To “continue the adventure”, France will have to approach Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final (19:00 GMT) with “extreme concentration” in the face of Morocco’s “cohesion” and the “hostile climate” promised by the many supporters of the Lions of the ‘Atlante, underlined captain Hugo Lloris on Tuesday.
“We are approaching something strong”
Hugo Lloris (Goalkeeper and France captain): “The more we advance in the competition and the closer we get to something strong and big, we all want to continue the adventure as far as possible. It requires extreme concentration, although it doesn’t stop you from having a pleasant time off the pitch. The main thing is the competition, we want to surpass ourselves, continue to live and share emotions (…) In preparation and approach we must maintain this serenity that we have had since the beginning of the tournament. There’s no secret, this is what we will bring to our performance, the fact of working together, being strong in the important moments of the match and above all scoring one more goal than the opponent”.
Morocco has “rational organization”
Didier Deschamps (France coach): “This team has the ability to defend themselves very well. None of their opponents have found the solution. But it shouldn’t be reduced to the defensive sector, it wouldn’t be there if it didn’t have other qualities. It’s the team that defended best, with a rational organization. And they hurt all opponents. My observers have seen all of Morocco’s matches, there are elements to take into consideration, they will have to be contested.
Lloris: “We can only have admiration and respect for their journey. But it’s no coincidence at this level, when a team manages to beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal to finish first in their group, it’s because there are so many qualities on and off the pitch, in terms of cohesion and team spirit. He will be a formidable opponent.”
The crowd makes “a lot of noise”
Deschamps on the hostile atmosphere: “I don’t like the term hostile. They have a popular fervor for them. It makes a lot of noise, I could hear it, my scouts told me, my players were warned. It’s part of the context. Knowing first is always better. And it is not tomorrow that it will be lower. Preparing for a match also means preparing for the environment. My players know what to expect.”
Lloris: “What’s more is this hostile climate in the stadium that will have the colors of Morocco. We’ll have to be ready, it will make noise, we won’t be able to hear each other”.
Leaders “Perform Their Roles Well”
Deschamps: “My team doesn’t surprise me. The only truth comes from the green rectangle. Some players didn’t necessarily have the experience, it’s their first competition, you never know how they can react to the competition and emotionally. But there are executives who play their role very well, so a very positive dynamic has been established. I can assure you that it is a pleasure and a joy to be with this group every day (…) For the moment we are only halfway there, even if it is already a good journey. There are no secrets to success, it takes a combination of many things. The first is the quality of the players, but that’s not enough, you need other ingredients, collective strength, mood, games that change when you’re on the edge. There is no miracle recipe.”
Lloris: “There is a core of more experienced players. I think we have a great complementarity in the approach to the game, in words. There are also young players who respond very well, who bring their light-heartedness, their talent. It works very well. How come? Surely because there is a lot of respect between one and the other”.
