Nantes celebrated Didier Deschamps on Thursday. The Beaujoire public cheered the French coach and displayed several banners to his glory, wanting to thank him for his 14 years at the head of the France team.
But ten days before the entry into the running of the vice-world champions, the Blues spoiled the evening for the former Nantes player. After an attractive first act rewarded by a goal from Rayan Cherki just before the break, the vice-world champions delivered a tasteless second half, allowing Ivory Coast to equalize then take the lead at the very end of the match.
Didier Deschamps was left with a sad first: never since his arrival at the head of the Blues had the French team lost during a preparation match. However, the coach did not intend “dramatize”.
“A booster shot”
“It’s a defeat, it never feels good, even if we did good things especially in the first half, he confided to the microphone of TF1. It was more difficult in second. The many changes didn’t help, there were fewer automatisms than with the players who started. We will have the equivalent in front of us, on the 16th (against Senegal). »
“There is no excuse to have. When African teams play against France, they are super motivated. They added density. We made mistakes too. We were behind on the second goal in particular,” he continued, adding: “It was important to distribute the playing time. Not all the players could be used this evening (Thursday). It’s a booster shot if we needed it. I’m not going to dramatize either, as I wouldn’t have gotten excited if we had won. It’s a step, it’s not necessarily positive because it’s a defeat. »
