Deschamps: All Pressure on Spain, France Coach Calls Them World Cup Favorites

Didier Deschamps, the French national team coach, deflected attention from his squad ahead of their World Cup semifinal against Spain, instead positioning the Spanish team as the tournament favorite. Deschamps acknowledged Spain's impressive run, noting their attacking prowess and strong defense, having conceded only one goal in the tournament. "Spain has shown its quality," Deschamps stated at a press conference. "It's not to put pressure on Luis (de la Fuente, Spain's coach), but people expect a lot from his team. They attack well and have only conceded one goal." While acknowledging Lamine Yamal's potential to "make a difference," Deschamps stressed that Spain possesses other talented players capable of impacting the game. He also noted that France has players who can pose problems for Spain, emphasizing the importance of possession for both teams. "Spain bases its game on possession to pressure the opponent and create scoring chances. But we also need the ball to create problems for the opponent," he analyzed. Regarding Kylian Mbappé, who sustained an ankle injury in the previous match, Deschamps confirmed the star forward is "100%" fit. He dismissed the significance of France's recent losses to Spain, stating, "What's past is past. What interests me is tomorrow." France midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery echoed Deschamps' sentiments, downplaying the focus on Yamal. "Lamine has extraordinary quality; he can dribble, shoot, or pass, but football is above all a team sport," Zaïre-Emery said. "More than talking about Lamine, we have to talk about a Spain that has international-class players in all lines, just like us."

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Can mark differences, but Spain has many other players who can do it.