Didier Deschamps, national team coach Franceassured after drawing 1-1 with Poland and reaching the round of 16 as second in the group, that he is not “disappointed at all.”
“No, I’m not disappointed at all. We wanted first place, but we did what we had to do. We gave everything until the end,” he said at a press conference.
Les Bleus finish as runners-up in Group D and seal their spot in the #EURO2024 last 16.#FRAPOL | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/zIaKLGicWH
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 25, 2024
The coach left Antoine Griezmann on the bench for the first time after 18 consecutive games as a starter and a year and a half.
“I have not been angry with Antoine. It was a tactical choice, nothing more. I have many players, I have different cards in my hand. I want to have the most dangerous team for the rival. We had Kylian, Barcola and Dembélé, it was a very dangerous,” he explained.
In addition, he spoke about Mbappé, who returned to the eleven with a mask to protect his nose, fractured on the first day, which prevented him from playing against the Netherlands.
“Kylian has been through a lot these days, it was difficult for him not to play the second game. I thought it was going to be difficult because he couldn’t see well and he had to get used to playing with a mask, to wiping off the sweat, which is complicated,” he said.
France qualifies for the second round, but at what cost
