France – A. Jacquet: “Our attackers simply need to keep a cooler head”

Aimé JACQUET, coach of the team from FRANCE

Comments gathered at Clairefontaine on 6 July (Southeast of Paris):

“This morning’s training was just a warm-up. The real training will take place this afternoon. The whole team was present except for DUGARRY (21) who had individual training yesterday because he is still feeling some pain. (He suffered a bruised ischium in his right leg during the game against SAUDI ARABIA on 18 June) I will await the outcome of this afternoon’s session and the go-ahead from the doctor…

The team from CROATIA are formidable opponents, with numerous possibilities. Their team is very complete, compact, skilful, and made up of very talented players. The team from FRANCE is perfectly aware of the strengths of the Croatian team, which have improved with every game. I am a little worried because this Croatian team has a lot of ambition. We’ll need to have the same conviction and the same confidence that we had when we played against Italy. During the match, we’ll have to be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity.

It is true that the fact that we have not scored many goals is weighing heavily and it could have cost FRANCE dearly. This is why I resorted to using videos. The objective was to prove to our attackers that they could indeed create chances to score, and thus provide them with confidence. They simply need to keep a cooler head.

I am confident about the match on Wednesday evening because the boys are calm, confident and in good shape…”