In the eyes of France’s national coach Didier Deschamps, scheduling the World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine on the anniversary of the Paris terrorist attacks is unfortunate, to say the least—the commemorations should be the focus.
France’s national coach Didier Deschamps would have liked to have played the upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine on a different date, as it falls on the tenth anniversary of the Paris terror attacks. “It’s a sensitive issue. Deep down, I think it would have been better if we could have avoided playing the match on November 13,” Deschamps said on Thursday. “Would that have been possible? I don’t have an answer to that; it’s not in my hands.”
On November 13, 2015, the German national team was playing a friendly match against France at the Stade de France when three suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the stadium during the game. A total of 130 people died that night in Islamist-motivated attacks in the French capital.
Three days later in Azerbaijan
According to Deschamps, the match against Ukraine at the Parc des Princes in Paris will be “a special day full of commemorations”: “Out of respect for the families who have suffered and lost loved ones, the duty to remember must always be upheld.”
France goes into the match against Ukraine (7) at the top of Group D with ten points. Three days later, the World Cup runners-up will play in Azerbaijan. The German national team will not be playing on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Paris. The team, coached by Julian Nagelsmann, will play in Luxembourg the following day (November 14).