France Falls to Croatia 2-0 in Nations League Quarterfinal First Leg

Defensive struggles and a lackluster first half leave France needing a major comeback in the second leg at Stade de France on March 23.

Croatia secured a 2-0 victory in Split with goals from Ante Budimir and Ivan Perisic, both capitalizing on French defensive errors.
Mike Maignan saved an early penalty from Andrej Kramaric, preventing an even larger deficit for France.
France's first-half performance was marred by poor cohesion, defensive lapses, and technical mistakes, as acknowledged by Didier Deschamps.
A second-half improvement saw France create chances, but they failed to convert, leaving their attack scoreless despite the return of Kylian Mbappé.
France must overturn the two-goal deficit at home on March 23, drawing on past comebacks like their 2013 turnaround against Ukraine.