Didier Deschamps bereaved and absent, it was Guy Stéphan who led France – Denmark this Friday at the Stade de France, for the new League of Nations season. His Blues, defending champions, lost (1-2) after the opening goal by Karim Benzema. In a press conference, the assistant coach of the France team acknowledged a lack of freshness of his people, before the trip to Croatia on Monday. In the preamble, he made a point on the two injured of the evening. “Kylian has a knee problem,” said Stéphan. I don’t know the exact nature. He is going to take exams. Raphaël Varane, it’s a muscle problem behind the thigh. There will be additional exams tomorrow (this Saturday) as well.”
How do you explain this setback?
GUY STEPHAN. There is the value of the adversary. I was not surprised with their match. It’s a structured team, with a lot of density. She also plays ball. It’s a shame after leading the score not to have done what was necessary to keep the result and even amplify it. There was a small problem of alignment and framing of the ball carrier.
Do you suffer from a lack of freshness?
I’m not going to look for excuses. Many players played a lot and we lacked freshness at times. We can be sparkling but we lacked the spring. I’m not just talking about attacking players, it was also in the middle, behind. There have been surprising results in Europe. We will know on Monday if it is a halt or not. We have to digest this defeat and it should help us prepare for the other three games.
Could the two injured, Mbappé and Varane, leave the rally?
I do not know more. Kylian told me at half-time that he couldn’t continue. Anyway, no risk should be taken. One may be articular, the other muscular.
Does this defeat change plans for the future?
No. Didier, who returns tomorrow (this Saturday), said that there would be rotation and there will be. It was planned like that.
For you, how was the evening in the absence of Didier Deschamps?
The boss is not there, we must assume. All the workouts, the video, the chat, making team picks, it’s new. Ultimately, it was always Didier who made the final decisions. We had prepared this match beforehand and I applied the plan. We had exchanged before, a lot. I had him briefly after the match, it was the day of the funeral this Friday, a very painful moment for him.
Is it the curse of the month of June for the Blues that has struck again?
I felt a good adherence to the workouts. Monday, there was a good intensity. There is a big difference between training and matches. It’s hard to regenerate in a short time. But they played a lot. In this calendar, it is necessary to ensure that the players are ready and that they can express themselves without risking injury.
