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Ahead of his side's FIFA World Cup quarterfinal clash against Morocco, the France head coach Didier Deschamps demanded more efficiency attacking-wise from his team, noting that their opposition has "top individuals" who are "here to win".
In one of the most mouth-watering clashes of the tournament, an unstoppable-looking Kylian Mbappe-led France will take on Morocco, the 2022 semifinalists, the first to finish in the final four by an African nation. Having already eliminated the Netherlands from the tournament during the round of 32 clash on penalties, the Achraf Hakimi-led side aims to do the same to France, although it would not be easy as an attacking line-up of Mbappe, hat-trick hero Ousmane Dembele, assist-machine Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola is extremely dangerous. France has scored 14 goals so far, more than any other team in this tournament. In their first four matches, France scored three goals or more, untill a highly-intense, physically violent clash against Paraguay stopped the streak, with Mbappe scoring a match-sealing penalty in a match which saw tempers flaring up on both sides. Speaking ahead of the match, a rematch of the 2022 semifinal, which saw France prevail, Deschamps said as quoted by Reuters, "We have to be efficient, offensively speaking. In all the areas, both teams have strong assets. We are efficient, but we could have done better on this front. Sometimes you have six chances and score two goals, and sometimes you have two chances and score twice. It is more important to be efficient." Mbappe is amongst the leading contenders for the Golden Boot, having scored seven goals so far, just one behind Messi. Deschamps noted that Morocco's player profile is "not one of Paraguay" and are AFCON (African Cup of Nations) finalists, and against them, the two-time champions have to be "ready" to perform. "Morocco's profile is not the one of Paraguay. We met them four years ago in the semi-finals," Deschamps said. "They played the AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) final. They have top individuals. They are not here to play. They are here to win. We have to be ready and perform and deliver against this great team," he added. On the status of midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who has been facing a muscle injury that caused him to miss the Paraguay clash, the coach said that he trained, but his status for the match stays unclear. "He feels better, but I left early from the hotel this morning. I cannot say more. He might take part in training today. All other players are available," Deschamps said. (ANI)
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