The World Cup is on! Including for Didier Deschamps and the Blues who have known since Friday two of their three opponents in the first round (Denmark, Tunisia). The coach, in front of the French media, also came to confide his excitement and the satisfaction of having found a place to live up to his expectations for the World Cup (November 21 – December 18).
Denmark, maybe Peru or Australia, like in 2018… Do you believe in the signs of fate?
DIDIER DESCHAMPS. Believe in what you want (laughs). For the moment, there is Denmark, that’s for sure. We still have an unknown. We will have the opportunity to get to know each other well with Denmark since we will play them twice in June and September in the League of Nations. Sign or not, today we know. The most important are the days, November 22, 26 and 30. Afterwards, people comment: it could have been easier, more difficult…
There is also Tunisia in your group. How do you find this selection?
There are several players in the French Championship. There always have been. We are not used to playing Tunisia frequently. We’ll see. We will try to gather as much information as possible. There will be a lot of respect for this nation. Just like Denmark, which nobody talks about too much. The selection is semi-finalist of the Euro, ahead of Germany in the FIFA rankings…
Is it an advantage to play Denmark in the League of Nations?
For them, yes. Maybe for us. I don’t know how the matches will go in the League of Nations. My counterpart will have a lot of information thanks to these matches. The last will take place in September, two months before. This is something that would not have happened with a classic calendar.
What do you think of the possibility of crossing Group C, made up of Argentina, Mexico or Poland?
Project yourself, I am waiting to know everything. I know we play on November 22, 26 and 30. I haven’t seen the schedules yet and I don’t know my last opponent. Projection is difficult. To think about that, you have to achieve the first objective: to be in the two qualified.
You have found your place to live at the Mondial. Does it correspond to everything you wanted?
Yes. The infrastructure, already, the high quality training ground. The residence also contains many advantages. It’s not always easy with different specificities from the last World Cup. But I’m very happy with the choice.
Are you looking forward to it?
There’s an exciting side to being there already. This is my first time to Doha. I take feelings. We visited the base camp, the draw is a solemn moment as always. I had the privilege of bringing the trophy. There is a lot of pride. And we already have answers even if they are not complete today. The excitement will obviously rise. Always appreciate these moments. I met some Italians this afternoon and they told me that I had never known the taste of elimination… I reminded them that it was the case, even if it was a long time ago (laughs). This is my third World Cup draw as coach. There is pride.
