The France midfielder Adrien Rabiot spoke at a press conference on the eve of the European Championship semi-final against Spain tomorrow night: “We have always praised the collective. We are in the semi-final of a great tournament. The collective is stronger than the individuals. Griezmann and Mbappé are a little less fresh, but we are there to support them, we have faith in them. They can unlock a situation at any moment, they have an extra gear.
Spain’s strength? We are unanimous in saying that this is the team that plays best in this tournament. They have possession of the ball and are true to themselves. They are a complete team. They have their strengths and weaknesses. We are confident, we know what to do. They are a team that needs to move, I think the opponents allow them to do that a lot. When they play against France, teams also tend to distort each other, so we will see.
Deschamps’ twists on the formations? There is collateral damage (smiles). It is complicated for the coach, when he puts things in order a lot of information comes out. It is a bit unpleasant to see that when you finish training everything is already in the media. It is a shame for us and for everyone, when these things come out it gives instructions to the opponents. The coach sometimes tries to hide the tracks. We are top-level players, we know how to adapt. We know what we have to do in each system”.