Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé, or even Karim Benzema, will have to wait a few more months before treading the lawns of Qatar. As revealed on our site, on January 25, the tour in the Emirate, planned in March during the international dates (21 to 29), will not take place. During the Comex of the FFF, this Thursday, Noël Le Graët, the president of the body, confirmed it.
The various parties concerned therefore failed to find financial common ground. Clearly, Le Graët would have liked the organization of the mini-tournament, eight months before the start of the World Cup (November 21 – December 18), to be able to offer financial compensation beyond covering the costs of local travel and accommodation costs. Faced with the impossibility of reaching an agreement on this specific point, the project was abandoned.
Another obstacle had obviously also appeared with the difficulty of finding available nations at this time. Italy and Portugal, two selections mentioned for a time, are, in fact, concerned by the play-offs for the 2022 World Cup (March 24 and 29).
Four games in ten days in June
The Blues will still play two friendly matches in March, both in the provinces in large stadiums such as the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille, likely, with the end of the gauges, to generate ticketing revenue. It will undoubtedly be against African selections. Côte d’Ivoire, not affected by the World Cup play-offs in the Africa zone, could be one of the two adversaries. South Africa is also mentioned. We should know their identity in the next few days.
Didier Deschamps and part of his staff will, however, travel to the Emirate on April 1 to attend the draw for the World Cup. In December 2021, a delegation of several staff members went on a scouting trip to Doha.
The tricolor staff has known, however, since December 16, 2021 the menu for June and September. Winners of the second edition of the League of Nations, the partners of Hugo Lloris will begin the defense of their title on June 3 when they receive Denmark. They will then play three matches in seven days (in Croatia on the 6th, in Austria on the 10th and against the Croats on the 13th).
The last two meetings of the group stage of the League of Nations will take place in September, with the reception of Austria on the 22nd then a trip to Denmark three days later, the last official match of the Blues before the kick-off of the World Cup, scheduled for November 21 in Qatar.
As a reminder, the players will only be made available to their selection on November 14, seven days before the start of the competition. A few days earlier, the Basque technician will have communicated his list of 23 players.
