France are the best team left, and have a manager who isn’t going to risk blowing this

This World Cup has had so many breathtaking moments that it’s easy for them all to sort of jumble together, to get lost in our collective remembering of the tournament. One I do not want to ever forget, though, is the moment Kylian Mbappe collected the ball in his own half against Argentina, and with exactly seven touches, broke down the entire defense, covered 85 yards, and earned his team a penalty.

I’ve been thinking about that moment a lot when I think about this France team, who take on Belgium in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, and especially their manager, Didier Deschamps.

Deschamps has been criticized all tournament for his tactics. I’ve done it. My colleagues have done it. Other writers have done it. The criticism stems from the fact that Deschamps seems so hesitant with this France side. Looking at his roster is to view one of the great assemblages of attacking talent ever brought to a World Cup. Deschamps has the opportunity to start Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, and Paul Pogba in his attack, who are worth a cool $390 million together, via TransferMarkt.

He doesn’t do that, though. Deschamps has put Barcelona’s Dembele, one of the most talented young attacking stars in the world, on the bench. Pogba is pushed back into a more reserved central midfield role. Starting up top is Olivier Giroud, a smart, sound player who can hold the ball up and head balls in and not do too much else. At left wing is Blaise Matuidi, a hard-tackling central midfielder, because sure.

It’s smart. It’s sound. Even against weaker opponents, Deschamps has basically stuck with this lineup. It’s the side he wants and he knows, in international tournaments especially, it’s best not to fuck with what’s working.

It’s also allowed Deschamps to prepare his team for this moment. He’s had his team play this way basically all tournament, finding the system he liked and sticking with it. When Matuidi was forced to miss a game due to yellow-card accumulation, he plugged in Corentin Tolisso, another central midfielder, into that left wing spot. Fans wanted him to put in Dembele, he of the otherworldly speed and attacking flair, but Deschamps wasn’t going to mess with the formula. Tolisso in. Play the same way. Don’t deviate.

And now when it comes down to the semifinal, when things get tight, France won’t have to learn a new way to do this. There’s been no experimentation. We will most likely see the same lineup today that we have for all the other matches. (Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he switched it up, though, just to throw all of us for a loop and out-Roberto Martinez Roberto Martinez?)

My colleague Kim McCauley wrote earlier this tournament that Deschamps is perhaps still salty over his teammate Eric Cantona calling him a water-carrier however many years ago, insulting the defensive midfield position, and is now getting his revenge by packing the team with defensive midfielders all over the field. That might have something to do with it.

But it may also be that Deschamps understands that World Cups are rare, and even rarer still is to be given a squad as talented as the one he’s responsible for. They can (and have) created goals out of nothing, because when you have these players, goals will come.

Deschamps just needs to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. He may not be the one to win them games, but he also refuses to lose them for his team. Kylian Mbappe is a player who can, with seven touches, cover the length of the field and break down a team like Argentina. When you have a player like that, and a squad as talented as France, it may be best to keep it safe, keep it simple, and let them create the magic.