Didier Deschamps, sobre la ausencia de Kylian Mbappé en la rueda de prensa: «Mi objetivo es proteger a mis jugadores».

It was N’Golo Kanté, rather than team captain Kylian Mbappé, who appeared before the media at France’s pre-match press conferences before their World Cup opener against Senegal.

The midfielder notably explained that Les Bleus’ goal was to return to the final, but warned that there would be several obstacles in their way, with high temperatures notably a factor.

The veteran also denied that Les Bleus were out for revenge against the Teranga Lions after the latter team’s victory in the 2002 curtain-raiser. “Senegal has a lot of quality,” Kanté added. “We’ll have to take them seriously, but I think we have what it takes to beat them.”

“My aim is to protect the players,” Deschamps later said when asked about Mbappé’s absence from the press conference. “I saw three players this morning. I also want to protect N’Golo, but I know that he gets up early in the morning! We have two hour-long journeys today. Given the high temperatures, I want to protect my players.”

“Kylian is admired around the world, and he can deal with that, and it doesn’t mean that he isn’t a natural in his role as team captain.”

Deschamps’ explanation confirms reporting by L’Équipe earlier, which indicated that the 54-year-old was unwilling to have his star forward spend several hours travelling on a coach. FIFA had insisted on holding the press conference at tomorrow’s veune, rather than the New York Red Bulls’ training ground, where Les Bleus are based.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from New York, New Jersey Stadium