Dallas (United States) (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps insisted he still sees Spain as World Cup favourites on Monday ahead of Les Bleus’ blockbuster semi-final against the European champions. France take on Spain at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday in a match widely seen as a collision of the best two teams in the tournament.
While Deschamps’ side have lit up the World Cup with a string of scintillating performances, Spain’s campaign has built momentum gradually following a shock 0-0 draw against minnows Cape Verde in their opening game. Deschamps, though, maintains that France — beaten by Spain in their last two meetings — will be the underdog on Tuesday.
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“Forget about the first game against Cape Verde,” Deschamps said of Spain’s campaign. “Ever since then Spain have confirmed that they are the favourites. I don’t want to add extra pressure to (Spain coach) Luis (de la Fuente) and their team — he knows very well that people are expecting great things of Spain. But Spain can attack well, and they can defend very well. They’ve only conceded one goal in the last six or seven matches.”
Spain coach De la Fuente, meanwhile, smiled when asked for his response to Deschamps’ comments at an eve-of-game press conference. “Since the beginning, I’ve always said that the fact that people say we’re favourites or not doesn’t mean anything,” De la Fuente told reporters. “It doesn’t. It’s not decisive. We are two great national teams facing each other, just as there are two great national teams facing each other in the other semi-final,” De la Fuente added, stressing that his team was comfortable living with the pressure to succeed.
“Regardless of whether we’re favorites or not, it doesn’t mean create additional pressure,” he said. “We have that pressure anyway. We want to do well for our country.” Deschamps, meanwhile, believes Tuesday’s game has all the makings of a classic. “With the quality of the two teams offensively, I think we could think that is going to be a spectacular game,” he said.
Deschamps is also not overly concerned by the threat posed by Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who scored in La Roja’s victories over France in the European Championship semi-final in 2024 and the UEFA Nations League last year. “We know the strength of the opposing team. We have our own strengths,” Deschamps said. “Have I studied Yamal and his assets? Yes, he’s one of the players that can really make a difference on the pitch. And all opponents should try to limit the strength of the other team, but we have many solutions.”
“When it comes to one-on-ones, it could be tough. But having a one-on-one against some of my players is not an easy task either.” Deschamps confirmed that France captain Kylian Mbappe, who left the quarter-final win over Morocco late in the second half after taking a knock, was “100 percent” fit for the semi-final.
© 2024 AFP
