The Blues arrived in Germany and just before training for the first time at the “Home Deluxe Arena” (5:30 p.m.), Kingsley Coman and Dayot Upamecano inaugurated the stadium press room. The opportunity to give their first impressions as the first match arrives quickly (Monday in Düsseldorf against Austria).
“How do you find your base camp that you discovered this Wednesday?
We just arrived, but it’s a good camp. We have just started to visit it, but it has everything. A relaxation area, a gym, lots of green spaces and I like that. We had a superb welcome. Many players have already played in Germany but for those who don’t know, they will see the atmosphere in the stadiums.
Many of you have played in Germany, is that an advantage?
For me, yes, it’s a bit like home. I feel really good here, I speak the language. I will make sure that the teammates also feel as good as possible (…) The Bundesliga has quite open football, with a lot of action, a lot of rhythm, great fans. It’s a good country to explode at the highest level, especially when you’re young because the competition is a little less compared to other Championships.
Who are the favorites for the Euro?
There are many favorites. Germany for example, which has always been a great nation and which will play at home. But it’s just a title and it’s not always the favorites who win. We can cite England, Portugal, Spain, Italy…
The last matches have been unconvincing for the France team, is this worrying?
We are calm. Our ambitions have not changed. Afterwards, being calm does not mean that we will win. But there is no alarm, it was only preparation matches. We are going to approach the competition with a different face (…) We noted some problems in these matches and I do not think that they are problems that we will not be able to overcome.
In friendly matches, there is less adrenaline, the fear of getting injured… We take them a bit like training. We will make sure to talk among ourselves to resolve these problems. But we shouldn’t question everything for a few matches.
You have been injured in recent weeks, are you physically ready?
I feel good physically, better. Day after day, I feel good. Starting a match already, I don’t know, there are a few days left, but I’m ready to play fifteen, twenty or thirty minutes, it’s already a first step. I have to check with the coach.
“We have healthy competition”
There was this big scare in training after your first injury, how did you feel?
It was more of a scare for you with the images than for me. A few weeks later, I was able to return to training. The images may seem difficult but I shout a lot in training (laughs).
Do you feel like a leader in this group, like you’re one of the oldest?
I feel the experience yes, but I can’t say old. We see the evolution and the new generations. We still have interests in common but we try to bring our experience to the table.
Do you therefore view competition differently?
I had the chance to start all the substitute competitions so that won’t change anything. The important thing is to be ready, to do as much as possible in training. If we go for the trophy, we will all go for it together. We have healthy competition, we have fun with each other, we always give our best. What I really like about this generation is that we really have healthy competition.
How do you feel about the group?
I find that it’s similar to the last competitions, we have a confident, peaceful group, we are ready to fight for each other. In terms of group and affinity, we are at the top of what we can do.
Kanté returned to Blue, what changes with him in midfield?
He is a player who helps us recover balls. It’s like playing with an extra player. He is calm, experienced, and that will help us. »
