World Cup: France’s Deschamps wary of Poland’s ‘love’ for defending

Didier Deschamps’ men qualified for the knockout phase with a game to spare after two performances against Australia and Denmark. PHOTO: AFP

DOHA – Didier Deschamps has been a football coach for more than 20 years, attended numerous press conferences, and knows exactly what to say when challenged by the most demanding of reporters.

But even the experienced 54-year-old can be perplexed by a question in Arabic on Saturday, especially when there was no French translation coming through his earpiece because of a technical error.

“Hello?” the France coach asked while tapping on his device before breaking into a smile.

“Perhaps a technical problem? I don’t have a translation!” 

When the issue was finally fixed, Deschamps was clear in what he had to say about Poland – France’s opponents in the World Cup round of 16 on Sunday.

“They’ve had to defend a lot in the group stage and they defended very well,” he said.

“Actually they love it, but they’re not just a defensive team – just look at who they have up front (in Robert Lewandowski).

“But there’s more. They have a backbone of players with great international experience, with Kamil Glik, Piotr Zielinski, Grzegorz Krychowiak and some youngsters who have shown they were up to the task. They deserve to be here.”

Les Bleus will start their last-16 clash as overwhelming favourites but Poland are well equipped to derail their title defence at the Al Thumama Stadium.

Deschamps’ men qualified for the knockout phase with a game to spare after two stylish performances against Australia and Denmark, and were quick to move on from a 1-0 defeat by Tunisia in the last Group D match after playing with a reserve side.

Poland, on the other hand, went through despite a 2-0 loss to Argentina in their last Group C game, carried through the opening phase by their sturdy defence and veteran striker Lewandowski.

“All the matches are difficult, all the teams are well prepared,” added Deschamps, who is set to see his captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris equal Lilian Thuram’s France record of 142 caps.

“The players all play in good leagues, good teams. All teams must be ready. 

“Our goal is to get our place in the quarter-finals.”

Poland are a very compact side with another major asset in goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who has already stopped two penalties, including from Lionel Messi.

France also often struggle against compact sides who defend deep, such as Poland, but Deschamps has the tools at his disposal to crack a game wide open.

While Kylian Mbappe, who is chasing records in Qatar after already scoring seven World Cup goals before the age of 24, might find it hard to use his devastating pace against a packed defence, Ousmane Dembele could be another threat.

The forward’s relentless dribbling, jinking one way before bursting past the other, could prove tough to handle for the Poles, who will also need to keep a close eye on Olivier Giroud in the box.

The 36-year-old target man will become France’s all-time top scorer if he finds the back of the net for his 52nd international goal and move one ahead of Thierry Henry.

Olivier Giroud will become France’s all-time top scorer if he finds the back of the net for his 52nd international goal and move one ahead of Thierry Henry. PHOTO: REUTERS

The French defence has been far from perfect, with Raphael Varane looking below his best after a hamstring injury, and the Manchester United player will need to find top form as a mouth-watering duel with Lewandowski looms.

Poland only just scraped through their group ahead of Mexico on goal difference, despite scoring just two, and coach Czeslaw Michniewicz has hinted that he will be going for a different approach than just sitting back.

“Now we want to play differently. It’s a do-or-die game. We know what we want to do on the pitch,” he said.

“We have to dream about scoring goals and we will do everything to make that happen.”

The winner of Sunday’s match will face England or Senegal in the quarter-finals. REUTERS, AFP

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