The French team is now fixed, or almost. Two big pieces will await the Blues in the group stage of the next World Cup: Erling Haaland’s Norway, who finished first in their qualifying group hands down despite the presence of Italy (24 points out of 24), but also Senegal, 2021 African champion and a nation in full swing for several years.
Concerning the last opponent, we will have to wait for the intercontinental play-offs in March to know their identity: it will be Bolivia, Iraq or Suriname. The former captain of the Blues, Hugo Lloris, and the current French midfielder, Adrien Rabiot, expressed their enthusiasm in the wake of this “high” draw. Words significantly close to those used by coach Didier Deschamps, who will participate in his fourth and final World Cup at the head of the France team.
Logistics smiled on the Blues and DD with the East Coast
“We have two solid teams and one unknown while waiting for the third opponent, but it makes for a tight groupnoted DD at the microphone of M6/RTL. Obviously, there is motivation on the Senegal side: like every time there are African teams who meet France, because we have a lot of players who come from there. But DD is generally satisfied with this draw, particularly for geographical considerations. As a reminder, the Blues will play their matches on the East Coast – New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto – where the time difference is the least significant.
“It could have been worse too, the teams are quality and the (geographical) area is pretty good, I would say. Base camp? We will see that a little later with the staff who have already done a lot of scouting to find the best solution for us, and to avoid having to have long trips. It’s not easy between the base camp and the infrastructure of the training ground too, but (it would be good) to be able to stay in an area where it will still be quite high temperatures.” Preserving the forces present for the rest of the tournament will be the objective of Didier Deschamps.
