World Cup 2026 - France: Deschamps' message ahead of Sweden

30.06.26 FT World Cup

France

3

:

Sweden

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Didier Deschamps has already returned to the United States since yesterday after attending his mother's funeral in France. The French manager has rejoined the France squad with a single goal in mind.

Deschamps is focused on preparing as best as possible for the start of the knockout stage of this 2026 World Cup. Addressing his players, the Les Bleus boss delivered a rallying speech.

"The first competition is over. Now, there's a second one. This is the turning point. It's the same tournament, but in a way, it's a different competition. From now on, every match is do or die. That shouldn't create tension or anything like that. You have confidence, we are capable. And you've already shown you can do great things. Of course, there are still things we can improve! We have to feed off that, off this confidence, but not let it get excessive because... we're moving forward, and that's great, but the further we go, the higher we climb the mountain, and our opponents will only get tougher. Let's already think about the Swedes, there's still a lot for us to go out and get," said the French coach in a video shared on the national team's social media channels.

France will play Sweden next Tuesday.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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