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With their explosive talented team, a little more confidence and self-esteem was expected from the media French nationals Friday. However, more than half of the questions they asked Captain Hugo Lloris, the first goalkeeper in France, and later coach Didier Deschamps, concerned Lionel Messi on the eve of the pre-quarter confrontation. final of the World Cup.
Both of them responded with great grace and respect to the Kazan Arena press conference room. "It is normal to talk about Messi and Ronaldo, who have been stars for many years, but Argentina has had some tough times in the group stage but has qualified, we are waiting for a big match. tomorrow and we are ready to answer "
Another question reminded Deschamps about that night in Paris when he led France against Brazil led by Ronaldo in 1998. He was asked to compare it to the imminent clash of Saturday with Argentina led by Messi. The French captain winner of the World Cup could only agree with the similarity between the two situations.
"We are talking about two huge players: Ronaldo with Brazil and Messi with Argentina can force a lot of parallels, but that was the final of the World Cup and tomorrow is only the first step towards a brand new "tournament." We will do our best to get the result in our favor and will take a number of precautions so that Messi does not become dangerous. "
Messi can change the fate of a match with "very little," but the French coach also knows that Saturday's match offers him the best opportunity to set the record straight at the moment. Argentinian troubled Jorge Sampaoli. The last time France lost to a South American team at the World Cup, it was in 1978. At the Monumental stadium, the hosts got the better of France 2-1.
"It's been six years since I was the coach of the France team and we did not play too badly: we reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup and the final of the Euro 2016. We are at 16 We have enjoyed many exciting evenings, like the one in Ukraine for our qualification in Russia, we expect a similar evening here tomorrow and we focus on our preparations " said the coach, for whom the pre-quarter-final will be held, being the 80th in charge of France.
Inexperience is an area that concerns Deschamps with Messi. "He scored 65 goals in 127 games, and even Mascherano (Javier) is nearing his 150th cap." Deschamps rocked the numbers, showing the kind of work done in the preparation of this game. "Our inexperience is not an excuse, it's a reality: fourteen of our team have never competed in a World Cup game, we start from scratch."
Finally, someone from outside France questioned him about his combination of Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante in midfield and Deschamps seemed relieved. "They complement each other, Kante is more aggressive and he gets the ball back, Paul is more creative and good with the pbades, but I have to say that Kante often makes some interesting pbades up."
Technically, France has scored only one since open play, Kylian Mbappe scoring against Peru. Antoinne Griezmann has inflicted a penalty in his first match against Australia and the third goal of France is a goal against his side of the Australian Aziz Behich. "He played 65 minutes against Denmark and he seems to have gained momentum, we need Antoinne to be at the top level tomorrow," said his coach.
On the defensive stability of France, Deschamps believes that the Spanish experience of Samuel Umtiti and Raphael Varane could prove useful. "They are aware of Messi's talent and his unpredictable ability to send a spark through the stadium, we will try to limit his impact."
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