Deschamps has no fear of holders’ hoodoo
WITH the smile that acknowledged a hoodoo had been laid to rest came a warning that France are primed to consign another statistic to history.
Didier Deschamps was overjoyed as he reflected on a 2-1 dismissal of Denmark that enabled France to become the first team to reach the last 16 but he left nobody in any doubt the only aim of his squad is to leave Qatar cradling the trophy with which they arrived. Winning the World Cup had been a millstone around the necks of the last three defending champions with Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and Germany (2018) failing dismally to negotiate the group stages. All were eliminated in ignominy.
A previous generation of French footballers were familiar with this story, too, as the heroes of 1998 collapsed in 2002 in Japan and South Korea, sent packing within three games. There was never any prospect, however, of history repeating for this extravagantly gifted collective.
Having swatted Australia aside 4-1 in their first fixture, this success didn’t just enable them to top Group D, it laid down a marker. Deschamps, the successful coach in Russia four years ago, wants to be the first man since the Italian Vittorio Pozzo (1934 and 1938) to have back-to-back triumphs.
‘I wasn’t worried — I am never worried when it comes to my
squad,’ said Deschamps, who saw the extraordinary Kylian Mbappe score twice, either side of Andreas Christensen’s close-range effort.
‘I was not worried about these figures, about the title holders and the curse. Statistics are there for a reason but statistics are also there to be broken. This squad? They have so much quality. We have got great players, a great team and there is a great spirit about them.
‘We will need this spirit for what is waiting ahead. I’m proud of what my boys have done. We have sealed our place in the last 16 and I hope now that we will finish top of the table. There were a couple of things that we could have done better but we can improve for the next performance.’
Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand was magnanimous in defeat, observing that France were worthy winners. Leading it all was Mbappe, hailed as ‘exceptional’ by Deschamps, who added: ‘He is not a leader by shouting, he is not very talkative, but he is like a steam train on the pitch.’