Arsenal Star William Saliba Blames Manager Didier Deschamps for France’s Surprise World Cup Loss to Tunisia

• William Saliba feels France lost to Tunisia due to the number of changes his coach made
• Didier Deschamps made nine changes to his starting eleven against the Carthage Eagles
• France still finished top of Group D and will face Poland in the round of 16 on December 4

Arsenal star, Wlliam Saliba has placed the blame of France’s surprise World Cup loss - in their final Group D game to Tunisia - solely on manager, Didier Deschamps.

Players such as Kylian Mbappe, Oliver Giroud and Antoine Griezmann did not feature against the Carthage Eagles, with Deschamps making 9 changes to his starting eleven.

Saliba believes the many changes made by Deschamps were largely responsible for France’s lack of rhythm and eventual loss to Tunisia, Metro UK reports.

“It definitely wasn’t an easy game today. The team was changed; there were a lot of players who had never played together, so it was a bit difficult."

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Saliba downplayed talk of fear among Les Bleus, but did admit the players were shaken up at the start of the game.

“But there were players who weren’t in their usual position, so they weren’t used to it," he added.

France finished top of Group D with 6 points after earlier victories against Australia and Denmark, and will next face Poland in the round of 16.

Deschamps blames loss on rotation

Meanwhile, France manager Deschamps believes that frequently rotating his squad was the reason they fell to defeat against Tunisia in their final group game, Goal reports.

Wahbi Khazri's goal was the difference, as the Carthage Eagles won against a European nation at the World Cup for the first time in their history.

Deschamps admitted he wanted to avoid the risk of injuries to his top stars after two intense group matches, and so substitutes could get a feel of the World Cup.

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Tunisia break France’s 8-year record

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that African giants Tunisia recorded a famous win over France in their last 2022 World Cup group game on November 30.

Going into this game, Tunisian players knew that a win would help in their quest to qualify for the round of 16, and they did themselves lots of good by winning.

Sadly for the Carthage Eagles however, Australia recorded a win in their encounter against Denmark and finished second in the group behind France.