From the Côte d'Azur district, Didier Deschamps reacted to the draw for the League of Nations.
France will find Belgium in the semi-finals of this competition, in October 2021. A classic of European football appreciated by the coach of the Blues, who also took the time to greet Olivier Giroud's quadruple registered with Chelsea on Wednesday in Champions League and to have a few words for French amateur football.
Was there a better possible draw and how do you judge the evolution of this Belgian selection?
DIDIER DESCHAMPS.
The plateau was very high.
The teams are all in the top ten world nations and Belgium is first so that says it all.
We had the pleasure of qualifying against her for the 2018 World Cup final. You know, we meet a good team.
Definitely the best.
I don't want to minimize.
Spain and Italy have renewed a lot.
Belgium has a solid foundation.
Do you think Belgium will have a spirit of revenge after the 2018 semi-final?
The only winner that matters is the one on the pitch.
Belgium was already very strong.
The match had been complicated for us.
There is no spirit of revenge.
For their part, perhaps.
I do not know if we will have the opportunity to meet again at the Euro before.
It will be with pleasure and we appreciate these meetings.
France often faces Belgium.
It will be another context in any case.
Do you feel like you have a stronger and more complete group?
It's hard to say.
We were already very strong.
We are one of the best teams today.
That does not mean that we do not have difficulties in certain games.
I have nothing to complain about the quality of my players.
We will have to count on us.
But it is not because we achieved this performance in Portugal (1-0) that we will go to the Euro and that it will be won.
The quality is there but the basis is the structure and the state of mind.
The high level does not allow relaxation.
We saw against Finland that it was not allowed
(Editor's note: 2-0 defeat)
.
It does not happen to us often but we are not immune.
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Are you already thinking of integrating new players after the Euro?
It will not prevent the incorporation of new players.
The first meeting will be in March 2021 with the start of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. I don't know how the Euro will go.
We are working on it in the best possible way.
At the end of the major competitions, it is good to have in October the possibility of playing a title with this League of Nations.
The competition is beautiful, we saw it during qualifying with some great encounters.
How do you plan to prepare for this Final 4?
I will take them a month before, do some preparation and forbid the clubs to play them
(laughs)
.
We stay in a classic format.
I will have them on Monday and we will play on Thursday.
But there will be no special preparation.
Without this qualification, we would have had two matches for the 2022 World Cup. We remain in a short, very short configuration.
I do not have a choice.
Is this participation in Final 4 also good for the finances of the Federation?
All income is good to take for the federation and amateur football.
There are shortfalls at all levels.
There is a sporting objective and an economic interest for the federation to take part in this Final 4: with beautiful posters and we hope full stadiums.
For the players, the objective is only sporting.
They qualified brilliantly in Portugal and now want to play this Final 4.
What do you think of the quadruple scored by Olivier Giroud with Chelsea on Wednesday night?
He had the pleasure of starting a match, that doesn't happen often.
Scoring a quadruple in the Champions League doesn't happen every day.
Different goals, too.
He has character, mentality, he always responds.
He fights against everyone, certainly to excess.
I am happy for him and for this performance.
Scoring four goals against Sevilla, it highlights his performance.
Mbappé has not scored for a year in the Champions League.
Can you identify an explanation for this blockage when you see his matches?
He did not score but he was often decisive.
He needs to score but it happens.
All very high level attackers know these times.
I don't have any concerns for Kylian.
He wants to see this series stop, but that does not prevent him from being decisive for his club.
Would you like the Coupe de France to be maintained?
It is an important competition for football as a whole.
It is the national holiday.
I hope that it can be maintained if the health situation evolves in the right direction.
But it is the flagship competition for amateur football.
There is a lot of excitement.
It also allows regions and districts to have very strong emulation.