Paris: France will increasingly lean on the playing experience of their manager Didier Deschamps as they seek to emulate his success on the international stage in the European Championship, midfielder Dimitri Payet said on Tuesday.
Deschamps, who succeeded Laurent Blanc as the national team manager in 2012, captained France to World Cup glory on home soil in 1998 and won the Euros two years later.
Unbeaten in the 2016 tournament so far, Les Bleus topped Group A with seven points, and will play a third-placed team from either Group C, D or E in the Round of 16 game on Sunday.
“When things are going well on the pitch, it is because I know I have the coach behind me,” Payet told Uefa’s official website on Tuesday (www.uefa.com).
“The fact he has won everything going is the advantage that he brings us. He knows exactly what it takes to win as he has been there before. We know how precious his advice is and how much more so that will be as the tournament goes on.”
The 29-year-old, who scored two crucial goals in the group stages, said midfielder Paul Pogba and striker Antoine Griezmann remained the hosts’ most influential players, even though many regard the West Ham United midfielder as the side’s best player in the tournament so far.
“People will still talk about Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba. We saw them in the game against Switzerland, and they are the ones to be counted on,” he said.
“We need those two players. They can guide us through and deep into the competition.”
Meanwhile, French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet has opened the door for striker Karim Benzema’s return after the European Championship.
The Real Madrid forward is facing preliminary charges of conspiracy to blackmail in a sex-tape scandal involving France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Benzema was left out of the Euro 2016 squad in a decision taken by Le Graet and coach Didier Deschamps in the interests of team harmony and avoiding media intrusion.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday at the national team’s training camp in Clairefontaine, Le Graet said he hoped the case will be resolved quickly.
“He’s not suspended for life,” Le Graet said. “I don’t believe in suspensions for life.”
