France’s head coach Didier Deschamps dodged questions about his team’s World Cup favorite status on Monday. Deschamps, who will part ways with France after the World Cup, praised Spain ahead of their semifinal clash on Tuesday.
Spain had beaten France by 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semifinal and Les Bleus will be determined to take their revenge against the European champions.
Deschamps predicted that the semifinal could be a spectacular contest between the two heavyweights.
“They can attack and defend very well,” Deschamps said of Spain. “They only conceded one goal. Luis and myself, we know how to defend well, but with the quality of the two teams offensively we could think it is going to be a spectacular game.”
Spain started their campaign with a goalless draw against Cape Verde but since then they have been playing at the top of their game.
“If you saw what Spain did in the first match against Cape Verde [a 0-0 draw], forget about that,” he said. “But in the rest, Spain confirmed they are the favorite. I don’t want to add extra pressure to Luis [de la Fuente, the manager] and their team,” he added jokingly, “he knows very well people are expecting greatly of their team.”
Lamine Yamal said it would be a great game for the people of Spain and France.
“It will be a great game for all the fans, for people in Spain, in France,” Yamal said. “I’m sure everyone wanted this game to happen in a World Cup. Both teams will try to attack and defend with everything we got, and it will be a very tight game.”
De La Fuente, on the other hand, refrained from getting roped into the favorites conversation altogether. “I’ve said from the very beginning that talk about favorites doesn’t decide anything,” he said. “It’s true that we’re two outstanding national teams, exactly the kind of matchup you’d expect in a major final. Whether one team is considered the favorite isn’t especially important.
“I’d also like to remember a great friend of mine, who used to say in situations like this: ‘If they want to call someone the favorite, let them.’ We don’t want any extra pressure. The only pressure we have is the responsibility we owe to our country, our supporters, and ourselves.”
