It was a game to forget for France and one which puts their summer in serious doubt. Les Bleus need to win by at least two goals in the return leg on Tuesday to have any chance of progressing to next year’s World Cup Finals in Rio. If they fail to do this, it shall be the first time in over 20 years that they have failed to qualify for a major tournament, and manager Deschamps will surely get the boot.
This is what Didier Deschamps had to say in response to questions after yesterday night’s embarrassing 2-0 defeat to Ukraine and the red card of Laurent Koscielny:
Deschamps (on Ukraine): “This is a quality team, which has a lot of commitment. I commend them for their game. They are in a good position.”
Deschamps: (On the game): “Yes, it’s hard. Especially since we had control of the ball….They were able to break our actions down from the start”
“We will try to recover well for the second leg, even if they are in a better position.”
“We must first recover well, and believe, especially believe, to reverse the scoreline. Everyone will be together.”
Deschamps: (On Laurent Koscielny red): “There was frustration on his part after the penalty, but it’s part of this high level to keep calm.”
