Cyclopean stadiums emerging from the sands, huge crowds at the gates of the desert … The World Cup of excess begins Sunday, November 20 in Qatar after twelve years of preparations and unprecedented controversy around the tournament, which could consecrate giants like Lionel Messi or Neymar. Two days before kick-off, midfielder Adrien Rabiot and defender Lucas Hernandez take part in a press conference from Qatar on Friday. Follow our live.
“Everyone is hungry.” A few days before the first match of the Blues at the World Cup in Qatar, “everyone is hungry, everyone wants to start this competition”, has declared Lucas Hernández. And to add: “It will be football matches but also fights. We will need soldiers, be rigorous, give everything.”
The Minister of Sports returns to the inclusive armband for the Blues. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra estimated Friday on RMC / BFMTV that wearing an inclusive armband was not “not a closed topic” for the Blues because Fifa does not “has not yet spoken”. Asked about this position, while several European selections such as Germany and England are in favor of this armband, the Minister of Sports declared: “The words of Lloris, this comes at a time when the French Football Federation, through the voice of its president, gives more or less an instruction not to wear it, and when they think that Fifa will rather to forbid.”
The Blues welcomed to applause. Didier Deschamps players took up residence on Wednesday evening, at the Al Messila hotel, west of the city center, cheered by more than 200 supporters and passers-by, mostly residents of the emirate. They then took part in a stretching session in the hotel garden. They participated in a gym session on Thursday morning.