Didier Deschamps, coach of the French national team, confirmed that five players participated in the final match of the FIFA World Cup, although they were not in the appropriate physical condition to participate.
Deschamps led the French national team to the World Cup final for the second time in a row in Qatar, before the end of last year, but lost by penalty kicks after a 3-3 tie in the match.
And the French Federation rewarded coach Deschamps with a new contract, as he confirmed on Saturday that he would continue his work as technical director of the team until the 2026 World Cup.
Deschamps said that several players from the French national team were infected with a virus in the team camp before the final match, which caused the team to perform poorly before star Kylian Mbappe rose up.
Speaking about the reasons for France’s failure and defeat in the final, Deschamps said in a press conference after renewing his contract: Of course, it is related to the competitor’s capabilities, and this matter was not surprising to us.
He added: There is also an emotional aspect, that was the first final for many players, that was special, but we did not play for an hour in the match well.
Deschamps continued: After that, we came back from nothing and surprised the opponent. I do not hide that in some parts of the match there was no competition.
He explained: In fact, there were at least five of the 11 players in the starting line-up who were not in sufficient physical readiness for this match and against an opponent like that.