France-Belgium rivalry
“Calling this game a ‘battle’ isn’t a negative term. That’s what it’ll be, physically, tactically and technically. I think Roberto Martínez and I have enough respect for each other and then there’s the players, some of whom play for the same club. Of course, for an hour and a half…there’s a place in the final at stake. There are lots of things that have been said in the heat of the moment that may have been taken the wrong way but we’re not going to go back over all that again. There’s always been a rivalry because we share a border, it’s the same with Italy or Spain. Obviously, they had the chance, like us, to reach the final in 2018 and it was us who made it through before going on to become world champions but Thursday’s game won’t change what happened in the past. It’s a healthy sporting rivalry. All the other stuff that goes on in the background, the comments and exaggerations from both sides, remarks made in the heat of the moment when one side has been happy and the other unhappy, have been given too much importance.”
The Nations League
“The Nations League is a welcome break (from World Cup qualifying). It’s another title to play for. Before now, there were just two titles at international level – the European Championship and the World Cup. Now there’s an extra competition, which we did everything we could to qualify for by beating Portugal. Now that we’re in here, we’re one of four teams who wants a place in the final, it’s another chance to win a title. You can decide where it ranks compared to the others.”
“We shouldn’t play down the importance of this competition. It’s allowed us to stop playing friendly matches which weren’t of much interest to anyone and are difficult to organise nowadays.”
Squad update
“Not everyone’s here yet so I haven’t been able to assess them. In theory, they’re all coming and, from what I’ve been told, as things stand there aren’t any major worries over any of the 23 that were picked last Thursday.”
Three at the back like against Finland?
“I know which team I’d like to start with. Whether that’ll be possible, I won’t know until the day before the game. We’ve also analysed the way Belgium play closely. Did the system work well agains Finland? Yes, although at certain moments it wasn’t quite as good. It’s an option which has its upsides and downsides. My decision will depend on how we think Belgium might set up. I can only be pleased with our last performance, both in terms of the result and how we played.”
“Belgium normally play with a back five. In terms of the positioning of their attackers, it’s true that they don’t play with two players through the middle, they might have three or there might be two central midfielders with two players out wide.”
“Playing with three central defenders when the opposition have two central attackers gives you a numerical advantage there but that’s not why we used that system (against Finland). We used it mainly so that we would have five players taking part in defensive phases of play in central areas, not counting our wing-backs and three forwards. That gives us more of a presence in the middle and means our opponents can’t outnumber us in there. We can create one-against-one situations and cause as many problems for our opponents as possible, that’s our goal. We have to find the right balance and make sure it doesn’t become an imbalance, it doesn’t take much for that to happen. Both teams have players who can make the difference.
Inexperience in the squad (nine players in the squad have fewer than three caps)
“There’s no risk. If they’re here it’s because I believe in them. Those who have 50 or 100 caps now all had three caps at one stage. We need to have the right mix, with experienced players forming the core of the squad. I won’t pretend that I’ll start with all nine against Belgium, that won’t be the case. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have enough quality and they bring a freshness to the squad that I’ve always been keen to maintain. At the same time, as we have so few training sessions together, it’s important to have a core of players who develop good habits and automatisms together, who are in sync with one another when it comes to what the French national team needs to do both on and off the pitch.”
“I picked the young players again because I was pleased with them in our last get-together. Players who are 22 years old already have several years’ experience nowadays. Of course, they don’t have a lot of experience of the national team but from the moment that they were called up they’ve shown that they are up to it and they’ve kept doing what they were doing that got them a call-up in the first place. The number of caps a player has has never been a factor for me when it comes to deciding who starts or who comes off the bench if I think they can offer more to the team.”
Belgian evolution
“In terms of experience, they have six or seven players who have more than 100 caps so they’ve been around for a very long time. Although there are some players who were involved in 2018 who aren’t playing anymore. They’re the best team in the world if you go by the FIFA Rankings and that’s not for nothing. They’ve got a particular way of playing with young players who have come in but also with a very experienced core, which makes them one of the best teams in Europe and the world. They’ve obviously got plenty of attacking potential and defensive solidity. The only thing for them – and these are the facts speaking – is that they’ve had a fantastic generation of players but haven’t been fortunate enough to be successful in major tournaments.”
Does the inclusion of Théo Hernandez mean brother Lucas is now considered as a central defender?
“Lucas has the ability to play both centrally and out wide. Théo is an out-and-out full-back. Could they play in the same team? Yes, of course. But it’s not that one is going to force the other into a different position. It will all depend on what I consider the best options to be but even though Lucas has played really well for us as a full-back, he’s naturally always been more of a central defender and that’s the position he plays much more regularly for Bayern Munich.”
“But I don’t just think of him as a central defender. It (playing in central defence) was also the case when he was at Atlético Madrid, it doesn’t mean that he can’t be a really good full-back. He can bring different qualities to that position in comparison to his brother.”
Will the outcome of Karim Benzema’s upcoming trial impact his future in the national team?
“My choices are purely sporting ones. Obviously there’s a judicial situation pending at the moment. Then there’ll be a decision that I don’t want to predict. I don’t know what it will be but of course there will be a court decision. After that, you can ask me about it again. But it’s not something I’m thinking about at the moment and it’s not something I’ve thought about in the last few months or years.”