Deschamps denies players' request for free evening
Didier Deschamps rejected a request from France's players for a night out before their World Cup third-place game against England on Saturday. According to L'Equipe, the players wanted a free evening 'as an opportunity to clear their heads' following their semi-final defeat to Spain. They even attempted to negotiate a midnight curfew, but Deschamps refused, as he does not want to end the tournament with back-to-back defeats.
France's semi-final disappointment
France had been the standout team at the World Cup but were stunned in their semi-final on Tuesday as Spain secured a 2-0 win with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. Deschamps and his players will now play England in Miami this weekend after Thomas Tuchel's side staged a second-half collapse in their 2-1 defeat to Argentina on Wednesday. The France squad travelled from their World Cup training base in Boston to Miami on Thursday.
Coaching staff sceptical of England's claims
The report adds that France's coaching staff are also sceptical over suggestions from England that they do not care about the result in their third-place playoff. 'None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,' Tuchel said after England's defeat to Argentina. 'They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but that's how it is. We have one less day of recovery than France but we will do it with professionalism.'
Deschamps' final match as France head coach
Saturday's match will also mark the end of Deschamps' 14-year stint as France head coach. Speaking ahead of the game against England, Deschamps stressed the importance of securing a victory in his final fixture for France, having missed out on a place in the World Cup final. 'The disappointment is commensurate with our ambitions, even if we also have to be factual, we have to accept it, there's no other choice,' Deschamps said. 'But we came up against a very good Spanish team who raised their game. Was it them, or were we simply a little below par? We didn't achieve the result we wanted, the result we expected, the result we aimed for.'
'We have this duty towards ourselves, towards what this jersey represents, towards all the people who are behind us and who have been so excited. There are obviously many disappointed people, but there is a match. It's not a friendly match. Okay, it's not going to change their lives, but all the players must have this duty.'
