Twenty-three players have already arrived at Clairefontaine this Saturday noon for the gathering which will see the France team play four matches between June 3 and 13.
Smiling, Didier Deschamps opened this meeting with a press conference.
Karim Benzema, the Champions League final this Saturday, the choice of Kylian Mbappé to stay at PSG, the qualities of Aurélien Tchouaméni… The coach responded to many themes for more than half an hour.
How is this already the World Cup?
DIDIER DESCHAMPS.
She will come quickly.
We have two meetings, first these 4 matches and two others in September.
We don't have any friendlies so that should help us.
We are also at the end of the season, while waiting for the preparation of the new one... But these 6 meetings must be useful.
These are competitive matches that will serve as my observation.
June games weren't always the best for Les Bleus.
Do you fear these meetings?
We are always confronted with the same phenomenon: there will be a disparity on the athletic and physical level, beyond the mental aspect.
Some will not have played for three weeks.
It's not ideal.
But the France team is very important.
Having four games can allow us to involve players.
There will be little recovery time between games.
We will not work miracles on the physical condition.
But we're going to make sure we put gas back in the engine.
With several years of hindsight, what is your assessment of the League of Nations?
Do you regret friendly matches?
No.
It became more and more difficult to find available opponents.
We had the good fortune to win this League of Nations.
They are the best teams.
And nothing replaces competition.
There is always more interest for everyone.
It's better from every point of view, especially as far as the players are concerned.
I will not complain.
Last week, you talked about players you wanted to see a little more than usual.
Who is it ?
I said that in relation to attacking players who are supposed to get more playing time. That goes for everyone.
We have four very close games.
I'm already thinking about the first game and then we'll see.
If Olivier Giroud is not with us, it is to give other players like Moussa Diaby, Wissam Ben Yedder and Christopher Nkunku the possibility of having more playing time. Some will play more than others but we will try to ensure that everyone is an actor.
To harden up and give indications for the final list for the World Cup.
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What have you organized for the Champions League final this Saturday evening?
We didn't organize anything special.
We'll watch it together.
But everyone will do what they want.
It's the last big game of every season.
Some already here have already experienced these matches.
We will pay attention to what happens.
What is your prognosis?
Will Benzema be Ballon d'Or even if he loses this final?
You know the profiles of the teams.
It's hard to pick out a favourite.
For Karim, it's better if he can come with a European Cup.
In the race for the Ballon d'Or, with everything he has already achieved this season, it will only go in the right direction for him if he wins.
What is your analysis of the choice of
Kylian Mbappé
?
He had time to think.
Obviously that Kylian remains in Ligue 1, it is a good thing for French football and the influence of the championship abroad.
He is attached to his club.
He gave his arguments.
But this is only a very good thing for France.
The Blues have arrived under the Clairefontaine sun 😎✌️ #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/bYQFv1qyg0
– French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) May 28, 2022
Can we grow while staying in France?
Yes.
There are clear club objectives: that of Paris is to be European champion.
We are still talking about a young player, even if he has done many, many things.
Maybe one day he will want to go abroad.
Even if Ligue 1 is criticized, it's not easy.
Not going abroad does not prevent you from accomplishing great things.
"From my position as coach, I have the players live and I know what's going on"
Do you fear misunderstandings between Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé after the choice of the latter?
Everyone has their own interpretations.
From my position as coach, I have the players live and I know what is going on.
My priority is group unity.
There may be misunderstandings.
We can all draw conclusions.
But in most situations, that doesn't reflect reality.
With the world connected, everything can go very quickly.
The slightest sentence, the slightest photo and it goes away very quickly.
How to manage the sporting situations of players like Antoine Griezmann, who are not very successful in the club?
All the players present experienced similar situations.
At each meeting, some players are in good shape, others less well.
They find a different environment.
I haven't seen players come to camp not being happy or happy.
It has happened many times that some are less efficient in club and good with the France team.
The reverse too.
There is no truth.
We must maintain this group unity.
Aurélien Tchouaméni is one of the players affected by the transfer window.
Do you have any advice for him?
Many are coveted.
He is one of the players in demand, very much in demand by big clubs too.
I'm not here to give them advice.
I can give them an opinion but there is no wrong choice.
How did you observe his season with AS Monaco?
He shines in the club.
He was also brilliant with us.
He does not yet have the experience of Paul and “NG”.
I took it quite early.
He is quite mature.
This is not the only one.
It is to be maintained over the months, the seasons.
He had great potential.
He confirmed his maturity, his ease.
The young people who are there are growing and others who are absent are also growing.
I'm not going to complain about that.