After Kylian’s words Mbappeeven the coach of the French national team, Didier Deschampsspoke at a press conference on the eve of the match against Portugal, scheduled for 9pm tomorrow in Hamburg.
In the coach’s analysis, he starts by talking about the attitude his players have had so far and what he didn’t like: “So far I’ve done little given the intensity. It’s not easy to get into the game even if Kolo Muani did it very well when he was brought on during the game, for example.
Speaking of individuals, the coach was asked if the press was not too harsh with Inter’s Marcus Thuram and Antoine Griezmann: “I’m not here to judge what you say or write. The important thing is what I tell them. Antoine, Marcus: there are positive things and there are things on which we need to grow”. Regarding Kylian Mbappe and his facial injury, he instead explained: “Kylian had a problem before the European Championship, now he feels good”.
Regarding the next opponents, Deschamps begins by mentioning Cristiano Ronaldo: “He has always been a threat. He always has the ability to score, to be decisive. He remains a great opponent. The 2016 final? He was strong, he was 8 years ago. It was painful. I don’t know if he is stronger or weaker than then. We are in the quarter-finals and the best are here. Portugal today is a strong and balanced team, who prefers to attack rather than defend. Holland was relatively cautious, Belgium too. Will Portugal be too? I know what Roberto Martinez likes to do. We will try to have as much control as possible of the match”.
Are the Blues a divisive team? The coach responds: “I don’t know. We have great enthusiasm from the people around us, some will certainly not be happy, but personally I have seen people happy. It is more exciting to win 5 to 4, that’s for sure. The critics are there to do their job, they have always been part of my daily life, this does not prevent me from living peacefully”. Closing on the use of Adrien Rabiot: “I have several options” – his lapidary comment.