Didier Deschamps between avoidance strategy and justifications after the injuries of Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué

Above all, do not perpetuate the saga. Didier Deschamps did everything on Monday, September 8, to try to extinguish the controversy with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) that arose after the injuries of Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, during the Ukraine-France match, won (0-2) by the Blues, Friday, in Wroclaw (Poland) . The first, victim of a torn hamstring of the right thigh, will be unavailable for at least six weeks, while the second, affected in the right calf, will be absent for four weeks. A hard blow for PSG, just before the restart of the Champions League, on September 17, in Paris, against Atalanta Bergamo.

Facing the capital club, which is criticizing the French national team coach for taking risks, notably by playing Dembélé when he was weakened, Didier Deschamps tried to calm things down. "PSG is not our opponent, it never has been," he declared on Monday during a press conference. Before affirming: "Our only opponent is Iceland and that's tomorrow." A reference to the match scheduled for Tuesday evening at the Parc des Princes, which will be the second match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

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