The coach gives his feelings after the victory of the France team in Milan on Sunday in the Nations League.
Founding match for the French team: « It doesn’t speak to me to have labels like that, even if Italy created problems for us, we feel pride in what we achieved three days after a match where we lacked efficiency (0-0 against Israel). When we drew on Thursday, Argentina and Brazil lost, we didn’t do everything well on Thursday, the context was different, I made seven changes (in the starting 11) because I wanted to see other things. Starting with the offensive players (Nkunku, Kolo Muani, Thuram on the attacking front) in positioning. We were very effective in difficult positions. Winning here is always a source of pride. Winning with a two-goal margin is a very big performance, it allows us to regain first place in the group (ranking here). It’s a very beautiful evening. »
Victory with a special taste:« In general, the last game in November, it’s always good to win it. Critics… You can say and write whatever you want, it’s part of life. I have elements, I am internal, I set objectives, there are requirements and very high expectations. The players respond with a younger group. These six matches were to serve that purpose. This will complicate my choices for the future, but it is a very good thing to play these very big matches against an Italian team which has a lot of qualities. »
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The notes of the Blues in Italy: Rabiot and Digne as hitmen, “Magic” Maignan, Thuram as tough guys
It’s complicated for Kylian (Mbappé) and I am convinced that he will regain full possession of his means.
Didier Deschamps
The technical and collective mastery of the Blues: « I make sure to position the players in the best position. This evening (Sunday) it was 100%, this is not always the case. We had little time to prepare, but obviously with video, we can put things in place. Afterwards, it’s them (the players)… In all lines we performed well, the positioning of the three offensive players brought a lot to the team. The group, on a collective level, in terms of control, ability to defend well, with goals from set pieces, these are only positive points. It’s the group’s victory. It’s great to have done what they did this evening, with a big atmosphere supporting Italy. Considering the match, our victory is deserved. »
If the victory and the state of mind send a message to those absent, in particular Mbappé: « It’s your interpretation. (annoyed) I know that in life, there can be negative and twisted people… Don’t go interpreting things. Mike (Maignan) talks (on TF1) about the people who were there. Not those who were absent. Have a debate about that if you like… If you want to talk about Kylian again, it’s complicated for him and I’m convinced that he will regain full possession of his means. »
Digne’s set pieces: « It is the choice of the Italians who defend very low. There were two options, it leaves a lot of freedom, but we wanted to hit in this area. We put a lot of players within 5.5 meters. The zone was targeted with Adrien (Rabiot) and “Ibou” Konaté, helped by the precision of Digne. »
His assessment for the year 2024: « I knew the option was taken (many changes since September), we had to go through that. I did it before the World Cup (2022) and we only had five points while remaining third (in the Nations League). We will take the time with the staff to analyze everything. It’s always additional answers that will be useful for the future. »
Comments collected at a press conference
