Didier Deschamps urged France had felt the “physical or psychological impact” of an illness-affected run-up to their bizarre World Cup last defeat in opposition to Argentina, even though he stopped in need of pronouncing it contributed to the end result.
France had been overrun till two objectives in 97 seconds from Kylian Mbappé became a procession for his or her warring parties right into a wild, see-sawing affair that went the space. A deadly disease had stretched an already depleted squad, with 3 gamers lacking the semi-final in opposition to Morocco and no less than two others affected within the next days. All concerned had been handed are compatible for the fit on Sunday however Deschamps highlighted a flatness that noticeably dogged his group for far of the sport.
“The whole squad has been facing a tricky situation for a while now,” he mentioned. “Maybe that had a physical or psychological impact. But I had no concerns about the players who started the match: they were 100% fit.
“We only had four days since the last match so there was some tiredness, perhaps. That’s not an excuse, we just didn’t have the same energy as in the previous match and that’s why, for the first hour or so, we weren’t in the match.”
Deschamps revealed he had spoken to the referee, Szymon Marciniak, after the game but would not elaborate on the reason. He distanced himself from any idea the officiating had helped Argentina to win while making clear that, in his view, they had been let off lightly earlier in the tournament.
“I need to be careful – you saw it as well as I did,” he said of Marciniak’s performance.
“It could have been worse, it could have been better. Before this match Argentina had been a little bit lucky but I don’t want to take anything away from them; they fully deserve the title. It is not because we suffered from any decisions that they came out victorious. I just discussed this with the referee after the game but don’t want to go into details.”
There is a considerable question around Deschamps’s future. He has been in the job for 10 years but his deal was due to expire after Qatar 2022.
“Even if we had won I wouldn’t have replied [on that topic] tonight,” he mentioned. “I’m very unhappy for my gamers and body of workers. I can have a gathering with the president [of the French Football Federation] at first of subsequent yr after which you are going to to find out.
On Mbappé, who completed at the shedding aspect in spite of being the primary hat‑trick scorer in a males’s last since 1966, he mentioned: “Kylian has in reality left his mark in this last. Unfortunately he did not lead to the way in which he would have preferred and that’s the reason why he used to be dissatisfied on the finish of the fit like all of the gamers.”
