The gathering of the French team began this Friday under bright sunshine in Clairefontaine. While waiting for the internationals involved in the Champions League final and the arrival of the winners of the Europa Conference League, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maxence Lacroix, Didier Deschamps was able to find 18 of the 26 players at the castle. The opportunity for the Blues staff to begin slowly, but surely, preparation for the 2026 World Cup where the French team is obviously among the big favorites for the final coronation. At the start of the afternoon, Didier Deschamps appeared at a press conference to discuss the start of this gathering.
And the Blues coach took the opportunity to send a little message to his group before the start of this World Cup which will begin with a shock against Senegal on June 16. Despite an XXL workforce, the 57-year-old technician does not appreciate the fire surrounding his team. “The World Cup is a major event for me, even if there are too many, not just the journalists, but also the supporters, the media, who already see us on July 19, I don’t like that, not at all in fact. In this case, we just have to not play a match and we arrive on July 15 or 16 quietly. We already have three opponents in the groups. That the French team is one of the best teams, yes I want to, but before thinking about everything up there, there are important stages with the 3 group matches and then we will see. But the World Cup, there is nothing more beautiful or stronger. We will do everything to be there”he first said.
Didier Deschamps does not want to ignite
A way for Didier Deschamps to calm down the euphoria around the selection a little with obviously an attack that will make Europe salivate. At Euro 2021, with the Benzema-Griezmann-Mbappé trio, the Blues also made the world of football dream, but the team ultimately fell in the round of 16 of the competition. So there’s no question of seeing yourself as too good-looking for DD, who immediately gave it a second thought. “I am full of energy and focused on what lies ahead. This will involve discussions with the players and human management. It’s a big part, but I know why I’m here. It’s a new blank page that we’re writing and it has to be as beautiful as possible”he said before explaining that it took humility to go far, without denying his status as favorite.
“Getting this message across doesn’t take away the ambition. I see that other coaches are saying that the France team has two teams… Yes, but we can only field one on the field. I don’t want to deny the fact that we are among the favorites. It perhaps helps the other selections too, to say that we are the strongest, so that they can be calmer. I don’t want to deny the fact that we are among the favorites. Are we superior to other nations like before each World Cup? There are 7-8 teams who have this ambition to win the World Cup legitimately, but only one will achieve it. It’s not shying away from saying that, ambition is essential and you have to be competitive. There is an important word: it is humility. On paper, there are things, but in football you just have to do a little less one day to pay dearly for it right after. Our opponents have a lot of quality. Our group too. I don’t want to diminish Iraq. And Senegal and Norway are very good nations. » The message got through. It now remains to be seen whether it was understood by the players. The preparation should already give some indications.
