Moscow (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps said his side “have to win their group”, after Friday’s World Cup draw in Moscow pitted the 1998 champions against Australia, Peru and Denmark in Group C.
“I’m going to give a classic answer: It could have been worse,” Deschamps, who captained France to World Cup glory 19 years ago on home soil, told BeIN Sport.
“Whatever the group, the French team have to qualify for the knockout round and have to finish first in the group. That will be our objective.”
A French outfit boasting a host of attacking talent, including Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe, will kick off their 2018 campaign against Australia in Kazan on June 16, before games against Peru in Yekaterinburg on June 21 and Denmark at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium five days later.
“The common thing about these three teams is that they all came through playoffs to reach the World Cup, as we did in 2014,” Deschamps added.
“We are going to spend a lot of time planning our preparation for this World Cup.”
