Experience made the difference: France coach Deschamps

Didier Deschamps termed France’s 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco as further proof of a team learning how to navigate the demands of tournament football, saying Les Bleus’ march into a third successive World Cup semifinal owed as much to collective discipline and accumulated experience as it did to the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.

France eventually pulled away from Morocco through second-half goals from Mbappe and Dembele, but Deschamps admitted the game might have been settled far earlier had his side been more clinical in a dominant first-half that saw Mbappe miss a penalty.

“It is a confirmation and we are proud to be here for the third time in a row,” Deschamps said. “Given the first half, with the three goals we missed including the penalty, we were not at our best in that respect. But the opponent had to run, they were tired and that opened spaces. We blocked the opponent and prevented them from moving and we were able to play further up.”

France’s early pressure forced Yassine Bounou into a string of saves and left Morocco pinned back for long stretches, but Deschamps felt the match also reflected the maturity of a side that now understands how to absorb frustration and keep control of a knockout tie.

“Today we were fighting for a spot in the semifinals and we are proud to have achieved that,” he said.

The France coach was generous in his assessment of Morocco, describing them as a young and gifted side with a bright future, even if he admitted to being surprised by aspects of Mohamed Ouahbi’s starting lineup and the lack of natural forwards.

“Morocco has some great qualities, as do we,” Deschamps said. “I was surprised by the starting 11 and I tried to understand why he made those choices. But they have a lot of French players, they have a young talented team and very few have more than 15 caps except Hakimi. That shows they have a bright future.”

Still, the night belonged to France’s greater depth and experience. Deschamps pointed to the difference between his side’s first World Cup semifinal under him in 2018 and this latest run, arguing that the squad now knows better how to live through a tournament, manage recovery and keep even fringe players emotionally invested.

“Experience is the difference between the first semifinal in 2018 and now,” he said. “We know the daily life and the work. We are not copying and pasting because situations are different, conditions are different, but we know what is needed. The most important thing is to to have the right mentality in a group, whether players are playing or not playing.”