Four matches, two draws, two defeats. Zero wins. With just two matches remaining until the start of the Qatar World Cup, title holders France were plunged headlong into serious trouble.

Didier Deschamps' star-studded team were supposed to be a well-oiled machine after winning the 2018 World Cup and last season's Nations League. But instead, they were a horrible mess, sliced open time and again during their home defeats against Denmark and now Croatia.

The decisive goal on Monday night came inside five minutes, Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate's clumsy challenge on Torino winger Josip Brekalo forced the referee to award an early penalty. Luka Modric, who returned to the stadium where he won the Champions League with Real Madrid last month, showed great composure to convert from the spot.

Deschamps reshuffled his team again and finally dropped his talisman Antoine Griezmann, who has not scored for France since Janruary. The former World Cup winner wanted his players to show more attacking fluency to address the lack of aggressiveness and cohesion that has undermined much of their play. Unfortunately, they fell short again.

In Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe and Christopher Nkunku, France had Spanish La Liga and French Ligue 1's golden boot winners and German Bundesliga's player of the season, but still failed to find an equalizer. Though the hosts had most of the ball throughout, they struggled to make any inroads and the home fans eventually fell quiet.

It was a historic win for Croatia, who pick up their first ever victory over France in any competition. "After the World Cup, we undoubtedly had a complex against France," said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, whose team slumped to a 4-2 defeat to France in the 2018 World Cup final. "Winning against the world champions at their place is extraordinary."

Deschamps' side, however, remain rooted to the bottom of Nations League A Group 1 after their latest shock loss and were eliminated from the tournament with two games still to play. France could even be relegated to the League B if their winless run continues.

"It's been a very difficult June for us. We didn't have sufficient energy or strength against teams that had more of that than us. We didn't get any luck either, but it's above all freshness that we were lacking," Deschamps told a press conference.

It's true that the big-names in this French squad need time to recover after an exhausting domestic season, but there is no denying that it's straying dangerously close to a crisis. Their recent performances were so wretched it was difficult to recall another international display when reigning champions have looked so vulnerable. They have only kept one clean sheet in their last nine Nations League games.

Deschamps is under no illusions about the size of the task he has taken on. "We came up against a very good Croatia team that had more dynamism than us. It's not our status as world champions that will win us games," he observed.

French rising star Aurelien Tchouameni, who just joined Real Madrid last week in a deal worth over 100 million euros ($105 million), remained optimistic. "There's no need to worry," the 22-year-old told reporters. "We didn't do well and we owe it to ourselves to do better wearing the France shirt. We'll all be better come the next international window."

After being knocked out of Euro 2020 last summer, France bounced back with with a seven-game unbeaten run in the space of a year. It will be interesting to watch how will they respond this time around.