Coach Deschamps: 'England has no weaknesses'

* UK - France: 2pm Sunday 11/12, on MetaSports.

"You don't have any weaknesses," Deschamps said on December 9 at the pre-match press conference. "Every team has strengths, but not every team has many weaknesses. Some teams just have points that are not good. It is important for France to exploit these factors, to hurt England."

According to the 54-year-old coach, England counterattacks well and is very strong in fixed situations. "They have scored more than half of the goals from such balls," added Deschamps. "But that's just one of the many qualities of England. It is no coincidence that they become France's next opponent."

Both British and French media said that the confrontation between Kylian Mbappe and Kyle Walker could decide the outcome of the match at Al Bayt Stadium today. Mbappe currently leads the list of top scorers with five goals, and scored a superb double against Poland in the 1/8 round.

According to Deschamps, in the match against Poland, Mbappe was not as high as the first two rounds of the group stage, but he could still shine. He also believes that his students will continue to make a difference today, although they will certainly be closely followed by England. "Mbappe is still Mbappe, with the ability to make a difference at any time," emphasized Deschamps.

Deschamps said the French team was calm, confident, under no pressure and set their sights on reaching the semi-finals. The 54-year-old coach also advised Jules Kounde and Aurelien Tchouameni to play sober to avoid getting yellow cards and being suspended in the semi-finals. These are the only two French players to be cautioned before the quarter-finals.

Deschamps praised his colleague Gareth Southgate and revealed the two had discussed many issues. Deschamps also believes that Southgate does not receive the respect it deserves from England fans, despite helping this team to win many successes. Taking the place of Sam Allardyce since 2016, the 52-year-old coach has helped England gradually improve its performance. The "Three Lions" finished fourth at the 2018 World Cup, third in the 2019 UEFA Nations League and then second in Euro 2021 - the tournament was postponed for a year due to Covid-19.

Before the opening match against Australia, Mundo Deportivo newspaper reported that Zinedine Zidane had reached an agreement with the French Football Federation (FFF) to replace Deschamps from January 2023. However, Deschamps refused to speak about the future after the 2022 World Cup, because he wanted to focus all his attention on the match against England.

In July 2012, Deschamps was appointed head coach of France on a two-year contract, replacing one-time teammate Laurent Blanc - who resigned after Euro 2012. Over the past 10 years, he helped France finish second at Euro 2016. won the World Cup 2018 and the UEFA Nations League 2021. If he helps France defend the gold cup in Qatar, Deschamps will re-establish the record of winning the World Cup twice in a row of the late coach Vittorio Pozzo - who led Italy to two championships. world enemies in 1934 and 1938.

Deschamps is one of only three people to have won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach, alongside Mario Zagallo of Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer of Germany. Before leading his hometown team to victory at the 2018 World Cup, Deschamps was the captain of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, when he was a professional player.