France manager Didier Deschamps summarized perfectly why it is so important to have a group that is happy to be together, work hard together and spend so much time together: “You won’t win matches because you have a happy squad, but you can lose games if you won’t do it.”
After all, the successes and failures of a team in a major competition like the World Cup are often related to off-pitch aspects and are a consequence.
For example, Belgian players had interpersonal tensions in the dressing room and struggled on the pitch. Now they are going home. France, meanwhile, has a harmony in the camp that defending champions know is not easy to achieve. During the postponed Euro 2020, which took place in 11 European host cities in the summer of 2021, France struggled to find the right unity and cohesion. Since all their group matches were played in Hungary, they stayed in the center of Budapest, leaving them with nowhere to go: they had little or no outdoor pitches and no way to escape from the crowds.
Benjamin PAVAR, Rapachel VARAN, Yussouf FOFANA, Axel DIZASI, Adrien RABIOT, Eduardo CAMAVINGA, Ibrahima CONATE, Markus THURAM,
Theo Hernandez, Randal KOLO MUANI, Kylian MBAPPE, Antoine GRIEZMANN, Jules KUNDE, Dayot UPAMECANO, William SALIBA,
Olivier GIroux, Hugo LLORIS, Jordan VERETOU, Alphonse AREOLA, Steve MANDANDA, Kingsley COMAN, Aurélien CHUAMENY, Ousmane DEMBEL of France
(Photo by Simon Morsel/Sportpack/FFF)
Team France, the happiest group in the World Cup?
In Doha, the experience was very different. Inside their luxurious Al-Messila Resort, it sometimes feels like you’re in a big summer camp. When football (whether training or matches) and hard work is over, Deschamps’ players seem to be reunited as 24 buddies.
They always have loud music in the game room. Midfielder Yussouf Fofana and striker Antoine Griezmann are the team’s two dedicated DJs who play everything from French hip-hop to reggaeton, showcasing their eclectic tastes. If they had let defender Benjamin Pavard take over, there would have been a lot of French classics like 1980s singer Daniel Balavoine - Bayern Munich defender knows all his songs like “L’Aziza” by heart. Kylian Mbappé is a big fan of “Gasolina” by Parisian rapper Thiacola.
10 Kylian MBAPPE (French) during a training session for the French national football team, December 2, 2022, Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Anthony Bibard/FEP/Icon Sport)
Regardless of individual preferences, the Blues already have their own tournament anthem. After an impressive 2-1 victory over Denmark in Game 2 of the group stage, they celebrated in their dressing room by singing and jumping to the Gala’s iconic dance tune “Freed from Desire”. Olivier Giroud stood on the table with Pavard and Wesley Fofana while the rest of the team poured water and clothes over them.
Such moments are special. They are a natural part of this group and mean a lot to their unit. It also matters who wins the next game of Uno, poker or Ludo King (online table game). They all sit around a rectangular table - guys like William Saliba, Aurélien Chuameni, Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano, Matteo Guendouzi, Axel Disasi and Eduardo Camavinga - and can play for hours. The games room has a pool table, foosball table, and TVs to watch other games, but card games are enjoyable entertainment.
There is also a piano, and Disasi, the young Monaco defender who replaced the injured Prenel Kimpembe, who had never been called up to the first team before this World Cup, impressed his teammates with his talent. The 24-year-old taught himself how to play while in detention and gave some basic lessons to Kamavinga and Chuameni, who enjoyed learning the new skill.
Optimal conditions
Regarding sleeping conditions, each player has a separate room with a large poster with his name and his name on the door. They even got a pillow in their name when the group checked into the hotel. Players have French TV channels in their rooms, as well as a channel dedicated to the clips of their next opponents, so they can watch and study them outside of training.
FIFA 22 matches on Playstation 5 are also hotly contested. The group also features several TV series, such as the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, to keep things interesting, but the players didn’t just chat with each other. Deschamps organized family visits for his team, even going so far as to arrange time slots so that the days and preparations for the matches proceed at the right pace. A BBQ party was organized on the large terrace next to the hotel, which the players enjoyed very much.
To entertain themselves during long training days, they came up with their own entertainment. Some play this new game at the end of class at Al Saad Stadium, located 5 km from Al Messilah Resort. The rule is simple: the ball is placed on a line to the side of the 16-yard box, and you must hit the ball with the correct amount of force to get it in the quadrant around the corner flag. This is their version of foot golf (a hybrid of football and golf), and to everyone’s surprise, Mbappe is a master at it. His touches are often perfect.
No pressure on @atchouameni 🎯@jkeey4 🤣 | @girondins 🤝#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/k98Sr8vzYy
— Team French ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) December 2, 2022
Griezmann is good too, but what if you lose? Well, you have to serve dinner to the other players who won the game. In the dressing room before and after matches, the dynamics are not much different. Players tend to sit in groups based on their position. Upamecano and Konate, who are like brothers in life and have known each other for many years, are next to each other. The same goes for the trio of Adrien Rabiot, Mbappe and Marcus Thuram or Ousmane Dembele and Griezmann, while the three goalkeepers (Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda and Alphonse Areola) are always together on the same side of the room.
So far at this World Cup, the atmosphere in the French camp has been fantastic. Deschamps is usually a master of team building, although he admits he made a mistake at the last Euro. But he learned from what went wrong and created a much more positive atmosphere in Qatar.
The only thing that was difficult for them off the field? Dembele’s fear of cats. The FC Barcelona striker is not only a little scared, but completely scared, and when the players eat on the terrace of his hotel, there are always a few wild cats roaming around looking for food, which scares him! Everyone else just laughs when they finish their meal, a touch of humor that strengthens bonds within the group.
After strong results in the group stage, France will play Poland on Sunday and advance to the quarter-finals. This team can be expected to stick together and strive towards their ultimate goal of becoming the first country to win two World Cups in a row since Brazil. in 1958 and 1962.
