Winning at the highest level is very difficult and staying there even more so, asserts Didier Deschamps
France are in Group F at the Euro 2020
|France head coach Didier Deschamps has tempered expectations and the hype surrounding Les Blues’ with the 2018 World Cup winners the favourites to win the Euro 2020. The 2016 finalists have been placed in Group F alongside Portugal, Germany and Hungary, and face Germany in their first game.
While many consider both England and Belgium amongst the favourites to win the Euro 2020, France are right up there with Les Blues’ amongst the favourites to dominate. That is especially the case given the squad and the catalogue of immensely talented players that Didier Deschamps has at his disposal. Furthermore, the France head coach's job has been made even harder by the fact that it’s jam packed with some of the best players in the world.
Yet with the expectations sky high, especially with many expecting France to win not just the 2020 Euros but also the upcoming 2022 World Cup, it has concerned Didier Deschamps. That has seen the France boss try to temper expectations surrounding his side especially since he doesn’t want his team to become complacent and think they’ve already won the Euros. Deschamps also added that they have ambitious players who won’t become overconfidence but “winning at the highest level” is tough especially doing it consistently.
“Right away there is talk of failure. We are world champions. I am aware, and the players are too, of our strengths We have quality, talent, high-level players, but there will also be all of that in front of us. We cannot settle into our comfort zone. In France many think that we don't even have to get onto the pitch and we have already won,” Deschamps said, reported Goal.
“That is the worst for a high-level athlete. Beyond quality and talent, there are other essential ingredients on a mental level, such as aggressiveness and determination that allowed us to win in 2018. Winning at the highest level is very difficult and staying there is even more so.Â
“But we have players with that ambition, we have to prevent them from becoming overconfident. You have to go through things in stages. We can't think of [the final at] Wembley today, we have to go to Munich first and Budapest twice.”
