Deschamps back with France as squad relocates to New Jersey for World Cup last 16 against Sweden

From group-stage cruise to sudden death

France completed the group phase with three wins and ten goals, the last a 4-1 victory over Norway in which Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat-trick. That result was achieved under assistant Guy Stéphan while Deschamps attended his mother’s funeral in France. Stéphan called family time after the match “essential oxygen” as the squad entered a rapid turnaround to knockout football.

“The first competition is over. Now there’s a second one. We’re switching over. The guillotine drops after every match — though that shouldn’t bring tension. You have confidence, you’ve been capable of doing very good things. We have to feed off that confidence without being overconfident, because the further we go the tougher the opposition. Let’s already think about the Swedes on Tuesday.”

Deschamps re-takes the helm

Deschamps landed in Boston on Saturday and immediately addressed the squad before an intense session featuring the non-starters from the Norway game. The video released by the French federation shows him congratulating the group on the three wins, a first in a major tournament for France, and reminding them that the “first objective” was met but no bonus points carry forward. He was later seen in long talks with Maxence Lacroix and Maghnes Akliouche, while also greeting 2018 champion Adil Rami, who had turned up as a streamer.

“I have a very strong thought for Didier. We’re happy he’s coming back. He’ll be with us at training tomorrow. We’ll get our duo back for increasingly difficult matches.”

The New Jersey move

After an early closed-doors session at Bentley University on Sunday, the squad took a 16:00 flight to New York’s suburbs, repeating the routine used before the Senegal match. They landed at Newark airport and will hold a final practice on Monday at 17:00 local time at the New York Red Bulls’ Melanie Lane field. Deschamps’ first press conference since his return is scheduled for 11:30 local (17:30 French time) on Monday.

Fitness concerns

William Saliba, rested against Norway with back pain, took part in interval running with fitness coach Cyril Moine but did not join the opposition game. Two players who did not feature on Friday were absent from Saturday’s session: Marcus Thuram, widely reported as a doubt for the Sweden game, and N’Golo Kanté. Dembélé, after his hat-trick, was curt with the press, repeating “we have to stay focused” as a shield against criticism of his earlier international displays.

The round-of-16 tie kicks off at 23:00 French time on Tuesday at the same MetLife Stadium that will host the World Cup final on 19 July.