There is no question of relaxing and ending the year 2023 freewheeling for the Blues, according to the words of Didier Deschamps’ players, Friday, in the wake of the victory against the Netherlands (2-1).
In the central circle, at the moment of the final whistle, Aurélien Tchouameni jumps for joy before clenching his fist, the satisfaction of a duty accomplished. Like the 23-year-old midfielder, the players of the France team are delighted to have obtained qualification for Euro 2024 in style, Friday October 13, by winning against the Netherlands at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam (2-1). But the celebration that followed in the locker room wasn’t too intense.
“It’s very surprising because I found that we weren’t happier than that, while Antoine Griezmann said that we had to celebrate that“, noted Ibrahima Konaté after the meeting, in the corridors of the stadium, before specifying the general state of mind within the group: “There is so much rigor in our work that we are proud of everything we have accomplished so far, but we are already focused on the next matches.“
This morning, the Blues are already in Lille to prepare for Tuesday’s friendly match against Scotland. Over the next few hours, they will have the opportunity to review with Didier Deschamps’ staff the last minutes of the match against the Dutch, which slightly tarnished the very good overall performance. Even if the coach wanted to put things into perspective after the meeting: “We weren’t put under too much pressure either.“.
Being seeded, the new goal
It must be said that we tend to be demanding with these Blues. “Accounting, it’s perfect. Afterwards, we didn’t want to concede a goal so it was a bit of a stain. We are perfectionists”regretted Adrien Rabiot at the microphone of TF1 after the game. However, the mission is already accomplished and Deschamps called for “appreciate and not trivialize“this 15th qualification in a row for a major tournament. Nor should we trivialize what has so far been a perfect run in these qualifiers.
The Tricolores have won each of their six matches, beating the Netherlands, the most feared opponent in Group B at the time of the draw, in both matches. “Qualifications are never easy.”recalled Deschamps, who experienced his share of difficulties in the past as a player for the France team.
To find the trace of such a successful elimination phase in accounting terms, we must go back to qualification for Euro 2004. The Blues then won their eight matches and conceded only two goals. These are the heights that the coach and his players, led by Tchouameni and a Kylian Mbappé found against the Netherlands, hope to reach at the end of 2023.We want to win everything and score as many goals as possible“, supported Ibrahima Konaté.
If they are already qualified, the Blues still have a goal to achieve: finish among the best first five of the ten qualifying groups to be seeded in the Euro draw at the beginning of December. The November gathering will therefore not be anecdotal. “It will take more than 18 points“, underlined Deschamps yesterday. A victory – very likely – against Gibraltar, on November 18 in Nice, could be enough.
No permission for rugby
But there is no doubt that the Deschamps gang will be keen to end this year 2023 with success in Greece. The trip to Athens on November 21 already promises to be very hot and intense, because the Greeks will perhaps be able to qualify to the detriment of the Netherlands. A great opportunity to test oneself in a difficult context and to offer the new generation new minutes of tension, like the end of the match in Amsterdam on Friday.
In September, before the friendly match against Germany, several Blues were able to watch from the stands the victory of the French XV against New Zealand at the opening of the Rugby World Cup. None of them will be allowed to travel to Paris from Lille on Sunday to compete behind their rugby counterparts, facing South Africa in the quarter-finals. The sign of unwavering demands. “They know the limits“, smiled Deschamps on this subject, already looking towards the next deadlines, with Euro 2024 in his sights.