World Cup: France never feared the curse of the holders, says Deschamps
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France's coach Didier Deschamps celebrating with Kylian Mbappe after winning the Group D football match against Denmark.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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DOHA – France coach Didier Deschamps insisted he was never worried his side might be the latest defending champions to be eliminated from the World Cup in the group stage, after they became the first team through to the last 16.
The holders followed their opening 4-1 win over Australia by beating Denmark 2-1
That left France on six points after two games. They now look set to win Group D as well, needing just a draw in their last match against Tunisia to guarantee top spot.
It is a far cry from the last three World Cups, where the holders have gone out in the group stage.
That statistic had been mentioned to Deschamps before the tournament, especially as injuries ruled out key players including Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.
“Soon I will have to thank everyone who spoke to me about that,” said Deschamps.
Italy were the holders when they went out at the first hurdle in 2010, with the same fate befalling Spain in 2014 and Germany four years later.
“I am never worried, even if you know the atmosphere around the squad is not always calm,” he added. “But I wasn’t anxious or worried, for the good reason that statistics are there to be contradicted after a while.
“We are not going to get carried away but what we have done so far is very good.
“The players are competitors and there is a collective strength that stands out, and which you can see on the pitch too. We will need that for what is to come.”
Despite highlighting the team’s collective strength, Deschamps also singled star forward Mbappe out for praise.
He said: “Kylian is an extraordinary player... he has that ability to be decisive and make the difference even when opponents try to stop him. The fact we have other players around him who are dangerous liberates him a bit more.”
Denmark defender Joachim Andersen added: “He was so clinical. He scored his chances and we didn’t so that was the difference today.”
Mbappe has struck 14 times in 13 games for France since his missed penalty at Euro 2020 saw them crash out to Switzerland in the last 16. He also drew level with Zinedine Zidane on 31 goals for France – the joint seventh most and on the evidence of his first two matches in Qatar he looks the favourite for the Golden Boot.
“They have a crazy team. He’s a top player, has a lot of qualities, and today he scored two goals, so you can never say you defended him good but we tried to be close to him,” said Danish attacker Jesper Lindstrom of Mbappe.
His coach Kasper Hjulmand maintained belief in his side, highlighting their semi-final run at Euro 2020 came after a slow start in the group.
He said: “You cannot just expect to push a button and score a lot of goals but we also had zero points after the first two games in the Euros, so we still have hope.” AFP
