France head coach Didier Deschamps has praised Gareth Southgate ahead of his team’s quarter-final clash with England at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
If England win against Les Bleus, it will be their second World Cup semi-final in a row under Southgate. The Three Lions also reached the final of the 2021 European Championship.
“I very much like Gareth – we have met on a number of occasions and have talked about a number of things,” Deschamps said on Friday at the press conference.
“If I am understood correctly, not everyone appreciates him so much in his own country. That isn’t because he wasn’t a good footballer himself; he had a long and distinguished career and he is also a very good coach.
“He has enabled England to get some very good results over the years and I very much like him.”
Deschamps also praised star attacker and World Cup top scorer Kylian Mbappe ahead of the tie. He recognised the Paris Saint-Germain attacker as the difference maker.
“I’m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian, as our previous opponents did, but he is in a position to make the difference,” said Deschamps.
2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final: England vs France
England take on France tomorrow with a place in the semi-final up for grabs. The Three Lions know that stopping Mbappe will be crucial, but he is not the only problem.
Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Aurelien Tchouameni are all in superb form.
They dispatched Poland in the round of 16 after winning their group. The reigning World Cup and UEFA Nations League champions will be a tough test for England.
However, Southgate and his men can win if they play to their full potential. They will receive a boost from Raheem Sterling’s return to the camp. At the moment, it is unclear if he can play tomorrow.
Deschamps has extra motivation for this tie. He set reaching the semi-final of the World Cup as the minimum target for his side’s campaign.
French Football Federation president Noel La Graet agreed that this is the benchmark to determine whether Deschamps will continue as manager.
La Graet has already said he would like Deschamps to continue with the job, but the manager will be determined to reach the benchmark he set.,
