Didier Deschamps aims to finish well after Spain defeat in World Cup third-place play-off | OneFootball

Didier Deschamps brings a 14-year reign to a close with a World Cup third-place play-off against England in Miami on Saturday at 23:00, not the farewell he had imagined but one he intends to honour.

He has not fully digested the 0-2 loss to Spain or the criticism that followed, including Christophe Dugarry branding his tenure a “bluff”, which he brushed aside with “Zappez, next!” L'Équipe reports that the setback still stings.

This will be his 185th match in charge, his 26th at a World Cup. Although he had pictured a 19 July finale in New York, he arrived in Florida determined not to coast. He also wants to avoid successive defeats for the first time since Spain at Euro 2024, 1-2 on 9 July, then Italy, 1-3 that September.

In his final pre-match press conference in Miami, he took 25 minutes to reflect and to explain choices, notably replacing Adrien Rabiot at half-time. He said Rabiot told him at the first cooling break he could no longer play his game, so he urged him to manage it and avoid leaving a foot in, before a later incident came close.

Deschamps said he feels responsible for setting everything up with his staff to meet one last objective. He has spoken with players, reminded them after Spain not to throw everything away, and will underline on Saturday morning the privilege and duties of the shirt he has served for 25 years.

This closing day caps a third World Cup marked by grief, with his mother’s death on the night of the win over Iraq, and by the joy of reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Beating England would not console him for being diverted to Florida before Paris, but might soften the bitterness. He acknowledged the end is here, that France will miss him, and that life goes on.

Source: L'Équipe