Never seen it in my life: Deschamps slams World Cup hosts USA | OneFootball

To get an initial impression of the situation, the French national team is currently playing its friendly matches in the USA. After the 2-1 win against Brazil, today they still face a test against Colombia (9 p.m.). 

While Didier Deschamps is likely to be satisfied with his players, he mainly criticized the conditions in the World Cup host country at Saturday’s press conference. 

"We have problems with travel routes," he said. "Not because of the distance, but because of the time." Traffic is so heavy that they may not be able to stick to the schedule and might have to move training sessions. But traffic is not the only issue for the French national team coach. 

"We have to train at a different venue, but go to the stadium for media appointments. There are only 45 minutes in between," he explained. Training at the stadium is not possible. That leads to organizational problems. But the 57-year-old did not only find points of criticism on site, but already during the journey there as well. 

"There are checks like I have never seen in my life," Deschamps said clearly. He had spoken with his players who had already been in the USA for the Club World Cup. Some of them also reported complications. 

But infrastructure was not the only thing the national coach, who is facing his last major tournament, spoke bluntly about. He also complained about the World Cup kick-off times. "The temperatures will be different in summer," he explained. "The heat will require intensive recovery phases. On top of that, there are the kick-off times." The French will play in the American afternoon so that fans back home also have a chance to watch the matches live on television (9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Central European Time). 

Even if it was only an interim conclusion, such remarks from Deschamps are likely to dampen the French mood of anticipation ahead of the World Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors