Deschamps liquidates players from France: “Five were not at the level of the final”

A cold and acid criticism accompanied the press conference for the renewal of Didier Deschamps, who will remain in charge of the French team until 2026, with a view to the World Cup that will be organized in Mexico, the United States and Canada. In the midst of the reasons for the renewal, a journalist asked about the final lost to Argentina, causing an unexpected response from the strategist.

The coach declared feeling with “Energy” to continue leading the ‘Bleus’ and made it clear that “it is not to continue to continue”, but he drew attention for his analysis of the defeat against the ‘Albiceleste’.

“We didn’t measure up”, acknowledged the France coach. “I am not going to attribute the problem to one player more than another. But in the starting lineup there were five players who were not at the level for a game like this”, he added. This for various reasons, such asaccumulation of matches” or emotional issues.

The low yields explain why France “did not exist for a long hour” of the match, but in the final part “what was necessary was done”, he stressed.

After joining the French team in 2012, Deschamps ended his contract after the World Cup in Qatar, where Les Bleus reached the final, won by Argentina.

“I want to announce something that is an immense pleasure for me, and that is that my president decided to extend me until 2026″, declared Deschamps in the gallery of the general assembly, where he was received with a standing ovation. “I am convinced that there is much to do”, he stressed together with the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noël Le Graët. “It is a very important sign of trust.“, he claimed.

Deschamps, who won the 1998 World Cup as a player, has the longest tenure on the Les Bleus bench ahead of Michel Hidalgo, who spent eight years and six months in charge (March 1976 – June 1984), also holding the record of matches on the French bench (138, well ahead of Raymond Domenech’s 79) and, above all, the best record.