In order to get to know the conditions and circumstances for the World Cup in the summer, the French national team is currently completing its training course in the USA. Coach Didier Deschamps has now drawn a skeptical interim conclusion.
In purely sporting terms, Didier Deschamps can actually be satisfied with how the international trip to the USA has gone so far. The Equipe Tricolore won the endurance test against Brazil despite being short-handed for a long time after Dayot Upamecano was shown red, while Hugo Ekitiké harmonized surprisingly well with captain Kylian Mbappé in an unfamiliar role on the left wing. And yet the French national coach drew a mixed conclusion on Saturday – mainly due to the conditions on site.
The French team, who will play their three group games at the World Cup in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Foxborough in the north-east of the USA this summer, wanted to take a close look at the current training course to get a feel for the final round. For Deschamps, this test run is anything but euphoric. “We have problems with the journey,” he said at the press conference on Saturday. “Not because of the distance, but because of the time.” The traffic is so heavy that the schedule may not be adhered to and training sessions may have to be postponed.
In addition, the coach, who is about to play his last major tournament with the national team, criticized the fact that although they cannot train in the stadium, media activities are held there. “We have to train on a different pitch, but we have to go to the stadium for media appointments. There is only a 45-minute break in between,” explains Deschamps. This leads to organizational problems.
The current political situation in the USA is also causing delays. “It takes a long time at the airport,” complained Deschamps. “There are checks like I’ve never seen in my life.” He had already observed something similar at the Club World Cup last summer: “I spoke to the players who were there and they reported some situations with complications – sometimes more, sometimes less.”
Deschamps is critical of kick-off times at the World Cup
Excitement for the finals sounds different. And Deschamps fears that other problems could arise at the World Cup that the French team is not yet facing on the current trip. “The temperatures will be different in the summer,” explained the 57-year-old coach. “The heat will require intensive recovery phases. Then there are the kick-off times.”
France will play their three group matches against Senegal, the winner of the intercontinental play-off between Iraq and Bolivia and Norway in the afternoon in the USA. Deschamps fears that the temperatures will not have cooled down sufficiently by then.
Les Bleus will conclude their current international tour on Sunday evening against Colombia, led by Bayern star Luis Diaz. The game will be played at Northwest Stadium near the US capital Washington. Afterwards, Deschamps will draw an overall conclusion – and possibly also conclusions for the organization during the tournament in the summer.