Six days after the chaotic Champions League final, the Stade de France returns to a semblance of normality with the France – Denmark match in the League of Nations on Friday (8:45 p.m.). After the images of Liverpool supporters gathered on the forecourt and tear gas launched by the police, the enclosure of Saint-Denis must find a more familiar face with usually quieter football evenings with the Blues. 1,270 security officers will be deployed, a classic device.
While a new RER B strike is planned, like last Saturday, the transport of the public and the 1,400 Danish supporters will be particularly scrutinized. But what should especially attract attention is the return of the Blues to the lawn of the Stade de France, which they have not trodden for a year (3-0 against Bulgaria on June 8, 2021). At that time, the health restrictions in force had reduced the assistance to 5,000 people.
Denmark in the same group as the Blues at the World Cup
This Friday, in front of nearly 80,000 spectators, they launch the defense of their title in the League of Nations with a sequence of four matches in ten days, including the first against the team of Christian Eriksen, surprise semi-finalists of the last European Championship. Europe after overcoming the cardiac arrest of its N.10 at the start of the tournament. The interest of the meeting is increased tenfold by the reunion expected on November 26 in Doha in the first round of the World Cup-2022 between French and Danes, poured into the same group … as in 2018.
The actors of the shock of Friday present themselves there with states of form “disparate“, in the words of Didier Deschamps. “There are seasons over, footballers on vacation, so it’s always a special time“, portrayed the coach at the beginning of the week, before taking leave for a family mourning. He will not be present on the bench to lead the team. He will be replaced by his assistant Guy Stéphan. If Karim Benzema ended his season with Real Madrid only on Saturday, with the coronation in the Champions League, Pavard played his last meeting on May 8 with Bayern Munich (he remained on the bench the following match).
The duo Benzema – Mbappé hoped for
Benzema, author of a fantastic season with the Merengue, resumed collective training on Wednesday and could therefore be aligned alongside Kylian Mbappé. The agreement between the two star strikers, 14 goals between them out of the 26 scored by the Blues this season, will be scrutinized as the Parisian has chosen not to join Benzema at Real and to extend with PSG until 2025. On the pitch, the confrontation between France and Denmark will be the 17th between the two nations (8 wins for France, 6 for Denmark and two draws).
Above all, she will give the first lessons to Didier Deschamps and his Danish counterpart Kasper Hjulmand before finding himself in the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar, on November 26 at 974 Stadium in Doha.