France coach Didier Deschamps cautions over first-round opponents at World Cup

PARIS – France coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged his side are among the favourites for the World Cup, but urged his players to concentrate on their first match before thinking about advancing deeper into the tournament.

He named his 26-man squad on May 14 for the June 11-July 19 tournament, where they kick off against Senegal and also meet Iraq and Norway in Group I.

“France are first in the FIFA rankings, but are we more favourites than Spain, Portugal, Germany, England, Argentina, Brazil, Morocco?” he asked at a press conference after announcing the squad.

“I know there are expectations. But we’ll have some tough opponents in our first three matches.

“Let’s focus on the first one. The result is the most important thing. It’s the highest level; there are expectations. The final is a long way off.”

The France coach sprung only mild surprises in his selection, with an uncapped third-choice goalkeeper and the inclusion of Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix and striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.

“He was very good in March after (William) Saliba’s injury,” Deschamps said of Lacroix’s debut against Brazil and subsequent outing against Colombia.

“He can play on both the left and right sides of the centre. Having three options in each position is a safety net. With this squad of nine defenders, five midfielders and nine forwards, we have different profiles, like Mateta, who has been effective with us and has good stats at his club.”

“He’s a good, typical centre-forward, effective, with two goals in three games with us. Good in the air and a penalty-box striker, who can move around even if he won’t regularly go near the touchline. A different profile and an option that can also be useful,” the 57-year-old coach added about Mateta.

Deschamps said he was used to working with a 23-man squad but took 26 players with him for the friendlies against Brazil and Colombia, which were hosted in Boston and Washington DC in March.

“It brings more security, but also more complications in managing the players,” he added.

“When we have 23, there are already three or four who don’t play, so 26 is going to require more attention from my staff. Everyone wants to play, but some won’t necessarily play. But the competition has changed, with more matches, the temperatures and the recovery time in between games.”

In other news, an emotional Hajime Moriyasu said Japan had lost “a major presence” in Kaoru Mitoma after he was forced to leave the injured winger out of his World Cup squad on May 15.

Mitoma missed the cut after medical staff decided he did not have enough time to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered during Brighton & Hove Albion’s 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League on May 9.

The 28-year-old is one of Japan’s best players and scored the winner in their 1-0 friendly victory over England at Wembley in March.

Japan have been drawn with the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia in Group F and they start their campaign against the Dutch on June 14.

Moriyasu became teary-eyed as he discussed the players missing from his 26-man squad in front of around 300 reporters in Tokyo, but said they have enough strength in depth to cope, adding: “I think everyone who has watched Japan play can see that Mitoma is a major presence in the team.

“But last year we played Brazil in a friendly and we beat them for the first time, and Mitoma wasn’t available to play in that game.

“That reflects the team concept, that anyone can come into the line-up and the team still performs.” REUTERS, AFP