His speech is rare, as much as that of a certain number ten. But it turns out to be just as fascinating and rich in lessons. Guy Stephan lent himself this Tuesday to the game of questions and answers with the media. Four days before the shock of the quarter-finals against England, the assistant coach of the Blues went around the subject. From the development of Mbappé to the qualities of the Three Lions through the absence of Karim Benzema or the downgrading of Benjamin Pavard, he has never kicked into touch. Or almost.
How did you view the English against Senegal (3-0) and their offensive strength with their side players?
GUY STEPHAN. It’s a very good team, a solid team, which has a lot of attacking arguments. Like many very good teams in this World Cup, they have players who go very fast on the sides. I am thinking of Foden, Rashford, Sterling… They are Euro finalists, semi-finalists in 2018, let’s not forget that. They have references. They can play in at least two systems. They were in 4-3-3 against Senegal, but they are also able to play with 3 centrals and pistons, with one less in the middle. In general, they go to 5 defensive players against slightly superior teams. Will this be the case on Saturday? We will have the answer at the start of the match.
Is Olivier Giroud also a leader in this team?
Yes. First of all, I’m not sure we’re aware of it, but this goalscoring record is fantastic. This is exceptional. He overtakes Thierry Henry, who is a reference as a scorer. Olivier has always fought, he has a strong character, he had a bit of a winding road a few times but he always got through it. To see him evolve here, he is good in his football boots. And he passes that on to the whole group.
Did you expect Kylian Mbappé to be so strong, so quickly? How long will it take him to beat Giroud’s record?
Giroud’s record, I don’t know how long it will hold. But if we compare him to Thierry Henry, it’s about the same number of selections. There’s not a lot of difference. And by holding 80 times, it shows the still strong difficulty of reaching this number. Now there is a much younger one who is already at 33 goals and breaking all records. Nine goals in the World Cup is already a lot and he is not yet 24 years old. Messi and Ronaldo hadn’t scored so much at his age. He is on a very, very high level route. An exceptional player who feels good in his expression on the pitch, he is very creative, very inventive. He evolves in this left axis, but he likes to walk on the ground. He has an explosiveness, a striking quality, really a lot of assets. And demonstrates it in every game. This is also what is very important. It’s every game.
How do you feel about Didier Deschamps? Is he in total control of the event? More than Euro 2021?
He is very serene, that’s the right word. He prepared very well for this competition. Sometimes it does a little less well. But he has peace of mind, thanks also to having anticipated, to knowing exactly what he wanted to do. When announcing the list of players, he immediately said that we were going to play 4 behind when we could have imagined that they would play 5. But they already had in mind what they wanted to do next. His experience benefits the team today.
Have you spoken to Benjamin Pavard? Could we see him again before the end of the competition?
Benjamin does not play, but that does not prevent him from training, from behaving well in the group. You could see it in the pictures of joy after Denmark and Poland. I discussed with him. Obviously he is disappointed but for the moment, it is a sporting choice that is made. The future will tell if he comes back or not.
To what extent can Mbappé represent a danger?
Surely we can always do better. I believe that with this team, as it is made up there, with 4 defenders and a midfielder with some changes and its attackers, you have to accept imbalances. We must try to reduce them, but despite everything, we must accept them. Otherwise we don’t play as much with so many attackers. In the future, maybe it will happen that it will be another player who makes the difference, but with Kylian, we have an exceptional player.
Will there be a game within the game with Lloris and Kane, the two captains, who play together at Tottenham?
Hugo, I find him very very serene too. Without betraying a secret, he will probably play on Saturday. He will beat Lilian’s record (142 selections), that too is fantastic. He knows the way he hits, how he changes his angle at the last moment, he knows his movements. We can consider that it is a match within the match. Moreover, by the way, the English must be the only ones, apart from one, to play in the English championship. I hope that when they return, there will be one who will smile more than the other.
Mbappé said he was focused on his goal. Do you also have the feeling that he is on a mission?
He made the World Cup a peak of his season. This does not prevent him from scoring with PSG, and even a lot, but yes he is very focused on what he does. He is very serene, very smiling, he brings his smile to others. He is somewhere too, in his own way, a leader. It can make a difference, but also on a daily basis, because it brings a lot of good humor. It contributes to a good state of mind. He is thirsty for records, and he will beat others in a few years. He is in full possession of his faculties and transmits a lot to the whole group.
