Soccer <\/p>\n
Ousmane Dembele said France are determined to finish Didier Deschamps’ reign on a high note and that his impending departure is not a distraction ahead of the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Deschamps announced in January that he would step down from his role after a glittering 14-year tenure, during which he has helped France dominate world football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 57-year-old\u00a0led Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018 while also finishing as runners-up at FIFA’s flagship competition four years ago after losing to Argentina on penalties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
France also won the Nations League in 2020-21, with Deschamps having won 114 of his 178 matches in charge across all competitions (D35 L29).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next stop on Deschamps’ farewell tour is\u00a0Stade Pierre-Mauroy, with France facing Northern Ireland on Monday before jetting off to North America for the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And while all the talk heading into the World Cup surrounds Deschamps, Dembele is confident that will not hinder his team’s chances at trying to reclaim their world crown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We know it’s the last competition for the coach [Deschamps],” Dembele\u00a0told ESPN on Saturday.<\/p>\n
“He’s at a very high level, who has a lot of results with the French team. We’re very happy to have him, of course. We already played the World Cup with him.<\/p>\n
“That’s what we’re essentially focused on. His leaving isn’t really impacting our mentality in this tournament; we want to finish well with him by reaching the World Cup final.<\/p>\n
“He’s a coach who has counted on each of these players in the French team. He sends us congratulations or motivates us after a match.<\/p>\n
“He’s very important to me personally in my career. We’ll try to do well with him as a coach because he deserves it.”<\/p>\n
\nEn \u00c9quipe pic.twitter.com\/c3jd1ALGJ2<\/a><\/p>\n