France and Portugal face off tomorrow for a place in the EURO2024 quarterfinals – a repeat of the 2016 final, and a headline fixture of the tournament so far.
Despite a solid defensive record, Les Bleus have seriously struggled to score in the competition and will face their toughest test yet against Portugal.
Captain Kylian Mbappé and Didier Deschamps spoke to reporters to preview the fixture today.
What did Kylian Mbappé say?
Embed from Getty ImagesFrance’s 25-year-old captain is so far their only goalscorer at EURO2024, and that was from the penalty spot against Poland. Les Bleus still have not found the net from open play and Mbappé was asked about his team’s attack at this tournament.
“A forward needs to adapt to all of the different situations, adapt to teammates, adapt to the different player profiles that are on the pitch. I think that lots of people are referring to the playing style that we had when I first started with the French national team but we had different players.
“The idea is about analysing the type of players that you’re playing with and to put them in the best positions possible. With the players that I have, maybe we can’t play into depth because its not their type of playing style to play into depth – but if there are spaces I love eating up those spaces.”
On his own form specifically, including whether his protective mask is affecting his play, he said: “I don’t think I’m 100%. I’m not the kind of player to make excuses, but to be really explosive, really quick, I need a good physical preparation, which I’ll have with my club this summer. But this is a quarter-final and I’m ready to give everything to help my team. We can be European champions and I want to seize this opportunity with the other guys.
Embed from Getty Images“The only thing I can say is thank you to the mask because without the mask I wouldn’t be playing.”
The fixture is fraught with memories for both teams; in 2016, Portugal won in front of a French home crowd to lift the trophycourtesy of an extra-time goal. In 2021, the two met in a thrilling 2-2 group stage draw – this year’s encounter is likely to be just as competitive.
“They’re a great team so it’s going to be difficult. If they are here, that means they’re one of the best teams in Europe. The details will be key. I think it’s going to be a box-to-box game, a really tactical one, so we have to be ready and to be focused in order to hopefully get to the semi-final.”
Speaking specifically about coming up against his childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappé said: “It’s an honour. Everyone knows just how much I admire Cristiano Ronaldo as a player – over time I’ve been very lucky to brush shoulders with him.
“He’s one of a kind. There will never be another Cristiano Ronaldo. He has inspired a generation. He has the goals, he has the trophies – his CV speaks volumes. I hope he is disappointed tomorrow, though.
“But let’s not forget the other players who are dangers. We need to beware all their players and not fixate on just one. When you ignore great players, that tends to cost you dearly.”
What did Didier Deschamps say?
Head coach Didier Deschamps also described the strengths of their opponents: “It’s a headline fixture. Portugal and France are both among the favourites, with the objective ahead of the tournament of going all the way. At the quarter-final stage, only the best teams are left.
Embed from Getty Images“Historically, scorelines have been tight between us, but at this stage of a competition it’s rare to have one-sided games. It’s going to be a great quarter-final.”
Analysing his side’s performance in the tournament so far, Deschamps said: “We have a defensive solidity which is crucial in these competitions. We’ve also controlled games better than we have before and better than our opponents. But what’s also interesting is the number of chances we can create, and we’ve had difficulty being effective in front of goal. It’s been enough until now, but the level of competition is rising.”
All 25 members of France’s squad joined a training session after the press conference, but Adrien Rabiot is suspended after racking up one too many yellow cards. Eduardo Camavinga is tipped to replace him in the starting lineup, but Deschamps gave nothing away to reporters.
So far, he admitted that he has not changed much: “I don’t rotate for the sake of rotating, you’re right. I haven’t really changed up the squad that much and given the intensity of the games it’s not easy to bring people on… for those who are on the pitch, in my opinion, if they’re not showing me that they’re tired or fatigued, I don’t really feel the need to take them off.”
Fans will see the full lineups tomorrow ahead of kickoff at 20:00 BST, where the two will compete to face either hosts Germany or form side Spain in the semi-finals. Follow the game, and build-up to every quarterfinal, here and on our X account.
