The French coach, Didier Deschamps, has downplayed tensions between his team and Paris Saint-Germain, after the club criticized the national team for the injuries of two of its key players.
Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, both PSG players, will be out for six and four weeks, respectively, after suffering problems in France’s victory in the World Cup qualifying phase against Ukraine.
The Ligue 1 champion issued a statement on Sunday accusing the French national team of ignoring “specific medical information” it had provided “regarding the workload its players could handle and the risk of injury.”
PSG Statement
Dembélé only played 36 minutes as a substitute in the 2-0 victory before being substituted due to a hamstring problem, while Doué was withdrawn at halftime due to a calf injury.Didier Deschamps ha minimizado las conversaciones sobre una ruptura entre el campeón de la liga francesa y la selección nacional. (Foto de SERGEI GAPON/AFP vía Getty Images)Both players will miss the start of PSG’s European title defense, including the match against Barcelona on October 1st.
The situation has cast a shadow over the preparation for the next Group D match between France and Iceland at PSG’s Parc des Princes.
In his pre-match press conference, Deschamps stated: “What happened, happened.”
“I am especially sad for Ousmane and Dez [Doué], because of the injuries and because we lose two important players.”
“We did things professionally and progressively, as we do with each player, taking their feelings into account.”
“Unfortunately, it happened and affects two PSG players.”
“PSG is not our rival, it never has been, even though we have interests that may diverge, and that’s normal. Our only rival is Iceland and that’s tomorrow.”
When asked if the matter would make him hesitate when selecting another PSG player, Bradley Barcola, Deschamps replied: “I am the one who makes the decisions, I have my team, my responsibilities.”
Deschamps has called up former Bayern Munich striker Kingsley Coman, who now plays for Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, to reinforce his squad.
They face an Icelandic team that started their qualifying campaign with a 5-0 victory in Azerbaijan, and Deschamps is likely to make more changes for the match.
He said: “My main concern is to see in what condition the players are in.”
“Changes, yes, it’s likely. Freshness is important, keeping what has been done well.”
“Iceland has evolved, with a much less direct game. They have evolved in their ability to go out on the field and build plays.”
“A great battle awaits us”.
