In Sunday’s 3-1 friendly win over Colombia, the France national team dominated proceedings despite making numerous changes to the line-up. With the 2026 World Cup coming up this summer, France manager Didier Deschamps has every reason to be pleased.
Ahead of this training camp, Didier Deschamps had warned that this major warm-up in March in the United States would be an opportunity for him to rotate his squad and carry out tests.
After a well-managed opening match against Brazil (2-1) on Thursday, Les Bleus got the better of Colombia (3-1) on Sunday in a friendly. Particularly impressive for an hour, Les Bleus looked strong despite the changes made by Deschamps.
Deschamps was not surprised
Compared to the first match against the Seleção, the French manager fielded a completely different starting eleven. And this ‘B’ team more than held its own. With intensity and pace, the French played an entertaining brand of attacking football, as demonstrated by Désiré Doué’s brace, Marcus Thuram’s goal and the positive impact of the talented Rayan Cherki and Maghnes Akliouche.
“Impressed by the standard of my team? No, because if I’ve selected them, it’s because they deserve to be here. We mustn’t downplay it, but we’re not going to get carried away. It wasn’t easy, but the squad handled it well as a group. They didn’t get flustered. They kept their cool, and that’s to their credit. We’ve got quality, but we’ll need something else,” warned Deschamps at a press conference.
Strengthened positions
With 73 days to go until the World Cup, most of the substitutes took advantage of this opportunity to make their mark. And, of course, the French manager emerges from this camp with his convictions reinforced. “Certainties in football, eh… I have my convictions. The aim will be to have three options for every position,” DD reiterated on TF1.
“How many will we actually be able to take? That will depend. Obviously, even if you go up to 26, there are a good twenty or so who, provided they have no fitness issues, will be there. After that, it comes down to sporting and other criteria,” concluded Deschamps. With such a wealth of talent at his disposal, the Les Bleus boss has some pleasant problems to deal with…
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