On certain match dates, certain press conferences. The France-Ukraine match, which determines qualification for the 2026 World Cup, will take place this Thursday, November 13, 10 years after the attacks in Saint-Denis and Paris. Obviously, Kylian Mbappé and Didier Deschamps mentioned this context in their speeches ahead of the match.
The Blues captain also opened the press conference with an introductory statement paying tribute to the victims. “On behalf of the entire French team, the players on the staff, I want to say that everyone knows how special tomorrow will be, unfortunately not in a good way. We want to give a thought to everyone who lost their loved ones, who were affected, injured, both physically and mentally. »
“We will try to pay tribute to them tomorrow, both during the day and during the match, by trying to give smiles to the people who will come to the stadium or in front of their televisions,” he added. It’s not a happy day, but we want to make France understand that, even though a World Cup qualifier is at stake tomorrow night, there are still more important things. The commemoration of this very historic day is part of that, we are not disconnected from it and we want to have thoughts for all the French people. »
“We must have compassion, sadness”
Relaunching later about how he experienced this disastrous night in 2015, when he was 16, the Madrilenian opened up: “I was in Monaco, I watched the (France-Germany) match like everyone else and I got information very quickly. First there was fear, it was near my house, my parents still live in Bondy. We didn’t know what happened, we called our loved ones… After that we saw the cruelty, we had to have mercy, sadness, we were in a rush to stop it… It was a terrible moment, everyone was concerned to play ten years later was something special.
When asked about the 10th anniversary of the attack and tonight’s ordeal, which he endured at the Stade de France as Blues coach, Didier Deschamps remained reserved and of course thinking of the victims and their loved ones.
“There were only a handful of players who were there when it happened (actually none)but what is clear is that there are many staff members. We know very well that this is part of the context of this match. It’s not taboo, but I emphasize that discourse in this sporting event is very important. I had a little difficulty expressing myself in this case, more because of restraint. There is a duty of remembrance, support, and compassion that we must have for all families who suffer and lose loved ones. »
“We will deal with this context, even though it is not ideal,” he added. It’s just a football match and compared to what happened, it’s nothing. But this is a very important football match for us. »
