DESCHAMPS DISMISSES IDEA OF HELP FOR DANES
DIDIER DESCHAMPS says France will not be doing Denmark any favours in today’s Group D decider after Age Hareide’s pre-tournament criticism provided no little motivation for Les Bleus. The countries will square off at the Luzhniki Stadium in what has turned into something of a grudge match with the Danes still needing a point to secure a last-16 place. Before the finals began, veteran Denmark manager Hareide labelled France as ‘nothing special … they don’t have a leader’ and lampooned Paul Pogba in particular, saying ‘good grief, does he only think about his haircuts?’ Asked yesterday whether the comments would add spice to the all-European affair, Deschamps was visibly irked. ‘Salt, pepper, vinegar, [call it] whatever you wish,’ said the 1998 World Cup-winning captain. ‘It’s not particularly pleasant. My players know very well what the coach said. They can read, they can listen.’ With the Danes needing a point to see off the threat of third-placed Australia, who play Peru in Sochi, the prospect of the draw that would suit all parties was floated. Deschamps immediately shut it down. ‘No, we are not going to give them a helping hand,’ he said. ‘The aim is to finish first in the group. I will never envisage to say to my team that we’ll play for a draw. A draw may favour both teams but I am not here to talk about the Danes.’ The war of words was a welcome sideshow for Deschamps as France have stuttered through their first two outings. Despite criticism about his failure to find a settled system that gets the most out of a richly-talented squad, he will continue with his tinkering ways today with Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane captaining a much-changed side. The stand-in skipper insisted that negative comparisons between the golden generation of 1998 and the under-performing current crop are not having a negative effect. ‘No, we’re not fed up with it. They won the World Cup,’ said the defender. ‘We can find inspiration in what they did together. If we’re getting so fed up with (being compared to them), we have to win and then nobody will bother us about it.’