The French coach, Didier Deschamps, warned that although this Saturday (8:00 p.m.) they play a quarterfinal at the World Cup in Qatar “there is no stress”, since it is a game that they have to “enjoy” with “serenity and calm”. , at the same time that he assured that “this is not the moment” to address his future in the French team.
“We have calm and serenity, we have had them since the start of the competition. It’s a World Cup quarterfinal, there’s no stress or anything like that. It’s a quarterfinal, the players have to enjoy themselves on the field,” said the coach at the press conference prior to the duel against the English for the last ticket to the semifinals.
Precisely, Deschamps highlighted England’s “counterattack” and “set pieces” as two of his strengths. They have a lot of quality, ability to score goals, also from set pieces. It’s no coincidence that England is our rival, they are a great team.”
“I don’t think we are weak from set pieces, even when we have been less strong in these types of plays, we have been able to do damage. England have scored quite a few goals from set pieces, but we cannot be afraid of them,” he insisted.
One of the main assets of the French will be Kylian Mbappe, top scorer of the tournament with five goals and in a formidable state of form. A player that Deschamps imagines that England “will have studied”. “He has that ability to make the difference. In the last game, in which he was not at his best level compared to the first two, he continued to be decisive,” he praised the French striker.
Regarding the alerted Aurelien Tchouameni and Jules Kounde, the coach pointed out that “this type of thing is part of the competition”. “The important thing is that they play a good game so that we can reach the semifinals. They don’t have to dose,” he assessed, given the possibility of losing the semifinals.
Deschamps also addressed his future as a coach, assuring that “this is not the time”, assuring that “the most important thing is to go to the semifinals”. Although he did appreciate the words of the president of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graet, who confessed that he wants the current coach to continue, denying contact with Zinedine Zidane.
The goalkeeper and captain, Hugo Lloris, who, like his coach, highlighted the English power “from set pieces” also appeared before the media. “They have size and excellent shooters. In a game like this, all the details count. We will have to be solid, but we also have arguments offensively to put them in trouble,” he analyzed.
“In an event like this, a World Cup, inevitably, a France-England game has a special flavour. We are preparing to meet the expectations of a World Cup quarterfinal, regardless of the opponent. We want to do everything possible to reach the semifinals”, he added about the rivalry between the two teams, with two previous matches in World Cups.
Lloris will have to prevent the goals of his Tottenham teammate Harry Kane this Saturday, with whom he has “a fairly important relationship.” “We’ve been playing together for almost nine years, we know each other very well on and off the pitch. He’s a true leader, an example for his teammates and above all he’s a ‘top’ player. He’s decisive and used to making a difference”, he praised.
Finally, he valued the form of Kylian Mbappe, whom he sees as “smiling and focused on the game” against the English. “Kylian is focused on his game, on his preparation. He ignores what can be said around him, he doesn’t need that,” he concluded.
