23 questions this Wednesday to N’Golo Kanté and Didier Deschamps during their press conference at the Stade de France, on the eve of France-Israel, 5th stage of the League of Nations. 23 in all but only 5 devoted to the context apart from this funny match like no other, ultra-secure, not very exciting – only 20,000 people expected surrounded by 4,000 police and gendarmes, and very political with the presence of the last three French heads of state, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
The media meetings of the (provisional) captain of the French team and his coach were inversely proportional to the political considerations of a meeting with low sporting stakes – one point is enough for the French to reach the Final 8 of the League of Nations next March.
In detail, Didier Deschamps confided that he “made sure to prepare for this match as normally as possible”. “No one is insensitive to the heavy and heavy context,” continues the Basque technician. It has to remain a football match, despite everything. »
His current captain – Kylian Mbappé was not selected for this gathering – and he will not make any mistakes when responding to the burning subject of the war in Gaza or Lebanon, N’Golo Kanté even slipping with his usual candor, almost a form of naivety, wishing that the situation would “get better”: “It hurts a little,” he murmurs, using an understatement in the face of the conflict in the Middle East.
He further assures that no instructions have come from above – from the coach, from the Federation – to dodge geopolitical questions. “We know that we represent the French team, not necessarily our personal opinions. We all have an opinion that we want to share or not,” explains the midfielder who left to play football in the Saudi Arabian championship.
After questions about the possible return, one day, of Paul Pogba to competition, his international retirement, another day, or his role at the heart of the A game, this Thursday, the former Caen player gave up his chair to Didier Deschamps . Who had to juggle on all grounds – political and sporting -, evoking Randal Kolo Muani, Kingsley Coman but also Emmanuel Macron in the same press briefing, in an improbable big gap that only this singular poster allows. He managed to relax his audience when the question finally came about Kylian Mbappé, which he expected “sooner” from the media – it will come in 8th position, before the last two. “I’m not going to repeat what I’ve already said,” he smiles. Leave him alone, please.”
Only the holding of a France – Israel, which tenses a part of French society, arouses fear in another and which ultimately leaves no one indifferent, could relegate the Mbappé subject to the second or eighth plan of the usual decor of a French team match. For the duration of a meeting, Didier Deschamps and N’Golo Kanté will sit back and wait for the most trivial subjects to come to the forefront.