The federal objective is to reach the semi-finals. Are you thinking about it with Didier Deschamps?
No way. Contractually, our contracts end on December 31, 2022. It stops there, we are focused on the World Cup, the England match. This is my eighth international competition. There have been four World Cups, three European Cups, an African Cup. We have a very good base camp, a very good training ground. It is airy and allows everyone to live well.
How has Mbappé changed in his approach to big games since 2018? Does he still have that element of recklessness?
Inevitably, in four and a half years, he has grown in maturity, in experience. His positioning is no longer the same, he no longer plays on the right, but in the left axis. He can also refocus, as at the end of the match against Poland. The emotional side does not play for him, he is above that. It allows him to express all his qualities, speed, strike, intelligence, vision as well.
Tell us about this “bromance” between Giroud and Mbappé…
There is a very good bond between them. It can be strong, very strong or less strong depending on the moment. There, she is very present. He has often said that he likes having a pivot player in front of him. There, it is the case but he is able to play in other organizations as well. They also get along very well with Ousmane or Antoine, who has a new position in the middle. It’s radiating right now. That’s the right word, the atmosphere is radiant.
What is your reaction after the rejection of your appeal for Griezmann’s goal against Tunisia? Is there a will to appeal? We have the impression that with this decision, there will be a before and an after.
We just want to understand. We have nothing against our Tunisian friends. We would have done the same with any opponent. We had several referees on the phone who explained to us that if the game resumes after a whistle, we cannot call on the VAR. Will it go further (on the side of the Federation) ? This is beyond my function.
Didier Deschamps said Mbappé has no ego. Do you share this opinion?
(Laughs). You want to piss me off with him? What he meant, I think, is that there is no ego that goes against the smooth running of the group. Afterwards, and this is necessary, high-level players have this desire to succeed, and to go even further. It’s the World Cup of records, I feel. Hugo, Olivier, Antoine who has played 71 games in a row… That too is incredible. Behind, the second is at 48.
Can you tell us about the distribution of roles in the middle? How do you judge the start of Aurélien Tchouaméni’s Mondial?
We have a deformed three-man midfield. Aurélien Tchouaméni is at a low point, with Rabiot higher on the left and Griezmann on the right. Basically that’s it, but sometimes you can find Antoine a little higher or a little lower. He has for him to have an extraordinary volume, a subtlety in the pass, a generosity. It is a positioning that suits him well, and even very well. It’s rare that a player personally talks about his relationship with his coach. It has been going on since 2014. (…) As for Aurélien, he is making his first World Cup. There is the emotional aspect to manage. He replaces players who won in 2018, he had his transfer to Real Madrid to manage. He is good in his role, he will still improve but he does what he has to do.
Would you have played the same way with Karim Benzema? On the ground, has his absence made it possible to offer more responsibility and more freedom to Kylian Mbappé?
We had a lot of withdrawals, a lot of injuries. there were four before the rally began. Pogba, Kante, Maignan, Kimpembe. Then three others, Christopher Nkunku, Karim Benzema and Lucas Hernandez. Of course, if he had been there, things would surely be different. We won’t know and there’s no point in racking our brains. Moreover, what was said in my view was not fair. The atmosphere was good before and still is. I’m not going to do a tactical lesson with Karim, it’s useless, he’s not there and won’t be there until the end of the competition. What matters to me is that this team has results, that it is in the quarter-finals for the third time in a row, a first in its history, and that it plays well. We only have one thing to do, and that’s keep going.
What difference do you perceive between the Olivier Giroud of 2018 and 2022?
In 2018, unfortunately, he did not score but he participated strongly in the victory. There, I always find him with a big character, always mobile on the ground, maybe even more mischievous. Perhaps thanks to his time in Italy. I find him very effective in all his gestures. He too has a serenity, a joy in playing that emerges. This cohesion, this osmosis between young and old, this respect, it shows throughout the group. Olivier enters into this framework. The first goal against Poland is very important, and very appropriate.