This Friday, the French team challenges Norway for the group I final. Before this shock, Dayot Upamecano spoke at length in an interview given to The Team. The opportunity for the Bayern Munich defender to discuss the Haaland case, the star of the Scandinavian selection. “With Haaland, you always have to have both an eye on him, watch where he is, and an eye on the ball carrier, even if you are not in a numerical inferiority situation. When he is behind my back, when one of his teammates overruns, I know that I will have to take the information two or three times to know where he is going, how he is positioning himself. We all know that he is a player who goes very quickly on his first steps, a bit like Kylian (Mbappé)”first indicated the rock of the Blues.
And to add: “It only takes a second to change direction. So, you always have to keep an eye on him. If we cannot anticipate his grip on the ball and prevent him from grabbing the ball, we must try to take him to the outside. He’s a player who likes melee, me too. But sometimes you have to know how to manage, take him to one side and close his goal angle. When it comes to his team’s throw-ins, it’s always better to have a two-handed grip on him. The free player of my team, most often the full-back, must not be too far in front of him and I must stay just behind, quite close, without blocking him. It’s complicated to try to anticipate and get ahead because he is very strong. With him, there is always a real struggle”. The fight promises to be intense…
