After 14 years at the helm of the French national team, Didier Deschamps hopes to bow out with a victory.
Although he would have preferred to end this remarkable adventure with another title, the France coach will have to settle for the third-place play-off against England, after being soundly beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semi-finals.
As a player, Didier Deschamps won the Champions League with Marseille in 1993, the World Cup in 1998 and then Euro 2000 with France. As a coach, he secured a second star for France at the 2018 World Cup, and also reached the final of the tournament in 2022 and the Euro 2016 final, leaving an indelible mark on the history of French football.
Although the disappointment of not playing in the final is huge, the players are determined to win this last match. “Of course, we want to do it for the coach, given everything he has done for the France team and for each of us, because the players who are here, he chose them and no one else. We have to be at least a little bit grateful to him”, said France defender Ibrahima Konaté at a press conference.
Like him, several players who have had little game time during this World Cup could be handed starts against England.
Captain Kyllian Mbappé is nonetheless expected to start, as he still has the chance to finish as the tournament’s top scorer. Instrumental in France’s run to the semi-finals, the Real Madrid forward has scored eight goals in seven matches, the same as Lionel Messi. The Argentine star is also the current all-time leading goalscorer at the World Cup with 21 goals, compared with 20 for Kyllian Mbappé.