Publications
Partners
Cape Town - France manager Didier Deschamps is satisfied with the progress that his team has made during the World Cup preparations.
In their latest international friendly, France could only muster a 1-1 draw against Paraguay. However, Deschamps insists that his team did well against a difficult opponent.
The French manager then added that the late equaliser which his team conceded could have been avoided, which is why he felt the result probably wasn't an accurate reflection of the match.
"We conceded an avoidable goal, but we were up against an opponent who played as we expected: very tight and aggressive," said Deschamps this week.
Deschamps suggested that while France only scored their opener deep into the second half, there had been a plethora of opportunities prior to that, which he felt was most encouraging.
"We made the break towards the end of the match but we could have scored more because we had a lot of chances and shots. We're working consistently on our game, but the defensive quality of our opponents obliged us to be very sharp.
Deschamps, who left Samir Nasri out of his SWC squad although the midfielder helped his club Manchester City secure The League One Cup and English Premier League. The former Marseille manager is now suing Nasri's girlfriend after she took to twitter after her significant other was left out of the final 23-man squad and tweeted, “**** France and **** Deschamps. What a **** manager.”
"We played some great football, but tonight proved that there are still areas that need work. But I'm satisfied with what we produced against an opponent who left us little space, which is what it will probably be like at the World Cup. It was a good rehearsal," added Deschamps, who captained France during their successful World Cup campaign in 1998.
