short on certain aspects and we fail to make up for it“, explains the French shot-stopper to beIN Sports. Chevalier then went on to say that the Ukrainians showed a greater will to win than France. “Given their country’s situation, they maybe showed more fury than us. They were a combative team. We were too, but we were maybe less combative than Ukraine.“

Ukraine will face Spain in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Meanwhile, calls for Sylvain Ripoll to leave his post as France’s U21 manager are set to grow louder in the coming days.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval